She froze for a moment, already aware of what he was going to say.
“I won’t lie and pretend I haven’t thought about it,” she answered before he even finished. “Being immortal has its pluses, especially for someone like me.”
“But, no…” he assumed.
She faltered. “But… I’m not sure.”
“Fair enough. There’s still plenty of time. It does not have to be today. Or even before you go home.”
“It’s a big decision, I just need more time. I was thinking maybe once I feel things out back home…”
He nodded in agreement.
“This may sound stupid, but I’m assuming if I say yes and become immortal, it’s not something I can take back, right?”
“It is final. So be certain.”
“Okay. I will think on it. Very hard.”
Fazendiin smiled compassionately.
She would say yes. It was just a matter of time.
And he’d already given her the gift, so now, it was just waiting for her to realize how much she wanted and needed it.
#
Another night of sneaking into Juliska’s room.
Fazendiin made certain she was sleeping soundly.
He’d not come in to give her nightmares… not tonight.
He had other plans, an examination to do. Tonight he needed to check on her child.
He was stringing her along at this point. He’d planned on letting her leave right after returning from her travels. But not until he witnessed the pregnancy moving forward, like it should. Each time he checked, it was close. So close.
Whatever had happened during her transformation into immortality, it had slowed the pregnancy, but now, since she’d fed, it had showed progress and moved forward.
Each night, just a little more.
He did his examination and grinned in wickedly delighted anticipation.
The pregnancy was moving forward just like it should. As if conception had just occurred. What a strange phenomenon.
In a few weeks, Juliska would discover she was pregnant and she needed to be home before then.
He could not wait to see what became of this child.
They were certain to be extraordinary. The most unique child ever born.
And now that he knew the pregnancy was healthy and moving forward, he needed to make Juliska Blackwell sick. A fake sickness. It would be entirely in her head, but she’d experience it as though it were death itself knocking on her door. It would make her crazy, and do crazy things. And there would be only one solution to fix it… to make her immortal.
His hand swiped across her forehead.
He turned and left the room.
It was nearly done. The last step before he let her return home. Fazendiin strode into his private quarters. He went to a corner where there was an oblong mirror draped in a dark, thick cloth. He uncovered it. This action called the person who kept its counterpart. But she might be busy and need a few minutes to answer.
However, just a moment later a face began to materialize in the glass.
“Master,” she nodded in greeting. “What can I do for you this fine night?”
“Tanzea. You look well.”
“I do my best.”
“Juliska will be returning soon. Are you ready?”
“Of course. Everything is prepared, Master.”
“Perfect. And how is our other project coming along?”
“Excellent, Master. Since the Svoda’s quest ended so abruptly,” she snickered, “and the plans for expansion postponed indefinitely… causing upheaval has not been difficult.”
“You’re confident this woman you chose, Amelia Cobb, is the right person for the job?”
“Yes. She’s perfectly oblivious. The seeds were planted and I barely even had to water them. She did it all on her own. Started a little rebellion she has. Amassed quite the feisty following. They are demanding that the Banon allow them off the island, peacefully, or they’ll fight their way off. They want to start their own clan.”
“Nicely done. Looks like this Amelia is easy to persuade.”
“Just needed a little nudge from her old mentor…” Tanzea let out a malicious laugh. “Her goals are lofty but her ego, loftier… and her followers, they don’t even care what she believes in. They just want change. They are an oppressed people looking for a new way of life.”
Fazendiin grinned, satisfied with the news. “And her relationship with Juliska, from the little she has shared with me, is tenuous at best.”
“Yes, Master. That is what I have seen as well.”
“Good. You have served me well.”
“It is what I live for. Master.” Tanzea bowed again.
“Do you think the current Banon will agree to Amelia’s departure?”
“No. At least not without conflict first. He’s adamant they work out a peaceful agreement.”
“Good. I’d like to see it fester a little more. Juliska is not quite ready yet to be the next Banon. But she will be, soon.”
“The pregnancy is stable then?” Tanzea questioned.
“Yes. Are all your arrangements in order for the child?”
“Almost. Just a few small things to line up. By the time she knows she’s pregnant, I’ll be ready.”
“Good. Good. It is vital everything work out perfectly. She cannot keep the child, but it must come to term.”
“As you wish, Master.”
“That is all for now.”
Her face dematerialized from his mirror. He draped the cloth over it again.
Sowing the seeds of discord was so easy. Too easy with such weak minds. He had a lot of plans for this Amelia Cobb and her lofty ego.
He’d give her access to all she wanted and in return, without even realizing it, she’d give him exactly what he needed.
A way to get Juliska on his side once and for all.
A way to finish off the rest of the Grosvenor before they got wise enough to plot against him.
