The Eternal

by Bianca Hunter

“Hella tracked him down to this exact location, and there is only one place he would go to in this town, and that’s Sin,” Tristan replied before shutting the door.

  “I cannot believe this entire world exists and people don’t know anything about it.” Gwenn turned to me, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “I cannot believe that I’m finally close enough to Nero to put a stop to all of this,” I said as I followed Gwenn to the wardrobe.

  She reached out for a black cotton dress and handed it to me. “Evelyn,” she said turning to face me, “how sure are you that all of this is going to stop? What happens when Astara is back? Surely she and Serena are not just going to disappear into the sunset?”

  “If I don’t do this, everyone will—”

  “Evelyn,” Tristan’s voice called. It was laced with panic. He burst into the room. “We have to go. Serena just killed Hella. We have to go now.”

  Gwenn gripped my hand, and we bolted to the door.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked as we ran through the lounge area where Blake and Victoria were waiting.

  “We’re going to find Nero right now,” Blake said as we made our way out of the house as a group.

  “Ravenna? Bastian?” I gaped.

  “They’ve gone back to Greyhaven to try to protect the immortals,” Blake replied as we walked down the stone steps.

  I didn’t get to say goodbye to them. What if something happened and I would never see them again?

  “We have to convince Nero to come back with us as soon as we find him. I’ll call Isabel and grant him temporary access into Greyhaven,” Blake said to Tristan as we all piled into the Range Rover.

  “I don’t think Nero is just going to follow us freely—” Tristan started.

  “We need some bait,” Blake agreed.

  “Nero would want you as a prize,” Tristan replied, glancing at Blake.

  “He would,” Blake said, not taking his eyes off the road.

  “We could sprinkle you down with some candy and leave you in the middle of an abandoned field.” Tristan grinned.

  Blake turned to Tristan. “Maybe a bit obvious, old friend.”

  The car finally came to a halt in front of a massive stone house with the sign Sin on it.

  Victoria immediately opened her door, and Gwenn followed suit. We slid out of the car and closed the doors. Blake walked toward me.

  “Stay with one of us the entire time we’re in there. And you too, Gwenn,” he added, looking at her. “This club is full of immortals, some of them from The Divine, who don’t take kindly to having to share their space with mortals.”

  “Seriously?” Gwenn said, frowning.

  “The Divine believe that mortals are inferior little insects among God’s.” Tristan smirked.

  “Lovely,” Gwenn said, folding her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes.

  Suddenly, I was relieved that I ended up in The Eternal and not The Divine. Between Aurelius, his Ravens, and the way the coven felt about mortals, I doubt I would have survived for long.

  “Let’s go find Nero.” Tristan grinned. “And hope he doesn’t kill us all,” he mumbled as he headed for the door.

  Gwenn and Victoria started making their way to the door, but Blake gently took hold of my arm. “Whenever you find yourself in trouble, or you’re scared, just speak my name, I’ll hear you,” he said.

  I inhaled and felt a warm sensation move through me. Once again, I felt safer than I ever had with him next to me. “I will.”

  “Come on,” he said, taking his hand off my shoulder. I immediately wanted nothing more than to take his hand.

  I took a deep, steadying breath and followed him to the door. Once inside, I was immediately hit with a force of music so loud the floor vibrated.

  The entire club looked like a dark fantasy of the Garden of Eden. Realistic looking trees containing both snakes and apples were spread across the club. The floor looked like a forest floor with toadstools, moss, roots, and pinecones. In the center of all of this was a clear space where people were dancing and laughing. Some of them clearly immortal, others mortal. To my left, the bar was made out of forest wood and full of vines. A pretty mortal girl stood behind it. She smiled at Blake as we approached. Tristan stood at the bar with Victoria and Gwenn behind him, both looking incredibly uncomfortable.

  “Hannah,” Tristan said, smirking. “Still working for me I see?”

  Of course, he owns this place.

  “Give me a bottle of the Dalmore 62,” he said.

