A Meet of Tribes (A Shade of Vampire #45)(17)

Serena laughed as we all resumed our seats at the table, halfway through breakfast.

“One day at a time, champ!” She refilled her coffee cup. “You’ve made it this far. I have no doubt you’ll have the rest down in no time.”

I smiled at her, wondering if she was right.





Phoenix





We all settled back into our seats after Vita’s display.

I was genuinely thrilled to see Vita coming into her own with her fae abilities. As tiny and as introverted as she usually was, she had taken on a new form in Eritopia. Someone once said that the prettiest flower bloomed in adversity. The dire circumstances seemed to have channeled the greatness within her to meet the potential that she probably wasn’t sure she had. Her happiness was our happiness.

I ate another pancake and washed it down with coffee. The Daughter sat next to me, quiet and curious, watching my every move with childlike interest. The way I chewed, the way I drank, the way I laughed and smiled—they were all of interest to her, as if she was watching a movie. Judging by the glimmer in her violet eyes, it was a movie she liked.

She hadn’t eaten anything, so I wondered whether a Daughter of Eritopia needed nourishment or not and how I could help. I looked at her once in a while, giving her a candid smile as I worked through my breakfast.

However, I couldn’t just let her sit there, so I placed one of my oaty pancakes on her plate and drizzled what I had decided to call maybe-maple-syrup over it. She looked at it curiously, cocking her head with a frown.

“You should eat. It’s actually quite good,” I encouraged her.

“What is this?”

“Not sure what they call it here, but back home we call it a pancake. Also, I’m not sure whether you eat, or what you should eat, but I think this is a good place to start.” I smiled and handed her a fork.

She looked at it, a foreign silver object to her, and set it on the table. Clearly, she didn’t see the point of it. Instead, she picked the pancake up with two fingers and took a small bite out of it. A drop of syrup slipped down her lower lip. My stomach tightened at the sight, and I instinctively licked my lower lip in response.

She chewed a couple of times before she swallowed and crinkled her nose.

“I’m sorry there’s not much on the menu here.” I sighed and looked at Draven, who was engaged in conversation with Serena.

“I don’t like it,” the Daughter replied, then dropped the pancake back on the plate.

“The house is protected by ancient magic. The Druid calls them wards. They’re the ones who replenish our food and supplies every day, but they’re not too creative in the cooking department, I’m afraid,” I explained.

The Daughter looked around the banquet hall, as if searching for something.

“I mean, I’d give anything for some fresh fruits, for example, but I’ve pretty much gotten used to this stuff. We need the nourishment, so we’ll take what we can get.” I watched her eyes dart around the room.

Her gaze settled on something.

I looked in that direction but saw nothing other than a light breeze moving one of the off-white curtains by the window.

“This is powerful magic though, put in place by your sisters, the Daughters of Eritopia,” I continued, hoping to maybe trigger some memory or knowledge in her mind.

I figured that maybe if I talked about the Daughters and this world, she might eventually remember what she needed to remember. I wasn’t sure whether the other Daughters had been born with any knowledge of their existence or not. Based on what the Druid had told us, they’d always been around, for as long as there was a recorded history of Eritopia, but no one knew who created them.

“My sisters,” the Daughter said absently, her eyes following something around the table.

“Do you see something?” I asked, unable to understand what she was looking at so intently.

“You said there are ancient wards here.”

“Yes,” I replied slowly.

“I think I see them.”

My mind came to a halt. Judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, they were as surprised as I was to hear the Daughter say that. We never saw anything around the house that wasn’t old and dusty and worn out by the passage of time. No magical creature, just wood, tattered fabrics, and decay.

“What do you mean you can see them?” I asked.

“The wards,” she looked at me, then pointed at one of the windows. “There’s one there, waiting for us to finish eating, I think.”

She then pointed at a cabinet at the door that led to the kitchen and an empty space next to Draven. I couldn’t see anything, not even when I tried my True Sight. My mental energy was low. I needed to syphon from someone soon. But still, nothing.

“They’re here. I can see them,” the Daughter said absently.

“You can see the wards.” Draven repeated her statement from across the table, as if he couldn’t believe it either.

“Yes. Phoenix said they were made by my sisters, and when he said that, I thought about it, and I could suddenly see them.”

A moment passed as we all tried to digest that precious little snippet of information. As soon as she’d been told about her sister’s magic, she was able to see it. The wheels in my mind started turning with potential scenarios, and I decided to speak to the Druid about it later. Perhaps we could unlock more of her powers if we told her more about her sisters and what purpose they served in Eritopia.