The Eternal

by Bianca Hunter

  I looked down at Bastian’s lifeless body. “What if he doesn’t come back?” My heart suddenly accelerated at the thought.

  “The reaper doesn’t have him quite yet,” Ravenna replied as Blake let go of my arm. The tranquility immediately left me and I suddenly wanted nothing more than for him to hold me again.

  “Come on, hun,” Miyuki said, linking her arm through mine.

  I nodded and allowed her and Ravenna to guide me back into the warm room.

  “It’s always tough seeing someone die for the first time,” Miyuki said as we walked back into the hall where everyone was already seated and waiting for dinner to be served. I wish that it was the first time. The first time I watched people die, they didn’t come back to an eternal life.

  “I just can’t believe he did that,” I mumbled, feeling completely out of place in the lavish hall while Bastian was resurrecting outside.

  “Give me a minute,” Ravenna said. “I should go tell his mom. You two go ahead to the table.” She walked toward the right side of the room.

  “Greyhaven seems much more exciting these days,” Miyuki said as we walked to the table.

  I nodded, unable to start a conversation. “So, when did you and Blake fall in love with each other?”

  I turned to face her. “What?”

  “You’re not, you know, together?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “No,” I replied. “Why would you think that?”

  “It’s just—” She hesitated. “One of my abilities is sensing people’s feelings, and I just thought that you and him—there was just something there.” She shifted uncomfortably now.

  “What do you mean?” I frowned.

  She linked her small arm with mine, and leaned her head closer, almost touching my face with hers. “Everyone always wants Blake, but Blake has never really been interested in anyone, especially since the thing with Diana. But near you, he—I don’t know,” she whispered as we slowly made our way to the table when the waiters began to stream in with the starters.

  Diana.

  “Was Diana his ex?” I asked as we reached the table. Victoria had been seated by herself the entire time we had been outside. She ignored us both as she stared at her phone.

  I’ll tell you later,” she whispered as a woman that looked like a slightly older version of Victoria tapped on her champagne glass. Ravenna reached the table just in time for her to start talking.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to this, the fifth Verto,” she said loudly so that everyone could hear.

  As she proceeded to thank everyone, the sound of her voice was lost with the thoughts of my mother who didn’t abandon me out of choice.

  You killed yourself because you didn’t have a choice, not because you didn’t love us.

  “And as we welcome the chest into Greyhaven, we, the Eternal, commit to peace between immortals and protection for mortals,” the woman’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Please, enjoy your evening.”

  Everyone immediately turned back to their conversations, and I turned to Miyuki, but as I did, Tristan and Blake arrived at the table and sat down, Blake next to Miyuki and Tristan between Ravenna and Victoria.

  An ex-girlfriend sandwich, ___awkward.

  Tristan turned toward me and scowled.

  Serves you right for listening to my thoughts. Is Bastian okay?

  Tristan nodded.

  Everyone else at the table seemed to take their return as a sign that Bastian was still alive and kicking. I turned to check if he was at a different table, but there were so many immortals in the room, I would never be able to spot him.

  “His mother has taken him home,” Blake said quietly, having noticed me looking around. I felt Miyuki’s eyes on us and didn’t need Tristan’s ability to tell what she was thinking.

  “So, what is living with The Enlightened like?” I asked, turning to her.

  “It’s great,” she said, her eyes lighting up through the slits in her mask. “You should definitely come visit sometime; you can stay with me. Viktor and Blake have a beautiful house there though, you should come see it. I like living there much more than I liked living here.”

  “Why did you leave Greyhaven?” I asked curiously.

  She smiled and sighed. “My father was one of the founders of The Enlightened, which didn’t leave me much choice.” She shrugged.

  I looked around the room. “Where are all the founding members of the covens?” I asked, trying to spot some older looking men and not finding any.

  “Oh, they don’t ever come to this thing,” Miyuki explained. “They lock themselves in a vault of sorts and only appear again a few days later.” She leaned out of the way for a waiter to place a plate of food in front of her.

  I leaned back, allowing my waiter to do the same. I looked down at the dish; it was some sort of fish.

  “I hate fish,” I admitted quietly.

  She laughed. “Just leave it.” I heard Blake laugh at something someone had said and turned to glance at him. He looked so beautiful when he laughed.

  His eyes darted toward me, and we locked gazes for a moment before I turned back to Miyuki. “So, when did you live here?” I asked, feeling my cheeks flush from staring at Blake.

  I saw Miyuki trying to fight a grin. She could sense my feelings for Blake, and Tristan could hear my thoughts. I wanted to sink into the ground. At least Blake couldn’t.

  “I moved away in 1498,” she replied, smiling.

  “Wait. Did you know Astara and Serena?” I asked in such a low tone I could barely hear myself. I glanced over and Ravenna, who was deep in conversation with Tristan, and then back at Blake who was also speaking to a stranger sitting next to him.

  “Not here.” Miyuki shook her head slightly, staring at her untouched fish. She and I maintained small talk throughout both the starter and the main course.

