Page 38

Lucian

Present

Two days after Christmas—I thought it wise to give her some space after recklessly stealing a kiss—I got ready to pay a call on my princess in the tower.

But Gabriel showed up to thank me again for my help on the guitar, then updated me on the progress of both Sylvis’s wolf-shifting progress and the success of his courtship with her.

I was genuinely happy for both him and my cousin.

“I hope you can put in a few good words for me.” I told him. “I’d love to form a closer relationship to my long-lost cousin.”

“I think she’s warming up to you. She loved the Ritchie Blackmore figurine you carved.

She’s just shy. And, of course, protective of Kerainne, who was like a second mother to her.

But given that my dear cousin seems to be thawing, Sylvis will come around.

” Gabriel fixed me with an intent stare.

“Will you ever tell me what you did to her? She’s always been pretty forgiving. ”

“As I’ve told you before, I was a fool. And I made it worse when I allowed the stupid betrothal to her sister get off the ground.”

“I know.” Gabriel eyed me sternly. “I even told you that you should have called it off. What would your matriarch do to you? Confine you to Luminista? You already preferred to stay there.” He sighed and his shoulders slumped defeatedly.

“I probably should have tried harder to convince you to do the right thing, but at first, I was angry with her too. All those long months thinking she was dead. She was more like an aunt to me than a cousin. I know some of that was because of her bond with children, but we were still close even after I grew up. She could have left a message with Delgarias or someone in Aisthanesthai.”

“No, don’t go blaming yourself for any of this.” I cut off his self-recriminations. “The guilt rightfully rests on my shoulders. Though Del might have a few things to answer for. Kerainne says she will give me her side of the story. She’s just not ready yet.”

“What do you mean Delgarias has things to answer for?” Gabe asked incredulously. “What did he do?”

“He’s the Keeper of the Prophecy and the first vampire who’d been acting as a double agent between Aisthanesthai’s mages and Earth’s vampires for I don’t even know how many centuries,” I said, not ready to explain further.

“So it wouldn’t surprise me if there were even more lies than the one I caught him in. ”

After I finished telling him about the tense conversation I had with him before my last visit to Luminista, he leaned back on the couch and blinked in stunned silence. “I…I’m sure he had good reason to lie to you about that.”

“I’m sure he did too.” I grumbled. “That doesn’t change the fact that he helped contribute to a whole lot of pain for her and me, and may have screwed up my chances at getting her back.”

The minute the last bit came out of my mouth I knew I was being petulant. There was plenty I did and still would have done even if Del had told me where Kerainne was nearly two years before I found her.

“Anyway,” I stood, flustered. “I’m going to call on her now. Maybe she’ll be willing to tell me her side.”

“She won’t be able to.” Gabe rose too. “Nik sent me to get her. She says Silas and Akasha will need a babysitter tonight because we’re all going out. And I need to get back soon because Sylvis will be ready for more wolf-shifting lessons.”

My chest twinged with a bit of hurt that I apparently wasn’t invited to this mysterious outing.

Though Kerainne must not be either if she was going to be babysitting Kiara, the strange half vampire, half mutant human daughter of the McNaughts.

Part of me was tempted to go to Earth and visit Kerainne and Kiara, but then I thought of the movies I’d seen when boys would show up to a house where a girl was babysitting and how disgusted I was at that.

So instead, I occupied myself with listening to some of the CDs Razvan had gifted me, then watched some of the movies from Radu.

Including the final Twilight film that I’d missed because Kerainne and I had left.

The whole drama with their half-vampire child made me understand why Akasha was glad Kiara had gone to bed before they put that one on.

The next day, Gabriel returned and I found out why Kerainne and I hadn’t been invited to the previous night’s outing. They’d gone to a concert and imbibed psychedelic drugs.

Remembering Kerianne’s remarks about Nikkita experimenting with various drugs, I wasn’t completely surprised. Though I didn’t know if it was wise for the King and Queen of Aisthanesthai to be imbibing.

Then I had another thought. “Wait, how did the vampires manage to ingest vision quest mushrooms?”

“They didn’t. They had LSD. It wore off faster on them due to the way their metabolism works, but it was more than enough for them to enjoy the night.” Gabriel grinned and yawned, still a little muzzy-headed from last night’s revels. “I like vampires. They’re fascinating.”

“Did Kerainne know?”

