Page 31

Alaric

“W ho was that fucker?” I demand as soon as we’re out of the vast, echoing Throne Room. “And why did he call you his ‘Blood-Partner?’ What does that mean?”

Sylvanna looks up at me, weariness written on her delicate features.

“Please, my Paladin—no more jealousy. I assure you, you have nothing to be jealous of.”

“I just want to understand what he was to you…and what he did to you,” I say.

She looks away and I can see her struggling with herself. This Kraven, whoever he is, hurt her badly. The thought makes me want to squeeze his skinny neck until his face turns blue! But I try to make my voice gentle.

“Please, Mistress,” I say and put a hand on her shoulder. “Please, just tell me.”

She looks around at the empty corridor and reluctantly nods her head.

“All right, but not here. In my rooms.”

We walk down several more long marble corridors before we come to a thick door which appears to be made of ice. I think it must be frosted glass but no, when I put my fingertips to it, it’s so cold it burns me. It really is ice.

“Fuck!” I growl, pulling my hand away. “What the fuck is this?”

“A deterrence spell, Sylvanna says. Stepping up to the door, she murmurs something in the Arcane Tongue.

At once, the icy layer around the door melts, showing a more normal looking wooden door beneath. Sylvanna murmurs yet another spell while touching it and it swings open for us.

“I was always careful when I lived here in the palace,” she says as we enter the room. “Even after Kraven and I took the Blood-Oath to be together, I kept my own space and never revealed the cantrips and spells to open it—not even to my Blood-Partner.”

“Blood-Partner—what is that exactly?” I want to know. “Was he your husband?”

“Blood-Partnership is a kind of marriage, yes.” She nods as she reseals the door behind us. I watch as the icy layer grows over the wood again.

“Is it anything like having me as your Blood-servant?” I demand.

“It’s a step above that—it’s a relationship between equals. At least, I thought Kraven was my equal—I had no idea he’d do what he did.”

“And what exactly did he do?” I growl. Whatever it was, it must have been bad. I come to stand in front of her but when she won’t meet my eyes, I sink to one knee before her and take her hands in mine.

“Please, Mistress—how can I protect you from him if I don’t know the whole story?”

“Very well.” She sighs and looks away. “I’ll tell you. I’m just ashamed, that’s all.”

“Ashamed?” I frown. “Why would you be ashamed?”

“Because I let him fool me.” Her lovely mouth twists down at the corners. “I allowed myself to believe that he loved me and I genuinely loved him. Until…”

She trails off and is silent so long that I squeeze her hands gently to urge her on.

“Until?” I prod gently.

“Until the night he tried to Drain me.”

She looks really upset now, and I can see how much it must hurt her to talk about this. I tell myself I won’t push for much more, but I need to understand her.

“Drain you? As in, take your blood?” I ask, because that fucker Kraven has fangs too, even longer than Sylvanna’s.

She nods.

“And my magic. At the same time. I barely escaped him and got back to my tower before I collapsed.” She shakes her head.

“It took me months to recover. I had to break the Bond between us when I ran from him and it was terribly painful because we’d shared blood multiple times.

And it wasn’t just the physical pain, it was the feeling of betrayal…

of knowing he was just using me to get what he wanted…

” She shakes her head again and I can see that her lovely eyes are bright with unshed tears.

“I was such a fool,” she says in a low voice.

“It’s not foolish to let yourself love,” I protest. Rising to my feet, I gather her into my arms. At first she resists but then she comes to me and lets me hold her.

“I never should have trusted him. I should have seen through him,” she whispers against my chest.

“It’s hard to see when love is blinding you.” I know a little something about this, I think. I’m definitely blinded when I’m around her. But I know Sylvanna would never betray me the way Kraven hurt and betrayed her. She’s too honorable.

Sylvanna sniffs and swipes at her eyes.

“I knew I might have to deal with him. I just had no idea that he’d taken over the Court. And the Queen…” A tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it away. “My poor Queen—I never should have left her!”

“Is she unwell, then?” I ask. The haggard old woman on the throne looks nothing like the other sleek, sophisticated NightBorn I’ve seen so far. Mentally, she definitely seemed to be losing a step.

“Unwell?” Sylvanna gives a bitter laugh. “She’s more than unwell—she’s magically addicted to that damn Glass of Distraction that Kraven gave her and it’s sucking her dry! Do you know she’s only five years older than I am?”