  After the main course, Gillian announced that it was time to take the masks off. I looked around to see the people who had been hiding behind the masks. Most of them were very beautiful. And a few of them had black or yellow eyes, which unnerved me. I couldn’t stop thinking about why Miyuki didn’t want to talk about Astara or Serena at the table. What could she possibly have to say that Blake and Ravenna hadn’t already heard?

  Dessert was served just before midnight, and as the waiters started filing out of the doors to serve the crème brûlée, Miyuki turned to me. “I think it’s time for another cigarette. Keep me company?” She smiled.

  I nodded and followed her back out of the hall. I had the strangest feeling that Blake was watching us as we went.

  “Astara and Serena were dangerous and tyrannical,” she said, taking a swig of the champagne. She handed me the bottle, but I didn’t lift it to my lips.

  “Good God, live a little,” she said. “You’re in a town full of immortals getting drunk—a lot of them probably for the first time in a century, knowing this boring Greyhaven lot.”

  I shrugged and took a sip of the champagne. “So Astara—”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, taking the bottle of champagne back. “When I first met Astara, I was still living here. I knew Kate and Lucile too, by the way. Anyway, Astara was the sweetest little thing when we first met her, quiet, grateful to be away from Aurelius, but as the years went by, she started behaving more and more like the rest of her family had.”

  As Miyuki spoke, my heart accelerated. If Astara had really started behaving more like Nero, she was not the same woman I had been dreaming about. In the dreams, Astara was sweet and gentle.

  “Anyway, just before we left for the new world, Astara was accused of killing dozens of immortals, girls in particular,” Miyuki continued.

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Some say it was to keep Serena alive; no one has ever proven that theory. Others say she just went the same
way that everyone else in the coven she comes from went.”

  “Have you ever been there? To Aurelius’s coven, I mean.”

  “Once, and it was awful, Evelyn. Do yourself a favor and never, ever go there.” She shook her head at the memory.

  “I heard he killed a group of mortals—”

  Miyuki laughed darkly. “When you walk into his little gothic castle where his entire coven resides like vampires, you walk into the entrance hall where they have immortals strung from the ceiling by their feet with their necks cut open and held open by nails so their blood constantly showers on the Divine below. Aurelius killing a group of mortals doesn’t even make the list of the horrible things he allows his coven to do.”

  “Why do they do that to immortals?” I asked, completely aghast.

  “They believe some of our abilities and life are carried in our blood. It’s not true. The main reason they do it is to punish those who cross them. Those immortals can never die—they spend their lives hanging like pieces of constant bleeding meat, unable to move, unable to feel their bodies—most of them go completely mad—I would.”

  “I don’t understand. Earlier today, Blake used one of his abilities. Why don’t the imprisoned immortals just do the same and escape?”

  Miyuki smiled and cocked her head. “I hardly know any as powerful as Blake. Of course, there are the original immortals, and Tristan is quite talented himself, but otherwise, most of the really powerful immortals have already been killed by immortals trying to gain new abilities,” Miyuki explained. “This is, of course, excluding The Divine and The Dark Soldiers.”

  “So, are Dark Soldiers the most powerful out there?” The fact that they named themselves Dark Soldiers didn’t exactly warm me to them.

  “No,” Miyuki said, shaking her head. “Why do you think we all hide out in these small towns where no one can find us? There are really, really terrible immortal nomads out there. I’ve known a lot of immortals who lost their lives trying to take on certain nomads.”

  I shivered. “What are they like?” I knew what one of them was like; I had seen Nero in my dream, and Astara mentioned that he didn’t have anywhere to live.

  “Well, most of them look like we do, except with constant black eyes. But some of the more powerful ones are surrounded by a faint black aura, and there are very few who have yellow eyes.” She grimaced at the thought of it. “Those are the immortals with so much power that they could probably walk into this hall and take us all out.” She shook her head in disgust.

  “Have you heard of Nero?” I asked, hoping she would have some information on him.

  “I’ve heard his name mentioned, but I’ve never come across him before.” She stubbed her cigarette out. “Just don’t get involved with any of these people, Evelyn. Try your best to stay out of the covens’ problems, that’s what your grandmother would want for you.” She linked her arm with mine and led me back to the hall.

  I don’t think she wants anything for me considering she can’t even be bothered to come see if I’m okay.

  “What is she like, her personality I mean?” I asked as we walked back into the hall that was buzzing with conversation. I imagined Mirena was something like Dorian, bored with life and taciturn toward everyone.

  “Mirena?” She glanced at me. I nodded. “She’s powerful. She’s one of the oldest immortals I know. She doesn’t suffer fools, bit of a temper—she adored Astara when she first met her.”

  “She did?” I asked, turning to Miyuki as we walked past a table where a few yellow eyes glanced up at us.

  “She did. Kate and Lucile were away at the time Astara arrived—Astara was in a state, of course, being attacked and killed on her way to Greyhaven having just escaped Aurelius’s obsession with her—”

  I stopped walking, and Miyuki turned to me. “What?” I gaped.

  “Oh, did you not know this? God, Ravenna and Blake are going to murder me,” Miyuki whispered, her eyes darting around the hall.

