Page 140 of The Vampire's Mercy

“Your name,” the king whispered. “Your name is… Curse it. Right there. Right there. Right there.” He stopped moving, grabbing a handful of his hair. “Your name…”

Medusa went to him. “Stay calm. We will get to the bottom of this.” She cupped his face in her hands.

“His name…” he repeated, tugging on his hair. “His name is righthere.”

And the answer was rightthere.

“Yes, precious one,”the voice returned.“This is where you need to be. You have found the truth.”

Having had enough of this shit, and spurred on by the voice, I got to work setting this guy free. He might be a useful tool in killing the king. And maybe all this was leading toward his death, a guy from his past back again to finish the job.

Awesome idea. Hand me the popcorn and let me watch.

“His name…” Silvanus spoke in a loop while Medusa kept trying to calm him. But he wouldn’t shut up.

I touched the first rune, which meant life, then the second meaning awakened.

Life awakened?

“Sing for me, Paris,” the vampire pleaded.

I ignored him, pressing the third rune.

Beginning.

Two more to go.

I touched the next one.

Bring.

“His name… His name…”

Final one.

“Maybe we should talk about this,” Medusa suggested.

For a moment, I hesitated, pulling my hand back. The man mumbled, Silvanus was waffling, and my brain needing a pause. The snake shifter was right. I’d rushed into this.

No. The voice told me to do this. And what if something happened to squander this shot at answers?

Okay, so I might be smarter than letting creepy voices make decisions for me. But we weren’t dealing with anything normal here.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I touched the final rune.

End.

Life. Awakened. Beginning. Bring. End.

Erm, okay.

The runes melted away, dripping onto the floor with a sizzle.

Dark purple magic bloomed in my hands, reaching for the chains. I held out my hand, palm facing the man.

Unlock…