  “I’m going to start looking for Nero,” Blake said, turning to me. “Stay with Tristan. If you find Nero, don’t approach him without me.”

  I nodded and watched him walk into the crowd, then moved closer to stand with Gwenn and Victoria.

  My eyes darted around, trying desperately to find the man from my dream.

  The faster we find him, the faster this can all be done.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed a man walking toward us. With a chiseled, handsome face, dark stubble, and the most self-confident walk I had ever seen, taking my eyes off this man was impossible.

  He wore a three-piece dark powder-blue suit with pristine black leather shoes. His ebony hair fell just above his shoulders, and his eyes were a piercing blue, almost white.

  “Dorian Gray.” Tristan grinned at the man with the most beautiful face I had ever seen in my life. As soon as Tristan said his name, Gwenn’s eyes met mine. Ravenna had told me about Dorian Gray, the man from Crete who knew my grandparents and shared the life from the chest with them.

  “Tristan Cavendish,” he drawled with an aristocratic English accent. “How the devil are you?” His eyes darted to me. “And who might you be?” He lifted a brow, and all the while sounded so bored I knew he couldn’t care less.

  “This is Evelyn Austen,” Tristan replied, glancing at me over his shoulder. “From the Sinclair line,” he added. At the mention of my maternal family surname, Dorian expressed a moment of interest, which was quickly replaced with his bored expression once again.

  “Where is Blake?” he asked, glancing around like he expected Blake to be with Tristan.

  “Around,” Tristan replied lightly.

  “Good. I do like to spend time with princes,” Dorian drawled, looking like he couldn’t care less if Blake lived or died. “Mina is here. But she won’t be seen with mortals, so if you want to see her, we’ll be in the den.” He glanced at Gwenn and me.

  “Dorian, tell me, have you seen Nero?” Tristan asked.

  “Nero, son of Lorenzo of the Divine?” Dorian’s eyes narrowed.

  “The very one.”

  “Rumors, all I hear are rumors of Nero,” he replied, raising his brow.

  “Impossible.” Tristan stepped forward. “We were informed by a witch that he was here.”

  “You were informed incorrectly,” Dorian said, his tone more bored than ever. “Your witch was wrong.” Tristan was about to protest, but Dorian turned his back on us and walked away.

  “What are we going to do?” I shouted over the music, turning to Tristan. If we didn’t find Nero, especially with Hella gone, there was no way out and only two days left.

  “Come on, let’s go upstairs. Blake will probably be there. We need to tell him—if he doesn’t already know,” Tristan said, not hiding his annoyance. He held out his hand for me to take when the strobe lights turned red.

  I took a deep breath and took his hand, and then turned and I took Gwenn’s. Victoria rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “What are we going to do?” Gwenn shouted as we followed Tristan toward a flight of glass stairs behind some apple trees.

  Don’t Fear the Reaper started playing, and I rolled my eyes. Perfect song for an immortal club.

  “I don’t know,” I shouted, glancing behind us to make sure Victoria was still follo
wing us. She looked miserable. We started walking up the glass stairs, and Gwenn gripped my arm.

  “Who thought glass stairs would be a good idea?” she cried over the music.

  We finally reached the mezzanine, which was decorated like the lair of the Snow Queen. White fur rugs covered the white floor on which white couches shaped like icebergs sat. A glass wall divided the dance hall downstairs from this area, making it quieter and more private but also a lot darker with only a few LED lights overhead throwing a blue light on the room, making it look even more spectacular.

  “How did Serena even manage to kill Hella?” I said as Gwenn let go of my arm and threw herself down on one of the iceberg sofas.

  “I’m starting to think that Hella wasn’t the strongest witch we could have used,” Victoria said, standing near the railing and looking down at the dance floor.

  “There is no witch that can take on Serena. She’s a thousand years old,” Tristan said, sitting down across from Gwenn and taking another sip of his drink.

  I stood near Victoria and gazed at her for a moment. “You can stop people from dreaming?” I asked. My voice was constricted by the fact that I was even trying to have a civil conversation with Victoria.