  “Miyuki, please, you have to tell me about Astara—it’s, well, it’s important,” I finished lamely.

  “Why?” she asked, raising her brow.

  “Um, well, you were right. I’m in love with Blake, and I just want to know more about his family,” I replied, trying not to look her in the eyes as I lied.

  Wait, are you lying? Of course you are, you do not love Blake. Please just stop.

  “I knew it, all right,” she whispered. “Aurelius has a tendency to collect immortals and witches, mainly girls. He keeps them, and they form his guard, including his own daughters. He had his eye on Astara, his own niece, before she even turned immortal. He loved her more than his own children.”

  Like love or in love? I shook my head—it didn’t matter.

  “But she ran away to Greyhaven with Serena,” I whispered, trying to glue the story as I knew it together.

  “Lorenzo arranged passage to England for him and Astara; he didn’t want Astara to spend her life serving the tyrant that Aurelius had become. Serena, who had been imprisoned for about four hundred years, had a vision that Astara would escape by ship and meet her there. She pretty much just convinced Astara to bind their lives together and swore to protect her in exchange.”

  “And they were attacked on the way here?”

  “Near London,” Miyuki confirmed. “It was apparently awful.” She lowered her eyes. “Let’s go back to the table. They’ll be starting the dance soon.” She walked away from me before I could protest.

  Something about Astara being attacked made me feel sick to my stomach.

  What kind of life did you have?

  “Ev?”

  I turned around to the sound of my name and came face-to-face with Bastian. “What the hell were you thinking?” I hissed.

  “I wasn’t really,” he admitted sheepishly. “I just wanted to be able to help.” He shrugged.

  “Did you go home and change?” I asked, noticing that there wasn’t any blood on his clothing.

  “I did. Mom took me home and brought me back,” he replied.

  “How do you feel?” I tried to see if there was something different about him but was unable to spot it.

  “Strange. It’s like I’m suddenly really awake and alert,” he replied. “But apparently, it takes a few days for things to really start kicking in.”

  “Evelyn,” I heard Ravenna call as she approached us. “Blake wants to see you before he leaves.”

  My heart immediately started beating faster, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. You really can’t hide your feelings in this place.

  “He’s still at our table with Tristan,” she added.

  I nodded and left Bastian with Ravenna. I spotted Blake sitting with his back to me, and my throat turned dry. What did he want? I paused just before reaching the table. Did I just walk up to him and say hello?

  Why are you overthinking this? Gwenn is out there alone and scared, get a grip.

  I walked to the empty seat next to Blake, who was now sitting next to Tristan, and sat down. He turned to face me.

  “Ravenna said you wanted to talk to me?” Why was my voice shaking?

  I noticed Tristan getting up and walking away from us. “Tristan and I are leaving in a few minutes to start hunting down the immortal that Serena is bound to—” Before Blake could finish, the orchestra on the stage started playing a waltz.

  All th immortals in the room streamed to the dance floor. I turned my head to glance at them all in their beautiful dresses and ornate masks.

  “Can you use another witch to find the immortal Serena is bound to?” I asked.

  “I doubt that after the incident with Hella.”

  “How are you going to do it then?”

  But instead of replying, Blake stood up and held out his hand.

  “Are you leaving already?” I asked, taking his hand and standing. />
  “No, we’re going to dance,” he replied, fighting a grin.

  “What?” My stomach dropped. I didn’t know how to dance the waltz.

  Do not let him take you to the dance floor.

  “I actually don’t dance,” I practically squeaked as he led me to all the immortals who were gracefully moving around the floor.

  “I do, and all you have to do is follow my lead,” he replied as we reached the edge of the dance floor.

  I noticed the feeling of my hand in his, and suddenly a warmth coursed through my body. Blake placed his arm on the small of my back, and my heart started pounding against my ribcage.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  I held my breath as we joined the rest of the couples on the dance floor. I followed Blake’s lead, trying not to think about his hand on my back.

  I took a deep breath and inhaled his familiar smell. I glanced at him. His white tie, crisp waistcoat, and tuxedo made him look even more attractive, if that were even possible. His full lips were curled into a grin as he stared down at me. “You’re smiling, how bad is my dancing?” I asked, grimacing.

  “Not at all.” He smiled. “I was just thinking about how you’ve survived so much in such a short time,” he said softly, moving even closer to me.

  I took a deep breath to try to steady my heart. I had never wanted to get closer to someone so desperately and run away from them at the same time.

  “I didn’t have much of a choice,” I replied as we passed Ravenna and Bastian. She seemed to be leading rather than him.

  A string quartet started playing a waltz.

  “You always have a choice,” Blake whispered as he pulled me closer. We passed Miyuki and an immortal I hadn’t met. My eyes met with hers, and I could see what she was thinking with me in Blake’s arms.

  “I don’t think that’s true,” I said, moving my head back slightly to meet his eyes. “Gwenn’s gone. I have no choice but to find her and help her.”

  “You have a choice, Evelyn. You’re just very good at making the right one. Most people would have run by now,” he said.