He laughed at the very idea… he was so far ahead; it was of no consequence whatsoever. Still, he wanted the pests gone. They were hardly competition, but a menace to his plans nonetheless.
Fazendiin stepped out of his private quarters and went into the study where his mother’s frame waited in the stained glass.
“Oh, Mother. What a satisfying day.”
“What joyous thing have you done now, Son?”
“Oh nothing in particular.” Like he’d tell her. “Just my general ability to be so many years ahead of my enemies.”
She tossed him a fake smile. All but one… she wanted to tell him.
But this was not her secret to share.
#
Time suddenly seemed to move quickly.
When before, Juliska wanted time to hurry, it dragged. And now, there just wasn’t enough of it. She was packing. Preparing to go home. She’d bought many things while on her excursion around the globe, plus Fazendiin had given her many things, her closets stuffed full… and he’d insisted she take whatever she wanted.
She got tired of packing and stared out of her window.
Her window… this was her room now.
How odd, compared to her first week here.
Outside, everything was decaying and brown. The leaves had fallen leaving the trees bare. A layer of frost glistened, but it didn’t add any warmth. The outside temperatures had dipped below freezing for the first time, meaning another long winter had arrived.
She took a seat to rest a bit.
She had no choice the last few days, but slowly, she was getting better.
She’d done a terrible thing, and Fazendiin had once again come to her rescue.
Somehow, while she was out in the human world, she’d picked up some kind of illness, which had given her a fever. Juliska had never had a fever before and was apparently, what those in the human world would have called, a hallucinator.
A fever, of all things… she was a Firemancer and hot things did not bother her, or hurt her.
But this human illness had sent her into a frenzy. She had little recollection of it all. Little blips of memory. But she’d gotten out of bed early in the morning a few nights ago just screaming and ranting like a wild woman.
Apparently attempting to live out one of her nightmares.
Unfortunately, she’d taken her fevered frenzy out on poor Basil, the caretaker, by feeding on him. She’d taken far too much and the poor old man was still recovering.
At least he was recovering, thanks only to Fazendiin stopping her just in time, before she took more than the caretaker could recover from.
Basil had already forgiven her, but she could not do the same of herself.
Fazendiin had proceeded to lock her up and take care of her until the fever passed about another twelve hours later.
Juliska had never experienced anything so horrible as waking up after a twenty-four illness she barely recalled, to find out she’d almost accidentally killed someone because of her vampyre side.
Her trip home had been delayed a few days.
Not just so that she could recover and beg Basil’s forgiveness…
She’d gotten herself into an instant panic… what if some freak thing like this happened once she got home and there was no one to stop her. She’d be a murderer!
The only intelligent and safe solution was to let Fazendiin make her immortal.
It was the only way to make certain the need never caught her off guard. That she’d always be in control.
The process was surprisingly simple. And Fazendiin warned her it took a couple weeks to fully take effect. So she might feel a bit weak now and again, but as soon as the process was complete, she’d never have to worry about a surprise feeding frenzy again.
Now she only had to worry about her future. With Eddy, the Svoda… finding out she was a vampyre was one thing. But now she was immortal, like the Grosvenor. If the Svoda ever found this out, they’d treat her just like she was one of them and most likely banish her.
It was too late now.
She’d made the choice and it was done.
Even with the deed done, her thoughts on immortality flipped back and forth. There were so many things she’d have to deal with. It might take away the danger of needing to feed, and give her endless years to live her life, but she’d be immortal and Eddy would not. She’d lose everyone she knew and at some point would have to leave the Svoda. Her condition would become obvious when she stopped aging.
But if having control, and not hurting people, meant she had to live without those she loved, to keep everyone safe from her vampyre side, then that’s a fate she’d have to live with. Which was a truth she’d have a face eventually.
She had her Firemancer’s Pocket guide lying out on the bed. She’d been reading and practicing, attempting to conjure a vision of her future. It was a silly thing to try really, knowing how impossible such a thing was. But her fears made her keep trying.
And she did keep having visions, just not the one she wanted.
The vision she kept having was similar to the same one she’d had since coming here. Of the woman, Isabella Crane. This last one though, had been the oddest of them all. It had something to do with Fazendiin and this woman, but Juliska could not piece it all together.
At dinner that night, he looked at her expectantly.
“Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes,” it came out apprehensively.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I am. I’m just a little nervous I guess. It’s been six months. A lot of things might have changed.”
He was smart enough to know which specific thing she was afraid of most. “If the man truly loves you as he claims, he will have waited for you.”
“And if not…”
“I do not believe there will be an, if not…”
“You’re more certain than I am. And what if anyone finds out who I really am?”
