Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)(24)

Lucian chuckles. "You do not know yet. That is good. I must leave some surprise, after all."

A thought crosses my mind then. Something I hadn't realized, and I start to shake. "My baby. My baby has vampire blood—"

"Calm now. Your baby is but part vampire. There is more Fae and human there. More than enough to let my gift work. Focus your energies. And you will feel the child within you."

I do as he suggests. Calming my breath. Focusing my mind like Varis taught me. And then I feel it. An energy that is not my own. The energy of my baby. Of Fen's baby.

I miss him then. I miss him so much the pains tears at me like a beast inside my chest trying to escape.

"Come," Lucian says, smacking the side of my bed. "It must have been a while since you've been outside the walls. Let us walk. That is, if you can manage it."

I do not wish to be with him, but the thought of leaving my room does tempt me, and I need to relieve myself something fierce. I push myself to stand, finding I have enough energy to walk. Maybe even run. For the first time, I realize someone must have changed my clothes. I wear a white dress, like I did before, but it is clean, spotless. My last dress would have been stained with red. He comes to mind then. Only now. That is how little he means to me. "What of Levi?" I ask. "Where is he?"

Lucan doesn't skip a beat. "His punishment continues. More severely now, since he tried to escape."

"And Yami? What has happened to my dragon?" I reach for him with my magic, but feel only emptiness, just as before.

"He is still as he was. Unharmed, and secure."

"You mean trapped. Imprisoned. Cut off from me, from our bond."

"If that's how you wish to perceive it, but there are many ways to see the truth, Arianna."

We don't say anymore then, and I use the washroom provided to me and then follow Lucian outside the door and through the grey halls. Somewhere in the distance, men and women shout and laugh. The sounds grow louder as we walk. "What's going on—"

And then I see it. As we turn the corner, I see…

A great hall. Filled with Fae, dark skinned and light, cluttering both sides of the room, between them one open path. And on that path walks Levi.

Naked.

Battered.

His skin covered in red cuts and purple bruises.

People throw food at him. Sticks and stones.

A tomato explodes against his head, staining his silver hair red.

He keeps walking.

A stick hits his legs, causing him to stumble.

He keeps walking.

Someone yells a joke about his genitals.

He keeps walking.

I remember my own walk, the walk Levi put me through. And though I hate the Prince of Envy, I don't think anyone should have to endure such a thing.

To my side, Lucian chuckles.

He chuckles. Like the frenzied mob. And I remember the tale Levi told me. The tale of a disapproving father and a son desperate to honor him.

"Shall we continue?" I ask, gesturing down the hallway.

Lucian pauses. "Yes. Yes, I think I grow bored already. Follow me."

He leads me away from the hall, up a set of stairs, and the yelling and laughing fades. Still, I hear it in my mind. In my memories. Things like that don't leave you. Not truly.

We stop at a great giant door of stone, carved with symbols of beasts. Lucian pushes it open with one hand. We emerge onto a snow-covered mountain, the wind howling around us. Lucian offers me his fur coat.

"No," I say. I'd rather freeze than wear his clothing. But… I remember I must think of the baby. I focus inward, recalling one of the tricks Varis taught me, and my body begins to warm from within. Soon the ice-cold wind feels like a summer breeze.

"Impressive," says Lucian. He must sense the power within me. He continues walking on a path down the mountain. "Have you been here before?"

All the snow. I have not been to a part of Avakiri so cold. I look around for any recognizable landmarks. In the far distance, I see what seems a castle. Grey. Twisted. That is no structure of Fae. It seems… "We're not in Avakiri, are we? We're in Inferna."

He nods.

"Why?"

"There is something here," he says. "Something important to Metsi and me."

Something appears on the horizon. A ruin of ancient stone. Pillars shattered and laying on their side. Archways missing chunks of rock. Statues of men and animals stand tall, some missing a nose, others a hand. The architecture is familiar. It reminds me of the ruins Dean and I uncovered in his realm. The ruins where we found the Mirror of Idis.

Despite my spell, my body starts to cool as we enter the ruin. There is a power here. A force I can feel but not name. "This is why we're here," I say. "You seek something in the ruin."

Lucan raises an eyebrow. "Clever girl. Did you know the Ancient Fae had powers far surpassing those the Fae possess now?"

"I've seen hints."

"It is because the Primal One left them, you know, that they fell into disarray. Without a proper ruler, the Four Tribes grew more and more distant, more and more different. In time, they forgot the power of unity. Each tribe sought more power. They dabbled with things best left untouched. And eventually, it destroyed them."

"The Darkness," I say, growing colder just at the mention of the word.