Conclave (Vampire Conclave: Book 3), page 26
“Why do you hate me so much?” I ask in a quiet voice.
“Because our father loved you and your mother so much, he gave up his chance to be king. He didn’t even care about me and my mother enough to marry her and give me a chance at having a happy family.”
“Even if that’s what my father did, I haven’t done anything to you,” I point out. “I’m as much a victim in all of this as you are, Aron.”
“You’re hardly a victim,” Aron scoffs. “Our father chose to give up everything that was his just so he could be with you. He knew the alfar would find you one day and that you would inherit the throne. Everything I wanted but was denied, he willingly handed to you on a silver platter. So don’t call yourself a victim, Sarah, because that isn’t the case at all.”
I can’t argue with Aron anymore. No matter what I say, he’ll take it the wrong way, and after the day I’ve had, I just want it to end.
“Talking about this is pointless,” Shael says. “We’ll settle everything tomorrow with the blood test. Now, if you will excuse us, Aron, my niece and I have important matters to discuss in private.” Shael turns to Ardis. “Thank you for coming here tonight. I wish the party could have ended on a happier note, but perhaps the next celebration we have will be a more worthwhile affair for you to attend.”
I give the white truth orb in my hands back to Ardis, since it’s obvious my aunt is kindly asking her to leave.
“I’ll understand if I don’t receive an invitation to the next one,” Ardis says kindly. “I wish you all a good night.”
I watch as the diamonds on Ardis’s silver feather bracelet glow blue just before she vanishes from our sight. After she’s gone, Shael begins to walk toward the castle without looking back. It becomes apparent that she expects the rest of us to follow her lead, no questions asked.
As I walk past Aron, I unexpectedly feel a sense of sadness from him. He yearns to have Shael’s acceptance, and he feels embarrassed that she’s doing everything she can to publicly shun him. Even if the blood test proves that Aron is my father’s son, there’s no way Shael will ever support his claim to the throne. I know this and Aron seems to understand that truth as well. Yet I also feel confidence from him in his decision to publicly declare his true heritage. He’s certain that the alfar will back him instead of me, and I can’t say he’s wrong in that belief.
After we enter the castle, Julian walks up beside me and gently takes one of my hands with his. I’m not sure what’s going through his mind right now. Is he wondering if I had a lover before him? I can’t even remember if we’ve talked about my past boyfriends, not that there were many of them anyway. It’s been a while since I dated, much less took a man into my bed. I’ll end up having to tell everyone that I’m a re-animator because it’s the only explanation that makes sense, considering the facts.
Shael walks us all to the formal living room at the front of the castle. When we get there, she turns to Agatha and says, “I’m afraid you can’t hear what we’re about to discuss. You may return to Moonstone Manor and resume your duties in New Orleans now that the party is over.”
Agatha looks a little surprised by the suddenness of Shael’s rebuff of her, but she seems to take it in stride as simply being a part of her job.
She curtsies to Shael. “Yes, Your Grace. I’ll do that immediately.”
Agatha turns away from the room, and Shael instructs Alden to close the double doors behind us so we can be assured of some privacy.
“Now,” Shael says to me, “I believe it’s time we told the others what you are, Sarah. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now how your pregnancy came about.”
“You believe it’s because of that too?” I ask, feeling somewhat relieved that my train of thought was correct.
“I don’t see any other explanation,” she replies. “It has to be the reason.”
“What explanation?” Julian asks, looking lost by our private conversation. “How can you be pregnant with my child, Sarah?”
I briefly glance at Nadia and Alden, wondering what their reaction will be to my revelation before settling my eyes on Julian.
“Do you remember me telling you what happened in Destin when my mother appeared to me as a shade?” I ask him.
“A shade?” Nadia asks in surprise. “Is that why they left you alone, because your mother was one of them?”
“When she touched me,” I tell her, “she began to take on her human form. That’s how I knew it was my mother.” I return my attention back to Julian. “You remember that, right?”
Julian nods. “Yes, I remember the story.”
“When Shael and I went down before the farewell ceremony, I touched one of the healers who died for me and brought her back to life for a short time. That’s when Shael told me that I was something called a re-animator.”
“What does that mean?” Julian asks. “Are you able to bring the dead back to life?”
I shake my head. “Not really. They’re only alive while I’m touching them. Once physical contact is broken, they go back to the way they were. Apparently what I can do is only temporary.”
“What are you saying? You were able to make Julian’s little soldiers swim again because you’re a re-animator?” Nadia asks, putting two and two together quickly.
I shrug helplessly. “It’s the only explanation that makes sense, if what Ardis said is true. If I really am pregnant,” I say, “Julian has to be the father because he’s the only man I’ve been with in a very long time.”
“I’m not sure we can ever let anyone else know what you are,” Alden says, looking thoughtful about the situation. It’s obvious the strategist in him is quickly going through all the possible scenarios to deal with this situation and trying to decide which one we should follow. “If what Aron says is true and he is Rhys’s illegitimate son, people may indeed call for him to take the throne instead of Sarah.”
