Peering around Abel, I stared at her.
Back at the restaurant, I’d seen bits and pieces of what Abel told me were wraiths, but considering I was hiding under a table when all that went down, and they took off after the bad supernaturals before I got a good look, I didn’t get a whole eye view.
Now I was getting it and it was freaking phenomenal.
She seemed mostly solid; you could only partly see through her. She had white hair, elegant features, and a pastel dress with lots of ripped edges (but also lots of cleavage). She looked like she was in a music video that had the wind machine set to low, except she was also floating.
And smiling at us.
“Abel and Delilah,” she said, her voice very real too, but still somehow dreamy.
“Serena,” Abel replied, but it was also a question.
“Indeed,” she confirmed.
Serena. Empress of the wraiths.
Awesome!
“Uh…” I pressed into Abel’s back and got up on my toes to whisper toward his ear, “Are we supposed to curtsy or something?”
“Only if you’re in a ceremonial chamber, and this is not one of those,” she answered.
I caught her eyes. “Oh, okay.”
“I rule my wraiths, but that doesn’t mean I am not equal to them, and them me. I’m also equal to you,” she continued. “The curtsy in a ceremonial chamber is just tradition. And tedious. But ceremonies wouldn’t be ceremonies if there wasn’t tradition.” She paused and grinned. “And tedium.”
“True enough,” I murmured.
“I’ll say now, it’s lovely to meet you both,” she told us.
“Same,” Abel grunted.
“Yeah,” I said on a return smile.
Motioning to the door, she invited, “After you.”
Abel hesitated before he reached out and opened the door. We went through and I did it wondering if she could float through it if it was still closed.
At that time, she didn’t. She floated but did it through the open door.
“Excellent, we’re all here,” Gregor said as Abel and I were confronted with much the same as yesterday, except the table wasn’t covered in platters of food. Instead, a buffet had been set up to the side (and I was happy to see pancakes were on offer, seeing as I was getting tired of eggs).
There were also more people. This meant Serena wasn’t the only new person we met. We met a handsome, dark-haired vampire with an accent named Cristiano, who was also on The Council. We also met a tall, large, strange-looking man with big hands, which were bizarrely knobbly, and kind eyes. His name was Avery, and although he was strange-looking, he was also strangely attractive, though I couldn’t put my finger on exactly how. He just was.
What he wasn’t was explained in the sense that he didn’t share if he was vampire, wolf, or what, though he didn’t look like any that I’d met. Since it wasn’t offered and it would be rude, Abel and I didn’t ask.
Stephanie, Caleb, and Ryon were also there.
We were invited to load up plates and we did. After everyone was seated, Gregor began.
“Since Serena does not eat as the rest of us do, and she has information we need to know, while we partake, she’ll give us her briefing.”
Serena was doing her music video thing by the window and I wondered if she sat, seeing as she could float apparently effortlessly.
Obviously, I didn’t ask this for more reasons than the fact that she started talking and I started eating.
“Although fortunate that we were on the inside with the traitors, which meant we could intervene when they attacked The Sacred Triumvirate some days ago, this also means that we are no longer on the inside.”
I looked to Abel who felt my eyes and looked to me.
I mouthed, “Traitors?” since I hadn’t heard them referred to that way.
He gave a slight shrug and we both looked to Serena when she kept talking.
“By the time we exposed our true allegiance, we’d learned that, while planning to do damage to The Three—and they were looking at this a variety of ways, such as total annihilation or simply dispensing with one which, according to The Prophesies, would make the rest ineffectual—they’re also planning to expose the existence of immortals to humans. And they were not planning on doing that diplomatically.”
Leah, Sonia, and I gave each other looks even as we ate and Serena carried on.
“However, the one wraith we have left in position, who infiltrated our sisters who have long since sided with the traitors, has shared with us that the plans we were once privy to have been changed. Unfortunately, due to my sisters intervening to save The Three, they’re being far more careful with all wraiths, including the ones who actually share their ideology. Therefore, she hasn’t been able to ascertain any of their new plans.”
I swallowed pancake and butted in quietly, “Thank you for that, by the way. Your, um, sisters, coming to the rescue. We wouldn’t have made it or would have…” I shook my head, swallowing for another reason, thinking of Snake, Chen, and Jabber, before I finished, “Things would have gone far worse if your sisters hadn’t been there.”
“We’re committed to equality amongst ourselves and all beings, so it was an honor to come to the aid of The Three who’ll keep all beings allied and free,” she replied.
“But if that’s your philosophy,” Leah put in, “how did you get the others to think that you might be on their side?”
Serena looked to Leah. “Our mates are phantoms.”
“Sorry?” Leah asked.
“Wraiths are ethereal, for the most part,” she stated, drifting a hand in front of her. “For those humans who have seen us who we did not let know what we truly are, we’re known as ghosts. All wraiths are female. Phantoms are the same, but they’re male.”
She looked to Abel and me and had clearly been informed we were new to this supernatural business, because she kept explaining.
“We aren’t actually ghosts. We’re born in this form and have always lived in it. We are much like all other beings. We live. We sleep. We love. We make babies.” She smiled. “And for us to make babies, we need phantoms.”