“What?” I can scarcely believe this. Sylvanna and I are of an age—at least I think we are. And there’s no way the NightBorn Queen is only five years older than either of us.

But Sylvanna is nodding.

“Yes, she’s one of my dearest friends and I abandoned her to Kraven. But I never thought the Glass would get such a hold on her! The last time I was here, she could still put it down and walk away from it!”

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened to her,” I object. “You were recovering from that bastard’s betrayal. He nearly killed you last time.” I curl my hands into fists. “But I can promise you, sweetheart, he’s never going to get a chance to try that again.”

“Alaric, I am not your ‘sweetheart’—I’m your Mistress ,” she says, but a small smile plays around the corner of her mouth and I know she appreciates my words.

“Yes, Mistress,” I say and bring her hands to my lips so I can kiss them and show my reverence. “I just want you to know, I’m here to protect you. I won’t let that fucker get anywhere near you.”

“We need to worry less about Kraven and more about getting into the Queen’s private collection of artifacts, so that we can rescue The Heart of the Eclipse,” she says. “If we can activate it, it will put things right.”

“Activate it?” I frown down at her. “But how? And how will it ‘put things right?’ I was told by my GodKing that the Heart would obliterate Nocturna and grant immortality to the one who wields it.”

Sylvanna shakes her head.

“I think your GodKing has gotten some wrong information. The actual prophecy of The Heart goes like this:

“The Heart when lit will put things Right

The Heart will balance Day and Night

The Heart will end the ceaseless Strife

The Heart will bring abundant Life.”

“Hmm…” I frown thoughtfully. “Well, maybe he thought that last line meant immortality.”

“No man or woman is meant to live forever,” Sylvanna says gravely. “Eventually we all fade.”

“Not the GodKing,” I tell her. “He’s over a century old and still strong.”

“I see.” She nods. “It sounds like he’s had more than his time. That’s bad for the natural balance of Solaris. When a ruler gets too old to rule effectively, he can drag his whole country down with him.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. I have always been loyal to my liege lord—it’s never really occurred to me that he might be overstaying his time as our ruler. But that’s not what I’m concerned about right now.

“It sounds like The Heart of the Eclipse will solve a lot of problems—both here and in Solaris, “I say. “If we can retrieve it.”

I no longer think The Heart will wipe out all of Nocturna, but I have to be honest—I no longer want it to. I’ve met enough people here to know they’re not the enemy of Solaris. They’re just different from us and why should that be a crime?

“I agree.” Sylvanna nods. “The question is, can we get to it before Kraven realizes what we’re after?”

“I don’t know—can we? Where is it?” I ask.

“In the Queen’s private collection,” Sylvanna tells me. “She told me the cantrip to get in before I left—I was her closest friend. As long as she hasn’t changed it, I can get us into the collection.”

I’ve seen Sylvanna’s collection—she showed it to me once I was Bound to her and I marveled at the many glass cases filled with magical artifacts. I wonder if the Queen’s collection is anything like it. I guess that I’ll find out.

“Are you sure Kraven won’t know what we’re doing?” I ask.

Sylvanna shakes her head confidently.

“He doesn’t even know it’s here. I brought it for the Queen to study and she locked it away long before he started to worm his way into the Inner Court.”

“Good. I don’t trust that fucker,” I growl.

Not after what he tried to do to my Mistress.

I wish I could hold her and comfort her some more—I have a feeling that the old wound of his betrayal is still bleeding inside her.

But I know how strong she is and how she doesn’t like to show weakness, even to me.

The fact that she let herself cry when she was with me tells me how close we’re getting.

For a moment I let myself wonder what might happen if I didn’t go back to Solaris at all. What if I just stayed here in Nocturna with her?

But I know I can’t break my oath to the GodKing. I must try to get The Heart of the Eclipse and use it to right the wrongs in both kingdoms. He’ll probably be upset when it doesn’t destroy Nocturna as he hoped, but I’ll do my best to explain the prophecy to him.

And in the meantime, I’ll stay by my Lady’s side and keep her safe. I’m not going anywhere as long as that slimy bastard Kraven is slinking around!

With that promise fixed firmly in my heart, I sit with Sylvanna and together we begin to plan.