  “I’m not here for the party,” she replied bitingly before her shoulders slumped, and she turned to me. “I can infiltrate people’s minds subconsciously and leave thoughts and suggestions. It’s a different version of entrancement. I can see their deepest thoughts and desires.”

  My eyes widened.

  “Don’t worry. I don’t tend to do it anymore unless I have to.”

  “It doesn’t seem to help with me anyway,” I replied, thinking about the dream I had had on the jet.

  “Like I said to Blake, it didn’t work because you’re having a strong mixture of memories and hallucinations. You’re not actually dreaming.”

  We both watched as a bleach-blond waitress wearing a tight white dress and black knee-high stiletto boots set down the bottle of whiskey that Tristan had opened at the bar earlier. Tristan grinned at her, and Victoria rolled her eyes.

  “Is everything okay?” I whispered to Victoria, a wash of sympathy coming over me again. She was only here because of me.

  “We’re not friends, Evelyn. I’m here because Blake made me be here; you talking to me is making it worse.”

  I was about to retort when I noticed a glimmer of red in the corner. My stomach lurched, and I stopped breathing. It was her walking up the stairs.

  “Serena,” I breathed. I couldn’t tell exactly how, but a second later I was standing with my back to the wall across the room, Tristan standing protectively in front of me. Gwenn was still sitting on the couch alone, but a second later, Victoria’s blur pushed her to the wall next to where Tristan and I stood. Serene waved her fingers and the entire club was suddenly completely silent.

  “Evelyn, I told you not to leave Greyhaven,” Serena whispered as she came into full view. “I had to kill one of my old Raven sisters because of you.” She turned her eyes down to the ground.

  I glanced over at Gwenn. I could come back, and Tristan and Victoria were immortal, but if something happened to Gwenn, that would be the end for her. My stomach lurched, and my mouth dried out at the thought.

  “Serena,” Tristan said, his voice menacing and full of rage. “There are over two hundred immortals in this club right now. How do you imagine this is going to work in your favor?” Tristan’s shoulder muscles contracted, clearly anticipating her to make a move.

  “Like this,” Serena said, lifting her hands and clapping them lightly. I watched Tristan’s neck brake and his body slump to the floor as petrified screams echoed throughout the entire building, presumably as the same thing happened to every other immortal. My eyes moved to Victoria, her body was slumped on the floor by Gwenn’s feet.

  “There you are. Quite simple really,” Serena mouthed, her green eyes glistening in the blue lights.

  I looked over at Gwenn. Her back was pressed against the stone wall, her eyes wide, staring at me.

  Get Serena’s attention away from Gwenn.

  “I am looking for Nero, Serena, that’s why we’re here,” I said, stepping forward.

  “Are you, Evelyn?” she said, sitting on the armchair and crossing her legs. She didn’t break her gaze. “I appreciate that you feel all this doesn’t actually have anything to do with you.” Her voice was so quiet that if the club wasn’t deadly silent, I wouldn’t have been able to hear her. “But, it does, so, I’m going to explain what’s going on and what’s going to happen, and then you’re going to go back to Greyhaven. You see, Evelyn, years before you were born, years before Astara was born, in fact, I had a dream about you, and in my dream, you were as real as you are standing in front of me now.” She leaned her head to the side as if she was reading me.

  “And in this dream, a series of events must take place. Blake had to start dreaming about you too, and he did, the Ravens would have a vision and create the prophecy about you, and they did, and I have tried everything, everything in my power to set those events off. I killed your parents, I killed your aunt, I possessed Lorenzo, I killed all of the servants in that manor house, but still.” She formed each word carefully. “You insist on the wrong path.” She stood up and walked to me, her face so close to mine I could smell her red lipstick.

  “We tried to find Nero,” I said, trying to keep my voice level and her attention on me. “Hella told us—”

  “Hella,” she spat, and for the first time, I saw anger form on Serena’s face; her expression so icy it took my breath away. “Nero was here seven years ago, not yesterday. Astara told you to go to Lorenzo’s house, not Tristan, not Ravenna, you.” Her teeth were gritted now, her frustration and rage surfacing more with every word. “Why won’t you just do as you’re told?” The lights in the club flickered with Serena’s building fury.