“All right,” I said when she stopped.
“The problem with this is, we and our phantom mates had a falling out some time ago. There was…” She hesitated before continuing, “A situation and we didn’t agree on how it would be handled. Our mates are quite protective and felt we should stay safe and they should deal with it. We wraiths felt we should fight at our mates’ sides. They’d demanded we stay behind and they do the fighting. We did what we felt was necessary and had joined the fight against their wishes. They thought that was disobedience. We found that concept repugnant as we’re not children; we’re simply a different gender. The situation we were engaged in was sorted, however, our mates are quite stubborn. Rather than being grateful for our assistance, they punished us by disconnecting.”
“When did this happen?” Sonia asked.
“Twelve hundred years ago,” Serena answered.
My eyes got wide. “Whoa, phantoms can hold a grudge.”
Serena smiled at me. “They can indeed, as can wraiths. The longer they stayed away, the more the grudge switched from one side to the other, turning us away from them should one try to approach for reconciliation. As you can imagine, this has gone back and forth for over a millennia. There were, of course, some…” Another hesitation before she went on with a not-hard-to-read-grin, “Connections as we all have needs.”
I got her so I grinned back.
She kept going.
“But this struggle started over equality. The sisters who have not turned traitor still wish for nothing but a lasting reconciliation with our mates when they accept us at their sides, not at their hearths. However, we were able to convince the traitors that we were tired of our disconnection with our lovers, and could deliver the phantoms to the other side through our subjugation to our mates. As the traitors are being led by males, it’s not surprising they would
believe this, as even vampires, who well know that females of their kind have the capacity to be exceptional warriors, can be chauvinistic. Therefore, it didn’t take much convincing.”
“And the sisters who have turned traitor?” Sonia asked, and Serena’s expression became anything but serene.
“To survive, we feed off mortal energy,” she stated.
I tensed and felt Abel tense beside me.
She must have felt it too for she looked to us. “This does not harm mortals. It does not take from you; it emits from you all the time. It’s natural. We don’t need to control you to absorb it. You just need to exist so we can do the same.” Her tone changed to dire when she continued, “This doesn’t mean that all beings don’t have those amongst them who thrive on negativity. The majority of wraiths and phantoms absorb positive energy. They crave joy. Or contentment. Or success. Or humor. A variety of these things. But there are those who feed off despair, anger, fear, jealousy, prejudice, hate. In our case, quite literally, you are what you eat.”
“Yikes,” I muttered.
“Yes,” she agreed. “And those who have sided with the traitors would thrive if humans were enslaved. A world of unhappy humans would mean they’d have even more of what they crave.”
“Not good,” I kept muttering.
“No, and worse, it’s gluttony. For there is already much anger, jealousy, prejudice, and fear for them to feed from.” She shook her head and, along with it, her music-video-drifting hair. “It makes no sense to the sisterhood. The more you consume, you just become more of what you consume. It doesn’t make you more powerful. It just makes you angrier, uglier, more hateful.”
“Just like humans,” Leah stated.
“Exactly,” Serena replied.
“The good news is,” Gregor butted in, “although Serena and her sisters have lost their foothold amongst our enemy, she’s managed to make a meeting with Gastineau.”
“Who’s Gastineau?” Abel asked.
“My lifemate,” Serena answered. “He’s also emperor of the phantoms. We were reconciled seventy-five years ago, but this lasted under a decade. However, we made a child during that time, our third daughter, and since he dotes on her, but I’m raising her, we’ve had to stay in close contact. As his brothers wish after the last situation they involved themselves in, which segregated our kind, Gastineau prefers to keep to the shadows and allow other immortals, and humans, to do what they will. Including making their mistakes. I hope to impress on him during our meeting that this time he must take a stand, with his brothers, alongside their sisters, uniting us all once again in order to keep peace.”
“And how is he leaning?” Abel asked.
“We, like wolves, once we find our mates, never stray. Imagine you were separated from your mate for decades, a mate you love who you’re simply angry with, a mate who’s raising your child.” She tipped her head. “I think you know how he’s leaning.”
“In other words, you got leverage,” Abel remarked, and her smile came back.
“Indeed, I do. But also, most phantoms, like most wraiths, prefer positive energy. Even if I didn’t have that leverage, I know my Gastineau. He would never side with the traitors. He may not wish to get involved, but he would not ally himself with them. Therefore, in order to keep the state of the world as it needs to be, I believe inside he understands that he must lead his brothers to maintain that. I just have to point out that this situation has become dangerous; instead of pockets of rebellions breaking out, this is a real threat.”
“Why do you call them traitors?” I asked, and her attention turned to me.
“They know we’ll not feed on negativity and therefore will perish. To ally with those who would wipe all goodness from humanity would mean vast amounts of wraiths and phantoms would cease to be. And this is the same for vampires. There are those who don’t like fear and desolation to sour the blood of humans, but they’re resigning their brothers and sisters to that fate. In the end, we are all of this world. We all must find a way to live together in harmony, and anyone who doesn’t agree is a traitor to the way things need to be.”
“Amen to that, sister,” I said.