“We can’t let that happen,” Shael says absolutely. “I will not allow that arrogant boy-man to inherit my throne. He would tear House Moonshade apart just out of spite, and I refuse to let that happen.”
My attention is diverted away from Shael by the soft touch of Julian’s hand on my elbow. As I look back at him, he glides his hand down my arm before twining his fingers with mine.
“We’re going to have a baby?” he asks as a smile plays at the corners of his mouth, but he also looks unsure that he should believe in such a miracle.
“I guess so,” I say, allowing the idea to finally sink into my heart like a seed and blossom with the possibilities of having Julian’s child. “Does that make you happy?”
Julian allows his joy to fully show as his lips stretch into a glorious smile and his eyes sparkle with unshed tears.
He brings me into his arms and whispers, “I don’t fully understand how such a thing can happen, but yes, I’m extremely happy, Sarah. It’s a dream I never thought I would be given, but I won’t question such a gift. Not now, not ever.”
I wrap my arms around Julian, allowing myself to bask in the warmth of his happiness while I can. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last nearly as long as I want it to.
There’s a flurry of knocks on the doors to the room, signaling that the person on the other side is desperate to get our attention.
Alden opens one of the doors to confront whoever is on the other side making all the racket.
Through the open doorway, I see Kieran looking wild-eyed and anxious.
“I need Princess Sarah to come back to Earth now,” Kieran says in an out of breath voice, indicating that he must have ran here all the way from the breach room. “The vampire named Evie just arrived at Moonstone Manor with the child the others went to rescue.”
“What else is going on?” I ask him as Julian and I go hand in hand to the door. “You look frightened about something.”
“It’s the werewolves,” Kieran answers. “They’re attempting to enter the mansion, presumably to get the baby and take her back to Janus. We need to hurry, Princess.”
I look back over my shoulder at Shael. “I’ll be back shortly. I just need to go get the child and bring her through the breach.”
“Stay safe, Sarah,” my aunt says, looking worried over the situation.
Julian, Nadia, and I follow Kieran back down to the breach located in the dungeon of the castle.
“If any werewolves try to come through,” Nadia tells the Valengard who are protecting the breach, “kill them by any means necessary.”
“Yes, Commander,” the ten protectors of the breach say, pulling out their guns and pointing it at the portal to follow through with her orders.
After we all walk through to the Earth side, we follow Kieran out of the breach room and into an adjacent one where we find Evie sitting on the floor, covered in blood with deep gashes up and down her arms and across her chest, which are slowly healing. She sits cradling Constance’s crying baby in her arms, rocking the child back and forth to comfort her.
“Evie!” Julian says, distressed by the physical state of his friend.
Evie looks up at him with tears streaming down her face, clearly distraught.
“Oh, Julian,” she sobs, “it was awful. We knew they would be waiting for us, but I don’t think anyone realized just how strong they would be. It was almost like they had powers beyond what they should have had. I’m not even sure what happened to the others. Petru just ordered me to leave and bring the baby here to safety.”
Evie’s emotions are a jumbled mess. I quickly build my wall to block her out so I can concentrate on what’s happening and what needs to be done.
Just then, I hear a multitude of eerie howls fill the air.
“It sounds like hundreds of them,” I say in awe of the sound. I look over at Nadia and ask, “Do we need to call in reinforcements, or do we have enough soldiers here to handle the situation?”
“We should bring over more Valengard,” she says definitively. “But first, we need to get you and the baby back to Alfheim for safety’s sake. You don’t need to be here if they break into the mansion.”
I look down at Evie and realize that I can’t leave her here in her weakened state. The werewolves would more than likely tear her apart.
“Evie,” I say, “bring the baby. You’re coming to Alfheim with us.”
“Sarah …” Nadia says in a voice that warns I’m making a rash decision. “I don’t think this is the time to bring a second vampire back home. Your position there is tenuous enough as it is at the moment.”
“I’m not leaving her here,” I say stubbornly. “It’s obvious she’s having trouble healing from the werewolf wounds. We should at least let her see a healer in Alfheim before we send her back here.”
Nadia doesn’t make a reply. I’m sure she realizes by now that once I have my mind set on a course of action that it isn’t easily changed.
Julian and I go to Evie and help her rise to her feet.
“Come on,” I say, placing a comforting arm around her back. “Let’s get you patched up and Constance’s baby to her new home.”
Evie follows me with a grateful and relieved smile on her face as I lead her back to the breach room.
“I don’t think we should take her,” I hear Nadia whisper to Julian behind me.
“I heard you the first time,” I say irritably as I glance at her over my shoulder. “We’re taking her and that’s that.”
Nadia huffs her aggravation but abandons her attempts to convince me to change my mind.
When we reach the breach, I can feel Evie’s body tremble slightly against the arm I have around her back. I can only presume she’s excited about journeying to Alfheim. I can’t say I blame her. It is a rather magnificent planet.
“Kieran,” Nadia says to the youngest on my detail, “where is Alea?”
