Spring's Vampires. Blooms of Blood: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Soulmates of Seasons Book 4)

by Eva Brandt

  “I don’t know if you can,” Eranthe whispered. “I don’t think anyone can help me with this or change what happened.”

  Even so, she listened to my suggestion and accepted my embrace. She buried her face in my chest, her whole body shaking with tremors she couldn’t control. She didn’t cry, but when she hugged me back, her hold on me was so tight it was almost painful. “Why? What have I done to deserve this? What could warrant such a betrayal, such destruction? “

  I caressed her hair, wondering what else had happened since we’d last seen her. We hadn’t been gone long, but that didn’t mean anything. This was Chronikos, and here, our perception of time could be very different from its natural flow.

  “Eranthe?” Adrian asked gently, approaching her as well. He brushed his fingers over her shoulder in a tentative touch that made their magic connect. “Do you want to tell us what happened?”

  I almost wished he hadn’t made the inquiry, because the moment he did so, Eranthe broke away from my embrace. “I made a huge mistake. I should’ve seen this coming long ago. And yet...”

  She trailed off, but we didn’t press her again. Instead, we waited for her to gather her thoughts. Our strategy paid off when she finally explained, “It’s my mother. This whole thing was planned beforehand, by my mother. She’s the one who told Veggie to send you to Hades. I suspect she must also be the one who made Fufluns believe that I’d be open to being his wife. He didn’t know me before, so it makes no sense for him to just try to kidnap me out of the blue.”

  I remembered what the Grand Lich had told us earlier, about fate being manipulated. Had he only been referring to himself, or had he been talking about Eranthe’s family as well?

  “Eranthe, we don’t actually know what happened. So far, no one has given us a straight answer. I don’t know if this helps, but I think it would be better if you talked things out with your mother and your sisters before you made a decision.”

  Adrian nodded. “There’s definitely something up that we don’t understand. In The Voievodat, we don’t worship deities and we don’t believe in their omnipotence, or the immutability of fate. The sheer fact that The Grand Lich is working with them is strange in the extreme.”

  “And then there’s my uncle,” I pointed out. “I don’t know where he fits in all this. He’s the emperor, but he does occasionally defer to the Grand Lich. I don’t know if he’s even aware of the Grand Lich’s machinations. I get the feeling that we’re all pawns in a bigger game. But we will figure it out, I promise.”

  “I know.” Eranthe shook her head, as if physically trying to dispel a thought. “But I can’t help but think it won’t be enough, that I won’t be enough. I shouldn’t be hiding here like a coward. I should be facing them and forcing them to come forward with the truth.”

  She was hardly hiding like a coward. She had been helping the unicorn herd before we’d arrived. But she was also clearly blaming herself for the war. I wanted to shake her and point out none of it was her fault, that the others had all made their own decisions. Unfortunately, that would be about as helpful as me saying I was comfortable with all the death around us.

  Adrian came up with a far better idea. “Believe it or not, Eranthe, I can understand where you’re coming from. Do you remember that when we first came here, we told you that we were going to visit my family in Tír na nÓg? Well, that was a huge lie. They hate my guts, and they’ve tried to kill me more than once.”

  Adrian hated talking about that episode in his life and it showed. His voice was steady, but his magic surged in a mournful song, a memory of what he had lost and traded. Eranthe must have felt it too, because her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Adrian. I had no idea.”

  Adrian waved off her words. He didn’t pretend he was fine with it, because he obviously wasn’t, but he did set the issue aside. “It’s my own fault for becoming a strigoi, and they’re entitled to their anger. But this isn’t about me. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that it’s all right to let yourself feel the pain of this betrayal. You’re not foolish or childish for loving your family and wanting them to reciprocate that feeling. Even at my worst, I still missed that. It’s normal for you to be upset too.”

  “I can’t afford to let that cloud my judgment, though,” Eranthe replied, biting her lower lip. “What if I make the wrong decision because of my affection for them?”

  “You won’t,” I answered. “You’ll do the right thing, in the end. Besides, even if we can’t help with much else, we can at least put things into perspective.”