  She sighed, and her shoulders relaxed when I remained silent. “When you get back to Greyhaven tomorrow, you will do everything Astara asks of you. If you do not comply, I will personally rip out every single immortal’s heart from Blake down to your grandparents. And if you make me repeat this one more time, I will conjure up a spell that will give you the strength to rip Blake’s heart from his chest and force you to do it.” She took a step back. “Understand?”

  I gave half a nod.

  Just go without noticing Gwenn, please.

  She turned her back, and I took a steadying breath, but then she paused and turned back to me. “In fact, I see now that you haven’t been properly incentivized. Come here, Gwenn.” She held out her hand.

  “Serena, no,” I screamed as I watched Gwenn walk to her as if under a spell. I launched forward toward Serena, but my feet were stuck to the ground.

  “Don’t you touch her!” I shouted. “Don’t you dare touch her!” My voice was raw and hollow.

  Serena stroked Gwenn’s cheek. She seemed to be frozen, but her eyes were wide with fear.

  “If you do what Astara has asked you to, what I have asked you to, I will return Gwenn to you. I would say that I’ll return her in the same condition she’s in now, but one must not make promises one cannot keep.”

  “Serena, I swear to God if you hurt her I will never help you,” I shouted, now completely unable to move my body.

  “Now, Evelyn, when Astara does return, it’s very important that you stay alive,” she added, completely ignoring my outburst. “If you die, I’ll fulfil my promise and kill everyone, including little Gwenn here.” She suddenly looked down at the floor and frowned. “Time to go. Goodbye, little evening star, and don’t forget, everything she says.” She disappeared in front of my eyes, taking Gwenn with her.

  As soon as she left, my entire body slumped, and I fell to the floor.

  Gwenn, oh God, Gwenn.

  The entire club was deathly quiet. I forced myself up and bolted to Tristan’s lim
p body and crouched next to him.

  “Please wake up,” I said, shaking him. “She’s taken Gwenn!”

  “Evelyn,” Blake’s voice called.

  “Blake!” I screamed, realizing that Tristan’s body was going cold.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Someone kneeled next to me. I looked up, expecting to see Blake but was met with the figure of Dorian Gray, who was kneeling over Tristan’s lifeless body.

  “Give him a minute,” he replied, meeting my eyes. “The others have started waking up.” He stood up.

  “How did you recover so quickly?” I asked, not taking my eyes off Tristan, relieved that he would be okay.

  Before Dorian could reply, Blake was at my side. “What happened?” he asked.

  “Iona, daughter of Aslög,” Dorian replied, raising a brow.

  “Serena?” Blake turned to me. I nodded and looked at Dorian.

  “She took Gwenn, Blake, she took Gwenn with her,” I said, my voice shaking.

  “The mortal witch Iona, who is still somehow living. Tell me, Prince of Princes,” he said, turning to Blake, ignoring what I had just said about Gwenn. “How did this come to pass?”

  “We don’t know,” Blake said truthfully. “We assume that Aurelius kept her alive and from that point, Astara.” His tone was flat when mentioning his mother’s name.

  “Astara?” Dorian spoke slowly, staring directly at Blake.

  Before either of them could speak, Tristan groaned. Blake didn’t waste any time in helping him up.

  “That stupid little witch,” he groaned.

  “She took Gwenn with her,” Blake said. The expression on Tristan’s face turned from annoyance to concern.

  “Evelyn, what exactly did the witch say to you?” Blake asked.

  “That I was the one who needed to go to Lorenzo’s shack, that Nero hasn’t been here for years, and that if I don’t do what she and Astara told me to, she will kill everyone. She said she would give Gwenn back to me when I listened to her.”

  Blake and Tristan’s eyes met briefly before lowering to the ground.

  “Evelyn,” Blake said gently.