Page 52 of The Vampire’s Mercy (Blood Melody #1)

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

PARIS

White rose petals fell from the sky as I sang. The elf took my hands, her alabaster hair billowing in the wind.

“Do not stop singing, precious one,” she told me.

Who was this woman with dark copper skin and lavender eyes, dressed in a silver robe?

Life bloomed in the dead forest, a rush of color painting everything around me. The trees were rich and green and tall, a gathering of oak, birch, and ash. A line of blackberry bushes cut across the clearing, elves in silver robes picking them, filling baskets.

What the hell?

I couldn’t ask any questions, only sing my favorite lines repeatedly as shards of memory landed. Not mine, hers, showing me her story.

Her name was Caer, the deity of elves. Provider of elven magic, our representative in Heaven, and one of the four deities for each of the races of the world.

The others were Fenrir for the werewolves, Melusine for the merfolk, and Aidan for the humans/mages.

My heart twinged with sorrow, my head a place for a hundred drills. Was this a trick? Was all this some evil spell to yank the rug out from under me? It had to be. There was only one deity, and that was Aidan.

What does this mean? I thought, tears streaming down my cheeks.

Aidan. My Aidan. He couldn’t… This couldn’t…

Stop! I chided myself. I had to wait and watch, not resist. Then I’d rage about everything after.

“I’m sorry you are hurting, precious one,” Caer said tenderly. “But you must see the truth to understand, so we can begin.”

Only Aidan is the truth…

…and he tried to kill me.

No, that wasn’t him. A decoy, a liar, a dirty scumbag with a bag of tricks I wouldn’t be falling for.

What happened to not resisting?

Caer released my hands as white roses grew throughout the clearing. She snapped a thorny stem from a bush, holding the flower up to her face and breathing deeply.

I kept singing, details inscribing on my mind.

This clearing was called the Carving Glade, part of the Summer Forest that formed the entire southern region of the Elf Domain. A lot of the central parts of the forest had been felled to build Glimmer City, a metropolis of glass and stone, and the capital city of that domain.

But the Carving Glade remained, protected by Caer.

It was where the rune disks were carved by her chosen elves.

Her gift of magic would flow into them, and they would draw on the energy of the forest to summon wood to their hands.

Then they’d carve the disks for the Druid elves to use, writing the runes onto the wood with blackberry ink.

The spells could only be used one at a time, but the same spell could be re-carved and rewritten to use again.

Carvers and Druids. Two types of elves working together under the care of their deity to defend their territory.

Back then, in the ancient days of Quintrealm, war broke out between the domains all the time. The deities usually started it, getting petty over borders and power. Playing with their creations like pieces of a board game.

But no country won, everything ending the same way each time. No land grabs, too many dead, and then a period of peace to rebuild before the next war played out.

What a messed-up time to live.

There were hopes to bring about a unified world, the deities constantly holding meetings in Heaven to broker a deal. But there were too many big personalities in the clouds, and nothing substantial would ever come out of those meetings.

I sang on, confused out of my mind, hurting from the Aidan shock.

One day, Aidan made a discovery in the Hinterlands—an untamable country no deity could get their hands on due to its volatile landscape and climate.

The memories went a little wonky then. I heard Silvanus release a sigh from the other side of the clearing. He was sharing this with me, his memories blending with mine in a melting pot of remembrance.

I tensed, ignoring him.

Aidan found a gateway, entering a world of perpetual night called Selene Haven. Home of the vampires.

Whoa.

The memories blurred and shifted, skipping over details. They hinted at the vampires hunting humans. Predators keeping the threat of a deadly species in check.

Huh? What sort of humans were they?

More details came at me.

The vamps were ruled by a Lucius Clarence, the vampire king. He kind of looked like Silvanus, but with blond hair and a meaner gaze.

Clarence? So that was Silvanus’s surname? I always wondered why he didn’t seem to have one.

The two men hit it off immediately, drinking and laughing together, sharing stories. Aidan learned about the vampire king being the source of vampiric life, as well as the source of their engineering power. Basically a deity, just like him. Within weeks, the men became great friends.

And then Aidan met Prince Silvanus, the king’s younger brother.

Immediately smitten, he pursued the free-spirited vampire who was always out in the forests of the world. At first, the prince didn’t want to know him until Aidan showed kindness to the creatures of the forest, saving a family of deer from a rabid group of humans.

The prince was so touched, he started to see the deity in a new light, eventually falling in love with him.

Only, the whole thing was a trick. Aidan didn’t love the prince. Silvanus repulsed him. The deity wanted this world for himself, to destroy the vampires and expand his territory. Become a god for the Selene Haven humans and start another war against the other deities he’d win for sure this time.

Shit.

Make that triple shit.

“I discovered his plan,” Caer said. “I have the gift of foresight, my power in my song. It conjures visions and dreams of the past, the present, and the future.”

I saw her twirling under falling rose petals, singing away in the Carving Glade.

I swallowed a ball of barbs. “Is that…is that power mine, now?”

She didn’t answer my question, the memories smeared in a dirty haze. “This is beginning to falter, Paris. I’m sorry.”

“I—”

“Keep singing. We might be able to see more.”

I obeyed, the haze not going anywhere.

“I saw Aidan’s plan and tried to warn King Lucius,” she added. “Tragically, I found his bone dust on his throne.”

“How…” Man, my temples were aching. “How aren’t all the vamps dead?”

Her grip on my hands loosened. “I’m only seeing what I can. My memories are just as broken and muddied.”

A vision appeared, showing Caer teaming up with a devastated Silvanus. Collectively, they poured their godly powers into the creation of a weapon. A huge sword brimming with their essence. The only thing powerful enough to stop him.

Knowing he was fucked, Aidan counterstruck with his own magic, making himself a between place to retreat to and protected it with an everlasting rainstorm, hiding inside his tower.

But the deities followed him, storming the tower. He begged for mercy, pleading with Silvanus to help him.

I fell to my knees, the song dropping, the pressure of all this information too much for me now. “I can’t… I can’t keep…” I retched, collapsing onto all fours. “Please… Please make it stop…”

“We’re almost done,” Caer said, placing her hand on my head.

I couldn’t speak, vomit pouring out of me, the stink of death overwhelming.

“I loved you,” I heard Silvanus say. “I loved you so much.”

He was talking about Aidan, right?

Aidan.

My Aidan.

Murderous, vindictive Aidan.