Silver Flame (Vampire Girl #3)(42)

I turn to him. "In the common tale, the Primal One grows lonely, yes, and he divides up the elements creating free will, yes. However, he retains a connection to them all, and thus manifests Yami, who is all. And thus, the Primal One becomes the first High Fae. Eventually, he leaves, and his children, the next High Fae, continue to rule."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "So if this tale is true, then…"

I look at the dragon on my shoulder, his scales gleaming with stars. "Then there is a darkness within me. A darkness that can consume the world."

Dean notices my grim face and chuckles. "Don’t give yourself too much credit, Princess. I, for one, have already destroyed a world. Well. I helped. There is no way to know if this story is true. If any of them are true."

"You’re right," I say, sighing, letting tension escape me. "These tales were probably just created to explain creation and the beginning of life. In my world, there are many old religions that used stories to explain what can now be explained by science."

"Exactly." He snaps his fingers, and for a moment we don't say anything. Then Dean smiles devilishly. "I have a confession to make. I'm the one who let Lopsi out."

I throw my hands up in shock. "You freed that creature! Why?"

He shrugs. "I needed a way to get you to my realm. It was the only real solution."

I groan, rubbing my temples. "People got hurt. Someone could have been killed."

"But they weren't, were they? Hey, how about we focus on something else? Like that. What's that?" Dean points to something in the wall. A handprint covered in spikes.

I step forward. "I know what that is. I’ve seen its kind before."

"Well, what—"

Before he can finish, I stick my hand onto the spikes, letting my blood flow into the stone. The glyphs begin to glow silver, and then the wall with the story begins to open. Not a wall then. A door.

And behind it there's a smaller courtyard with a pedestal in the center. Upon it sits a shallow bowl of gold filled with clear water.

Dean looks into the vessel, his eyes lighting up. "This can’t be. It can’t."

"What is it?" I ask, walking to his side, and then I see it, my reflection in the water, and I understand.

I see myself in the water, back in Portland, at a graduation. My graduation. From law school. I see Es and Pete congratulating me. I see us go to dinner at a restaurant fancier than I could afford, and there is someone there with me. A man, tall and handsome, whispering in my ear. I laugh at whatever he says, and then we kiss.

I reach to touch the water, grasping at the droplets that run through my fingers, at the images that seem half memory. I can almost feel—

Dean yanks my hand away. "Do not touch the water. It’s said if you do, you will be swept away into another reality, another existence."

I blink a few times, and the visions begin to fade. I begin to feel more like myself. "What is this?"

Dean looks at the bowl. "My Keeper told of such a thing, though even he thought it myth. The Mirror of Idis. It is said, at the deepest of his despair, the Primal One wept, and his tears created a pool, a mirror, showing how things may have been if he'd chosen differently."

So that could have been my life. If I had never taken the contract. If I had followed the path I was on. I could have been a lawyer. I could have been safe and happy with my friends. I could even have love.

But I could never have my mother.

She wasn’t in the vision. Because her soul was still trapped. Trapped for all eternity.

That path is gone. I can never go back.

Dean touches my hand, pulling me away from my dark thoughts. He looks at me, his eyes filled with a sorrow I haven’t seen before. "The mirror," he says, "the mirror showed me what would have happened if I had never let you go. If I had taken the first turn as was intended." He smiles, though his eyes fill with tears. "We could have been happy. Happier than I ever imagined. Perhaps we still can." He massages my hands with his own, caressing them with the softest touch. "I know what I want, Arianna. Do you?"

I step back, letting his hands fall away. Because I don’t. I don’t know what I want.

Fen, because he makes me happy.

Asher, because he can bring about peace.

Dean, because he reminds me that life can be thrilling.

All of them. None of them.

But I must choose.

And my choice will change the whole world.





Chapter 9


UNCHAINED


Fenris Vane


"I can hear Fen mumbling his complaints. I ignore them."

—Arianna Spero



My skills have grown dull. For weeks I was tortured, barred and caged. Now, I wield a sword once more. I feel the weight in my palm, the leather grip on my skin. The blade is perfectly balanced, thick and sharp for piercing armor and bone. It is of Kayla’s making. I strike at the wooden target before me, slicing through air, splitting the log in half. I move on to a stone pillar. The vampire blood coursing through my veins gives me strength, makes wood and flesh too frail. The stone will dull my blade, but I need something solid to practice on, something that won’t break at the hint of my power. I side step on the soft grass, light on my feet, striking at the column. I cut into the stone over and over, and then I change my technique. I begin to stop my blade short just as it meets my target, practicing control over strength. I imagine a body where the pillar is. Head, torso, legs. Strike. Strike. Strike. I aim for where the major arteries would be. I aim for a guaranteed kill.