“You can always leave. They cannot keep you there. If you need my assistance, you have Pajak and can reach out to me if you’re ever in trouble. The Svoda are your family, but you can consider me family as well. Yes, they raised you as one of their own, and I am confident they will accept you. Even with this confidence, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t send you off with a caution. Be careful whom you trust with anything you’ve learned about your life. Sometimes the people you think are your most trusted friends, or loved ones, can have a change of heart and become your worst enemy.”
She took in an uneasy breath.
“I don’t want to tell them who I am. Everything I’ve learned here. Is that bad of me, to want to keep it secret?”
“No. It’s your history. Your life. You choose to tell, or not.”
“I hate to lie to them. Especially to Eddy.”
“You will have to choose what to tell, and what not to tell, as well as who. Trust your instincts. Alas, I have seen firsthand what the truth can do. If the old hatreds are still strong within them, you may have reason to be concerned. In that case…”
“Lie?”
“An unfortunate byproduct of the truth, sometimes…”
Juliska stood up and went to the sink to wash her dishes. Fazendiin did the same right after her. Before she left the kitchen she stopped in the doorway and spun around.
“Something else?” he asked her.
“A vision I had. About you.” She stood with her arms against the doorposts, to see his response. It was even, flat almost. Possibly the tiniest hint of interest.
“And this vision distresses you?”
“No. It actually makes no logical sense to me. I know my visions are not why you took me, but I decided to share it with you anyway. Maybe it will make sense to you. Regardless of all that, it’s my way of saying thank you. For showing me everything you’ve shown me. For helping my parents and honoring their wishes. For opening up the world to me. Without your help, I would have gone through life a lesser person. A potentially dangerous person. Maybe that’s not the right way to say it… I’m just… grateful. So thank you.” She took an envelope out of her sweater pocket and handed it to him and walked up to her room to finish packing.
Fazendiin stared at the envelope. He’d hoped for something like this. That he’d gained her trust enough for her to share visions with him. He almost didn’t even care about what waited inside. This was the step he’d been waiting for. Her voluntary trust in him…
He did not open the letter right away. He waited until he’d gotten into the study, and had his tea before finally unable to handle the suspense any longer.
At some point in the future… sorry, I do not know when. Just that it is the future…
There is a woman, one I and others believe dead. I do not know why she has chosen to fake her death or what the two of you are doing together (although it’s clear it is something you both planned), but you should know the following…
She is about to give birth to your child. There is some kind of complication and you bring her to a human hospital seeking help. The doctors make you leave the room and right after, the woman grabs a nurse and says, “Take the girl. Take her to the orphanage. She must go there! I can only keep the boy.”
My vision ends here.
I hope this makes some sense to you.
Fazendiin threw the letter into the fire and watched it burn. He stared into the flames, silently until his mother’s frame appeared in the stained glass.
He let out a satisfied laugh.
“I’ve done it, Mother. Three immortal children… Isabella is having twins…”
Aloyna hid her relief over this news. If her son had any idea how important this was to her, he’d never had told her. But this confirmation gave her life instant meaning. Made hers and other’s sacrifices worth the price.
“You don’t know for sure yet that Juliska’s child will be immortal,” she argued, keeping up her typical appearance.
“I feel confident… Isabella probably doesn’t even know she’s having twins yet. She thinks she can hide it f
rom me once she finds out though. And after some thought on it, I mean to let her.”
Just what did her son have planned now?
“Oh wouldn’t you like to know Mother?” he muttered wretchedly, almost as if reading her thoughts.
Whatever it was, she could not interfere. The timing of everything was pivotal, and if she messed up one thing, everything she and others had sacrificed so much for, would be for nothing.
Aloyna shifted through the glass and left him to his scheming.
She didn’t have too many more years to wait now. And once Fazendiin’s bloodline was old enough, she be set free. If all she’d been told came to pass, then her grandson would free her. He’d break the glass… and she would have the chance to end her son’s life.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The goodbye was quick.
The trip home even quicker.
Juliska had her handbag and new pet, Pajak, in tow.
Home.
Just like that.
Home.
There was the island, her home since she was eleven.
In mere minutes, it almost felt as though the last six month had been a dream.
Where did she go first? Her mother? Eddy? Her mentor, PanSofia? The Banon, himself?
She had a final step before she was officially on the island. Fazendiin could not send her straight onto the island as it would have given away his secret that he could. So he sent her just to the edge near a check point. She saw two Balaton guarding it.
She walked up the pier and stopped, looking at each of them.
They recognized her, and stared, bewildered, unsure they were seeing correctly.
“It’s really me. I escaped,” she lied. She assumed that everyone on the island knew of her kidnapping at the hands of the Grosvenor.
“How did you escape?” one of them asked, dumbfounded by her appearance.
Forsaken (Fated Saga Fantasy Series Book 8) Page 19