“She’s upstairs keeping an eye on the werewolves outside,” he tells her.
“Let her know that I’ll be sending more Valengard through the breach to help contain the situation. I’ll be bringing them myself.”
Kieran bows to Nadia before turning on his heels and doing as she ordered.
“Are you ready?” I ask Evie as we stand at the edge of the breach.
“More than you could ever imagine,” Evie replies, barely able to contain her exhilaration as she holds Constance’s crying baby close to her chest.
Evie and I step through the breach together with Nadia and Julian following close behind us.
Once we’re on the other side, I instantly feel a strange tingling sensation travel across my body. It takes me a moment to realize where it’s coming from. I reach up and touch the moonstone pendant around my neck. It was a gift that my father left for me in his room in Valengard Academy. It’s warmer than usual to the touch, but I’m not sure why. It’s only when Nadia and the other Valengard protecting the breach fall to the floor unconscious that I realize the pendant must be protecting me from something magical.
“What’s happened to them?” I ask in dismay, quickly kneeling down to touch Nadia on the side of her face and then neck to check for a pulse, just to make sure she’s still alive. I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel the telltale throb indicating that her heart is still beating.
“I don’t know,” Julian says, just as worried as I am by what’s happened. He runs over to one of the fallen Valengard to check for a pulse. “It’s like they’re all asleep.”
“They are … in a way,” Evie tells us in a detached voice, one that doesn’t sound like hers at all.
Both Julian and I stand to stare at Evie. The first thing I notice is that she no longer appears scared. I let down my wall so I can sense her emotions. There’s a feeling of triumph in her now that wasn’t there before.
“Are you the spirit that inhabits, Evie?” I ask, assuming that the soul trapped within our friend’s body has taken control of her. “What have you done to these people?”
Evie ignores my questions and simply looks around the room.
“It’s been ages since I last saw these walls,” she says, as if recalling a long distant memory. “I used to know every nook and cranny of this room, but after all these years, it’s almost like I’m seeing it for the very first time.”
“What do you mean? When have you ever been to Alfheim?” I ask.
Again, she ignores my questions and turns around to look at the breach.
“Hello, old friend,” she says to it like it’s a living creature. “You finally brought me back home.” Evie turns her gaze to look at me. “And I owe my return to you, great-granddaughter.”
“Great-granddaughter?” I ask, not having a clue what she’s talking about. “Who are you?”
“I’m your ancestor, Sarah. I’m the one who made this breach. I’ve waited a very long time for you to be born to complete your destiny.”
“What destiny?” I ask in a shaky voice, having a hard time comprehending what’s going on.
“To bring me home, of course,” she replies with a malicious smile, “and finally allow me to have my revenge.”
Even though I heard the words that came out of Evie’s mouth, my mind is reeling with the implications of what she just said to me. In fact, it was only tonight from Aron Firestorm that I even learned about my ancestral connection to the dark mage who created the breach. The first time I heard about him was when Nadia told me about the mage who formed the portal to Earth in order to escape a death sentence, but she also told me that it happened a thousand years ago. How in the world can that same mage be standing in front of me now?
“If you are who you say you are, how have you survived this long, and why are you inside Evie’s body?” I ask.
“I knew my father, the king of the alfar at the time, would send Valengard soldiers to hunt me down on Earth and bring me back home to be executed. I couldn’t very well stay inside my own body, now could I? So I adapted and learned how to transfer my soul and consciousness to other bodies. Over the years I’ve been a multitude of different people, living out various lives and having several lovers in between. But only one of them truly captured my heart and has yet to set it free.”
When Evie gazes at Julian with a misty look of longing that tells me she’s in love with him, I’m not sure who is more shocked by this development: me or Julian.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Evie?” he asks, obviously uncomfortable with her unwanted adoration.
“Come here,” Evie orders him.
It’s not so much her words to Julian that shock me, but her complete confidence that he will bend to her will without question or hesitation, which is exactly what he does.
Julian walks over to Evie, but he looks confused about why he just followed her command.
Evie lifts a hand up to lovingly caress the side of Julian’s face while she continues to hold Constance’s baby in one arm. It’s only then that it strikes me as odd that I haven’t heard the baby make any type of sound—not a gurgle, cry, or whimper since we crossed over. I know she’s still alive, though, because I can feel her contentment.
“Come back to me, my sweet,” Evie croons as she glides the tips of her fingers from Julian’s temple to the base of his jaw and then back again, like the movement is an integral part of a spell she’s weaving around him. “Come back to me, lover, so we can always be together and do everything that we’ve been planning to for so many years now.”
I watch in horror as Julian’s demeanor instantly changes. He urgently cups Evie’s face with both of his hands and lowers his mouth to hers, causing her to whimper in pleasure at the first touch of his lips against her own. Their kiss is a desperate one, filled with pent-up longing, as if each of them is addicted to the taste of the other’s lips, unwilling to separate from one another even to take in a single breath.
“Julian, stop!” I yell, hoping to break whatever enchantment she’s placed him under.