“Yeah.” His smile was carefree as if he’d told be about a night of drinking rather than hallucinating. “She’s going to join us next time. Maybe you can too. Oh, did I tell you that I’m going to be in the band? They want a keyboard player on this album.”

“That’s wonderful.” I’d completely forgotten that he could play. After Medicia had been destroyed, he’d been obsessed with getting the people of Luminista to find a way to attack Mephistopheles. No one had listened to him then. And now they weren’t listening to me.

After Gabriel left, I went to the tower to see if Kerainne was back. Rayven answered the gate stone and told me she and Zareth had gone to Wurrakia to look into a situation.

“Did he say what kind of situation?”

“Only that there may be new information about Mephistopheles’s attack there last summer.” Rayven’s gold eyes glittered with curiosity. “That was the first attack in twenty-six years.”

Another thing occurred to me. “And he’s trusting you to watch the tower for him?”

“Yes.” Rayven sounded both pleased and baffled. “I’m as surprised as you are. Would you like to come in? Tiana is making something called ‘Italian wedding’ soup.”

“I’d like that.” I paused. “Are you certain I’m welcome?”

“I am.” He opened a portal and when I stepped through, he pulled a folded square of paper from one of his many robe pockets. “He left a list. You’re a late addition, but you’re on it. So, we’re both making progress. Just don’t go in Kerainne’s chambers and take something of hers for a love spell.”

“Love spells are strictly demon magic.” I shook my head, then paused. “Didn’t you know that?”

“I did, but I’m surprised you do.” Rayven peered at me with his odd golden eyes. “Given that luminites are seen as the polar opposite of demons.”

“For one thing, I most of the same training as you,” I reminded him. Though it had been so long ago that I’d forgotten a lot of it. “For another, I spend the last twenty-five years studying them with one of the oldest luminites who specializes in demonology.”

“You were trying to find out if Mephistopheles was a demon.” It wasn’t a question. At my nod, Rayven smiled as if he’d found kinship in me. “I did my own research about that. I even paid a visit to Irkalla.”

“Fates!” Both Tiana and I echoed. I whirled around to smile at her. I hadn’t heard her come in from the kitchen.

Rayven’s sardonic features softened as he smiled at wife.

Then he turned back to me. “Although the Evil One has some demon clans in his army, not every demon is fond of him. Many are even against his stealing pieces of worlds. We could probably recruit some to our side, but Zareth and Delgarias won’t hear of it.

I blame their faelin sensibilities.” His golden eyes flicked to his mate. “No offense, love.”

Tiana giggled. “None taken. I wasn’t raised around the faelin. In fact, the whole country of Shellandria rejected me.”

“When did that happen?” Raven’s tone went sharp in outrage that anyone would reject her.

“When I was found near the primary school, the headmistress contacted Queen Nicharana to see if they wanted to take me in. She refused, but sent all faelin men who admitted to sleeping with non-Shellandrian women to come to Shalafi and do the kinship test.”

I shook my head in wonder. “And Delgarias wouldn’t have heard about the order since he was banished.”

“Even if he had, he wouldn’t have thought anything of it because I was still a baby when I was found, thanks to the time stasis container and he’d been a vampire for two thousand years.”

“And no one would have guessed you were half luminite because you were found after Medicia was destroyed.” In that moment, I understood why Nik had spent so much time hiding from everyone she knew and dulling her pain with every intoxicant and psychedelic she could get her hands on.

Despite having plenty of non-sober days herself, Kerainne had been so angry at her sister’s drug use.

Now I knew that the real source of her rage was for Nik losing her niece.

“You could have been my niece.” I winced, not having meant to say that aloud.

“Maybe I still can be.” Tiana patted my shoulder. “I don’t know anything about your breakup and I’m not going to ask. All I’ll say is that I can tell you still love my aunt and if she really hated you, she’d have found a way to get rid of you, diplomacy act and alliances be damned.”

“Thank you for that.” There was an odd, tight feeling in my throat.

“It’s only the truth.” Tiana shrugged. “Now come to the kitchen. Dinner’s ready and we’re not going to sit at that huge dining room table. It’s too awkward with only three of us and I’m sick of hearing Rayven’s plans to redecorate.”

Kerainne and Zareth ended up staying in Wurrakia far longer than I would have preferred, but she left a note attached to the missive from the King. It was terse, but still made me smile.