Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)(22)

Eventually, I lose count.

And Tavian and I begin to speak more openly. "I heard you slayed a Dreadclaw," says the Fae. "What a battle that must have been."

Dean looks puzzled. "Dreadclaw?"

"He means the Grey Beast," I say.

Tavian shrugs. "Grey Beast. Dreadclaw. Different names from different places, but the thing is the same. Please, you must tell me the tale."

"Well, I—"

"He doesn't speak of it," says Dean. "But my brothers and I all know the legend. Fenris scaled the Grey Mountain with nothing but a spear. And at the top, he found the Grey Beast, its body more bone than flesh, its breath cold as ice. The beast charged my brother. And then Fenris leaped into the air. Like a devil he flew with the winds. And then he rammed his spear into the monster's head. In one single blow did the great beast fall. And Fenris stood untouched."

Tavian's eyes go wide. "Amazing. Did it truly happen like this?'

"More or less," I grumble, not wanting to go into the very real and different details. "How about we…" My words slur more than usual. My head grows fuzzy.

Something is wrong.

I try to stand, but instead I fall forward, my face slamming into the counter. I look up. At Tavian. His eyes glaze over. He falls.

Only Dean stands tall. Dean. Who gave us the drinks.

"I'm sorry, brother, but I knew you would never approve. It will seem as if you fell asleep from too much drink. You will wake here shortly. But Tavian is coming with me."

***

I am in dreams. In a land where there is no earth beneath my feet. No horizon before my eyes. My body feels ethereal. There is a lightness to my being. A lightness I have felt once before.

And she is there.

Radiant. Glowing.

Her white hair flicking in a wind I do not feel.

She hums a tune I recognize. Sad and lonely.

When she looks at me, she makes no sound, and yet I hear her words.

You are my heir.

The heir. The heir. The heir.

Her voice is not alone.

And when she turns, stepping aside, I see him. A figure in shadow.

I reach for him.

And I whisper.

"Father?"

***

"No!" I roar, jumping to my feet in the ballroom, the table before me disheveled from my violent reemergence into the world of the conscious.

Dean stumbles back, his eyes wide and bewildered. He drops Tavian to the ground. The people around us, the vampires dressed in gowns and the Fae dressed in slave's outfits freeze, turning to us, waiting to see what happens next.

"Impossible," Dean whispers. Then he raises his arms in surrender. "Now, now, brother. I was only doing what needed to be done. For Arianna. For all of us. So how about we calm down?"

It is because he asks me to be calm that I let rage fill me. I am tired of being told how to be. Tired of Dean controlling me with his potions. Tired of Asher trying to tell me how to rule. Tired of Niam trying to force my hand. So no. I will not be calm. I am the Prince of War.

I charge forward, grabbing Dean by the throat and pinning him against a wall. "You will not drug me again, brother. Nor will you touch Tavian. Or your fate will be the same one I promised Niam."

He squirms in my grip, clutching at his throat. "I… fine. I promise. I won't."

I let go. And he falls to the ground, coughing and spitting.

I turn to my other brother. Asher. "And you. You do not rule in my stead. You do not throw parties I do not allow. You do not invite princes I have not approved. Do you understand?"

He nods, adjusting his collar, sweat running down his forehead.

I turn away from them both and grab a torch from the walls. I head to the door.

"Where are you going?" asks Asher.

I do not answer. Instead, I make my way out the gate, down the steps, my torch lighting the night, my gaze focused forward, my steps steady. Guests follow me, perhaps curious to see where I go, perhaps ready to leave as well. They gather behind me, joined by people from the street. Dozens, then hundreds. They follow me as I reach the square where stand the wooden poles and crosses. Where stand the symbols of depravity.

And I burn them down.

"Heed me," I roar into the night, into the heavens above. "None will live at the whims of others anymore. We will be free. Free to do as we wish. From now on…" I turn to the crowd, to the thousands of slaves gathered there. "From now on… the Fae will be free."

The crowd cheers. And I think back to when I first became a ruler, when I returned from Grey Mountain and became the Prince of War. It has been often on my mind of late. Why? Is it because… and then I remember who brought it up: Lucian. He remembered it well. How? Why? Unless… Unless he had been there recently.

I turn to my brothers and tell them. "I know where Arianna is."





Chapter 7


REBORN


"Let's just say there's pain involved. Lots of pain."

—Asher



I wake slowly on a soft linen bed, my eyes hazy, my mouth dry. And then I remember. Levi attacking me. Draining me. I remember his teeth penetrating my neck. I felt Yami panic, his magic pounding against a cage he couldn't free himself from. And I remember… dying.

My hands drop to my belly, fear taking hold of me. My baby? Is my baby okay?