A Gift of Three (A Shade of Vampire #42)(22)

“To dance with me,” he replied cockily. I smiled despite myself.

“I’m busy. Maybe later?” I asked, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of Aida and the fae. I didn’t want to lose them in the crowd.

“You’re busy at a dance?” he teased. “I think that’s the worst excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“But it’s the truth,” I objected.

I took another glance at Aida. She was laughing now. The fae was obviously a good date. He also looked completely infatuated by her. Did I want to break that up with news of Field’s break up? It wasn’t like she was going to shoot off immediately to console him. Field would need some time to heal before anything new came into his life—I’d heard him say so himself.

This time, Jovi followed my gaze. “Huh,” he commented, “who’s that?”

A frown appeared on his brow at the sight of the fae. I recognized over-protective brother impulses when I saw them.

“You’re right.” I said quickly, grabbing his arms to capture his attention. “Let’s dance.”





Vita





[Grace and Lawrence’s daughter]




I’d left Serena at a seat at one of the banquet tables, telling her I’d come back to find her. The music and the lights had started to feel like too much, and the balmy night was making my head feel fuzzy. I decided to venture inside the palace, where it would be quieter, and hopefully cooler.

There were a few fae standing guard at the entrance, but they didn’t try to stop me from entering. They merely bowed their heads in greeting, while one opened the tall doors for me to pass on through. The fae fascinated me, and I’d always longed to know a bit more about the way that they lived in their natural habitat. My mom and dad had both told me that I was welcome to visit the In-Between and stay with Sherus and Nuriya if I wished to, and I did, but I had always felt that it wasn’t the right time. I wanted to be in full command of my abilities before I did that—not wanting the other fae to sneer at my lack of skill. It was probably an unfair assumption, but I did think it would be ten times more enjoyable if I could feel part of their kind when I visited, and not such an outsider.

The door shut behind me, and I stepped forward into the grand entrance, marveling at the ruby lights and fire stones that covered everything in a warm, yellow and red glow. The staircases were made from brilliant white marble, and the tall, pointed window frames appeared to be carved out of silver-gold metal. No wonder the entity that had plagued Nevertide had been eager to gain control of the fae lands. There was richness here beyond compare. The fae never saw it that way—to them it was just natural resource that came to them easily, and they admired it for its aesthetic qualities and the link to their elemental magic. But as someone part human, I could recognize the wealth that Sherus and Nuriya enjoyed.

Not really knowing where I was going, I started to peer into the rooms that led off from the entrance. Most of these were unlocked, and all were empty of fae. I looked in on a few dining rooms and a study, but nothing really held my interest till I walked to the furthest end of one of the corridors and pushed open a set of double doors which were engraved with depictions of planets and stars.

I soon discovered that the room was circular—perfectly so, with a large dome rising from the top of it. The dome depicted a night’s sky, covered with stars and other planets far off in the distance. I stared at it in wonder, not sure whether it was a painted image. As I drew closer to the center of the room, I realized that the image was being projected by a large, amethyst-colored stone. I crouched down, trying to work out how it was being accomplished, but all I could see was a powerful bolt of steady light shining out from its center. I turned back up to the sky, trying to understand if the image was moving—if it was a live feed or not. I couldn’t be sure. Sometimes I thought I saw a star shift out of the corner of my eye, or something grow a little brighter, but it could have just been my imagination.

Making sure the door was shut and I was totally alone, I lay down on the stone floor, staring up at the cosmos. The marble of the floor was ice-cold against my back, but it was a pleasant relief after the heat of outside, and anyway, I was transfixed. I didn’t think I could have moved if I’d wanted to.

Sometime after, the door creaked open. Sitting bolt upright, I turned my head, ready to apologize for my intrusion to whatever stony-faced guard appeared. I exhaled in relief as I recognized my grandfather Benjamin stepping into the room.

He smiled at me as he approached, and then turned his gaze to the ceiling.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” he remarked.

“What is it?” I questioned, keeping my voice at a whisper. There was something about the room and the awe I felt in the presence of the cosmos that made me want to keep my voice at a respectfully low level.

“It’s the In-Between,” he replied. “As far as we can see from where we are. This stone is linked to another that hovers above the atmosphere of the fire star, sending the memories and images of one stone back to the other.”

I looked up again, more spellbound now that I understood what it was I was seeing. The sky went on for lifetimes, with millions and millions of planets and stars in the distance—some nothing more than the faintest pinpricks of light.

“We really don’t know much about it, do we?” I asked, recalling what Corrine had said about its sheer mass and mystery.