  I had never been in her position, but I’d lived all my life in a pretty cutthroat vampire coven. Being the dhampir nephew of the emperor was nothing if not informative. And Baltasar and Adrian would obviously help.

  It didn’t occur to me that the conversation about family would lead us in an unfortunate direction. “I don’t deserve all this, not after the way I treated you earlier.” Eranthe rubbed her temples, looking even more tired than before. “Baltasar is horribly mad at me, isn’t he? Because I hurt his mother?”

  “No, of course not,” I answered. “He understands the circumstances.”

  “I’m not sure that makes it better. I don’t know what we should do about this at all.”

  I could see where she was coming from. Baltasar loved his parents, but his mother had committed a serious crime against Tis Ánoixis. Eranthe was the queen of this realm. She would have to take action against the lamiae.

  “We’ll just have to find out if this was sanctioned by the emperor and go from there.” She stared up at the sky, as if seeking the answers to all her dilemmas in the clouds. “I don’t want to believe in fate and prophecies, but I have a feeling that this time, Cassia might be right. This time, I’ll have a future of blood.”

  “Maybe, Eranthe, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Adrian cupped her cheek gently and smiled. “There must be a reason why we’re your soulmates. And you know what else? As much as I regret losing my family, I wouldn’t change a thing about my past actions. You can find something true, alive, and warm even in death.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself. Even leaving aside my father’s experience, I’d always had a close bond to Baltasar and Adrian. And while our relationship might not be romantic, I still treasured it, as much as I treasured Eranthe.

  Eranthe glanced between me and Adrian, as if trying to figure out if we were telling the truth. What she saw on our faces must’ve convinced her, because she nodded. “All right. I believe you. It would be ungrateful not to. Isn’t that right, Cloud?”

  The unicorn neighed in response. I hadn’t even realized he’d recovered from his ailment. Clearly, he had, and for some reason, he didn’t dislike us as much as he had during our first meeting.

  When he poked me with his horn, I got the feeling that it was more or less in jest, rather than an actual threat. Eranthe’s weak smile confirmed this. “Come on. Let’s check on your herd one more time and go back. I think before I speak to the undead emperor, I have to make matters clear with my lieutenants and, first and foremost, with my family.”

  Six

  Family Matters

  Eranthe

  Returning to The Gardens of Edenia after the episode in The Forest of Purity was beyond strange. Looking at my home, my palace, and my people, I saw them differently. I saw more than I had before, and it both scared and reassured me.

  My brief visit with the unicorns shouldn’t have been life-changing, not like my kidnapping, but for some reason, I felt different. Maybe it was just because I could now acknowledge that Hades had changed me, or maybe it was my anger at my family, something I’d experienced before, but never to this extent. Either way, I had a clear course of action in my head, and it helped me.

  I still didn’t believe in the strange prophecy nonsense, but maybe the real answer lay in the fact that almost everyone else around me disagreed. They had gone to great lengths to make sure that what was supposed to happen did indeed come to pass. It wasn’t
just my mother either. My lieutenants might have been aware, just like Veggie had. I’d speak to them about it once Cloud brought them to the palace. My sisters must’ve found out while I’d been in the underworld. They were one of my immediate priorities. The Grand Lich was more or less the mastermind. He was still a mystery, even if he’d helped me so far.

  Everything was so confusing, but I did have one certainty left. I could rely on my soulmates. That much was clear. That, I could believe in, with all my heart. Maybe my affection for my family was an obstacle, but the one I felt for my vampires had to be more than that.

  And so, as soon as I arrived at the palace, I didn’t track down my sisters. Instead, I left Veggie the leprechauns’ care and, together with Adrian and Cezar, sought out Baltasar. I found him in the underground cell block, keeping an eye on his still unconscious aunts. His mother was awake, but the rest of the lamiae weren’t. I wondered if it was related to Jack’s spell, or if his aunts had just received more damage from my attack.