“Yes, amen to that…sister,” she agreed on another smile.
“Something else you need to know,” Lucien began, and I looked to him. “Abel, you saw it back in Serpentine Bay, but Lilah, it’s doubtful you did. Wraiths can appear and disappear. When they’re invisible, they have less ability to manipulate their surroundings. They can move things…adjust a chair, knock a vase off a table. But this is limited. When they appear, their power increases exponentially.”
“Uh, yeah. Ripping a head off with your bare hands is pretty powerful,” Abel murmured.
I pressed my lips together and gave Leah big eyes.
She mouthed, “I know,” in return.
“Our ability to be invisible, although it weakens us in the earthly world, allows us to appear unannounced. As we can move through solid things both in our invisible bodies as well as our visible ones, this is an added strategic advantage,” Serena went on.
“Not if we’re dealing with your sisters who are against us,” Abel replied.
“Yes, this is why you need to know that there are physical manifestations even when we’re invisible. An unusual coolness to the air in a room could mean a wraith or phantom is close. A chill could mean they’re very close. A shiver could mean they’re sliding through your actual person,” she explained.
“Whoa,” I whispered, not liking the idea of a ghost sliding through my body.
She nodded to me but kept explaining.
“We can’t overtake your bodies. We can’t possess you. And prior to transformation into a visible being, the air will shimmer. As our attack was completely a surprise, the vampires and wolves you were fighting with didn’t have the attention to sense our presence or see the shimmer. However, in the future, just in case, you need to know all of that.”
Abel nodded to her and Callum spoke, asking Abel and me, “Do you have any questions for Serena?”
Abel looked back to the wraith. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but still gotta know. How do you die?”
She tipped her head to the side again and answered, “An extreme blast of electricity can sap us of all of our energy and we’ll blink out of existence immediately.”
“That’s it?” Abel asked.
“Well, no.” She shook her head. “When we’re visible, not only do we have the power to navigate the world like a human or other immortals…touch things, move them, do battle…we can also be touched. And harmed. It’s difficult and requires a great deal of strength, but if any of our limbs were removed forcibly or by a weapon, unless we receive attention from a fellow wraith or phantom or absorb a large amount of mortal energy, all the energy we have will escape and we’ll eventually die. This, obviously, hastens if our heads are removed from our bodies.”
Ugh.
“‘Thanks’ seems like a fucked-up thing to say, but thanks,” Abel said quietly.
She inclined her head.
“Uh,” I butted in, “if you guys can float through walls, or float at all, doesn’t that make us vulnerable here, even in this compound?”
Serena didn’t answer. Gregor did.
“There’s an invisible electric net over the entirety of the land the compound is on, Lilah,” he told me. “And the walls surrounding the compound have a slim chamber the length of them situated between the inner and outer walls which contains an electrical charge. Another net runs from the beach up the cliffside. If a wraith or phantom were to try to breach any of these, a surge of electricity would occur. A surge that would be noted by our security and we’d be aware that an attempt was being made. In other words, wraiths and phantoms must enter the compound like any other being…through the front gate.”
Well, that was good.
“Any other questions?” Callum asked.
Abel shook his head at Callum. So did I.
Callum dipped his chin shar
ply in response and turned to Gregor.
“Right, that’s out there. Now where’s your Council with the president?”
“The president?” I asked, and Callum looked to me.
“Of the United States.”
I blinked.
Gregor spoke. “It would be good if you sent Ryon or one of your brothers as an emissary to our delegation.”
“I’m happy to go,” Ryon stated immediately and I had to stop myself from shrinking back in my chair when Callum’s expression changed at his words.
“Regan is en route to the compound. She’ll be here today,” Callum replied. “And no member of my family will be sent to join the delegation since any of them, if captured, could be used against me. All of them will be safe from that here, with Sonia and me. So this is where you all will be.”
“Regan is Callum’s mother,” Sonia told Abel and me quietly.
“Cal, wolves don’t hide,” Ryon stated at this point and did it impatiently. I got the feeling they’d had this conversation before.
“I’ve lost a brother and a father to this shit, Ryon. I’ll not lose more, which means I’ll not lose you. Until we know more about what they’re planning, who’s with us and who’s against us, you’re all staying safe,” Callum fired back.
“Which blows,” Caleb muttered, then rolled his eyes at Ryon when Callum’s expression turned downright ferocious.
“Safe does not blow, Caleb,” Callum clipped. “Safe means our mother, who lost her mate and her son to these rebels, will not lose more.”
Caleb appeared like he didn’t much enjoy being told off, but he said nothing else. Ryon said nothing else mostly because his jaw was clenched so hard, I wasn’t sure he could speak.
So Gregor took this opportunity to butt into the family argument. “Callum, we must impress upon the president the gravity of the situation, and the king sending one of his governors—”
Callum cut him off. “Saint is a skilled diplomat. He has a direct line to me. And if the president doesn’t understand that my number one priority is my family, I don’t give a shit if the gravity of the situation is impressed upon him or not. He makes a fucked-up decision based on the fact that he doesn’t have the attention he thinks he deserves, then he pays for that through his legacy.”
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