A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(80)

Yeah. We’d done The Shade proud and then some!





Serena





Shortly after the portal connection was permanently established between Calliope and The Shade, and after we all hugged and kissed and expressed our joy and relief at seeing one another again, we gathered in the middle of the throne room for an actual briefing.

We introduced our Shade family to our new friends and allies, including Jax and Heron, Hansa and Grezzi, Jasmine, Zeriel, Patrik, the Bajang twins, and all the young Druids. There was a common feeling floating around the room, coming from both Shadians and Eritopians—a mixture of wonder and curiosity, particularly between the Maras and our vampires. It would take some time for us to study one another, but, fortunately, time was the one commodity we finally had plenty of, following Azazel’s death.

Draven stood by my side, while Sofia and Derek moved closer, accompanied by our alliance and our families, drawn in a tight semicircle as the throne towered behind us, dark and covered in red silks. I glanced over my shoulder and crinkled my nose at the sight of it, looking forward to seeing the throne room completely redecorated.

I took my time explaining everything that had happened in full detail, while the Daughters stood to our right, listening quietly. While we’d already given our parents some sense of what had happened, there were a lot of blanks to fill in, so I followed a chronological order of events—from the night we’d celebrated the birth of Sherus and Nuriya’s baby on the fae star, to the moment our parents had walked through the portal.

Draven occasionally took over, as he was better equipped to explain what specific Eritopian species could do in the alliance, and why. He understood their culture and motivations best, and, as the only appointed leader of an Eritopian planet relaying information to GASP, I needed him to have his voice heard.

About an hour had passed by the time I was done telling our story, including answering questions from our Shadian audience about our circumstances, the enemies, and the differences between swamp witch and Druid spells. I took a deep breath, while secretly looking forward to gulping down a few liters of fresh water. My throat was parched.

“You’ve all been through so much,” my mom finally said. “All because you were given Oracle powers…”

“I could kill that Nevertide Oracle,” my father said, gritting his teeth.

“Dad, no,” Phoenix said with a frown. “She was trying to help. Not just Eritopia, but us, too. She gave us abilities we hated at first, but once we got the hang of them, they saved our lives.”

“It was thanks to our visions that we were able to eventually destroy Azazel,” Vita chimed in. “And we saved an entire galaxy in the process.”

“I honestly felt like our lives were quite small compared to the millions we saved in Eritopia.” Aida sighed. “I mean, sure, I hated our predicament, but once I saw what Azazel was doing to so many innocent creatures I… I couldn’t stand by anymore. I had to do something.”

“We all did,” Field added. “And we won because we all came together. Eritopians and Shadians alike, united by our willingness to bring down mountains if it meant destroying Azazel.”

Dad nodded slowly, accepting our reasoning and biting the inside of his cheek.

“And the Nevertide Oracle? Wasn’t she up there with you?” Victoria asked.

“Yeah, but she’s up in the infirmary now,” I replied. “Her name’s Abrille, by the way. I think she’ll be okay, but she’s really weak and needs to recover.”

“Can’t say I blame her after what she’s been put through, just because she was born an Oracle.” My grandmother Rose shook her head in disgust.

Derek then stepped forward, looking at Draven and me.

“What about the other kingdoms of Eritopia, then?” he asked.

“We’ll rebuild our society,” Draven replied. “It will take some time, and there will be anarchists who had genuinely sided with Azazel to quash, but we’ll get there eventually. The majority of Eritopians want peace and the Master Druid Council restored.”

“They’ll get through their actual Master Druid ranks retroactively,” I added. “Since none of the surviving Druids had achieved the Hundredth Circle before Azazel took over.”

“And Asherak?” Sofia came to Derek’s side, eyeing us curiously.

“Gone,” Rubia spoke from the side. “His soul sits at the bottom of Mount Agrith, where it will never be reached again.”

“I would like to suggest something,” Derek then said, tapping an index finger against his lips in a pensive pose. “You clearly will need all the help you can get here, and given our Shadian kids’ attachment and devotion to this world, maybe we could support Eritopia. We could open a GASP base here, to maintain an open line of communication between The Shade and the galaxy, and support the Druids and the Daughters in restoring peace and order on all twenty planets.”

I, for one, immediately wanted to scream “Yes, let’s do this!” and put myself up for a position in the GASP base. I’d already kissed a career in journalism goodbye. I’d found my calling during my trials in Eritopia. I felt complete, and was eager to do more for a world that needed good leaders and law enforcers. But I waited quietly and patiently as Draven and the Daughters carefully weighed my great-grandfather’s proposal.