  Baltasar sensed my approach before I even came within view of the actual cell. “Your Majesty,” he greeted me cautiously, “as you can see we’ve followed your instructions and secured the prisoners.”

  “I expected no less,” I replied. “I want a word with you, Baltasar.”

  “Bitch,” Mormo hissed from her cell. “Leave him alone. He’s not your tool. None of us are. You should have never been allowed to get so close to him after everything you’ve done.”

  “You’re not making any sense, Mother,” Baltasar replied. “Eranthe never used me. Adrian, Cezar, and I went to the underworld of our own accord. Nobody forced us to.”

  “That’s what you think. It’s all a giant game, my child, and it will blow up in your face, any day now. And when it does happen, you’ll finally see that you’ve been trusting the wrong woman all along.”

  Yet another person who was talking in riddles. “I don’t suppose you’ll do us all a favor and tell us what you mean by that?” I asked with an unfriendly smile.

  Mormo clenched her jaw and turned away from me. I scoffed. “Right. I didn’t think so. I’ll find out anyway. I won’t have any more of this idiotic secrecy.”

  My comment drew a startling reaction from Baltasar’s mother. Her eyes shot toward me once again, wide and filled with panic. “No, don’t! It’s too soon. You’re not ready for it! You can’t do this! You’ll destroy everything.”

  “Maybe,” I answered. “But that is a risk I’ll just have to take.”

  “Of course. You’ve always been selfish. I shouldn’t have expected you to suddenly change, just because you’re here now.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the serpentine woman. She was acting like she knew me, but our unfortunate exchange in the forest had been the first time we’d met.

  A part of me wanted to question her about it, but in the end, I had no doubt that the reasons for her strange behavior were identical, or at least similar, to the ones my family must’ve had for all these lies and manipulations. “I don’t have time for this. Baltasar, come with me. She’ll be safe here until I make a final decision regarding her fate.”

  Baltasar complied, although his posture remained just as rigid as before. I desperately wanted to make things better between us, but one of my biggest problems was the fact that I didn’t know if I could apologize and mean it.

  To a point, I was horrified at what I had done to Mormo, but did I actually regret it? I wasn’t sure.

  “The four of us need to sit down and have a real conversation soon,” I told my soulmates as we left the cell block. “I’ve been prioritizing everything else except you, but it occurs to me that it might’ve been a mistake. We all need to know where we stand with one another. I don’t want to make any assumptions about your thoughts and decisions. I understand that we don’t really know each other and I haven’t been handling any of this very well, but if you still want to stay with me, we have to stick together.”

  “I haven’t changed my mind, Your Majesty,” Baltasar said.

  “You have,” I told him. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be stuck calling me that. I’m not solely your queen when we’re in private.”

  Baltasar shot me a cautious, uncertain smile, but I decided not to address it. I was giving my soulmates mixed signals, and I couldn’t blame them for being wary after the way this day had gone.

  Thankfully, I had the distraction of having to deal with my family. Most of them were already waiting for me in the throne room, as I had hoped and expected. I’d been tempted to send a leprechaun to find them, but in the end, I’d decided to test things a little and see just how concerned my sisters and parents were about my plans.

  Considering the speed with which they’d all gathered here, the answer was not encouraging. Even so, I clung to my soulmates’ presence and remembered what they had said—that I needed to hear my mother out before I made a decision.

  “Thank you for coming here so quickly. I’ve reassessed the condition of Tis Ánoixis, and until Upakaruda return, I’ve decided to make matters clear between us. The Grand Lich claims there’s a prophecy about me, that I am meant to take up his position. I get the feeling the situation is a little more complicated than that, and you might be aware of it.” I turned to look at my mother. “In fact, you’ve been deliberately working to make sure I fulfill that prophecy. Isn’t that right?”

  To her credit, my mother didn’t try to lie to me or pretend she hadn’t manipulated me. “Some things are just meant to happen. I know you’re angry with me, and you’re not wrong. Through my actions, I encouraged the beginning of the war. But in the long run, it will be for the best.”

  Cassia clenched her fists, icicle claws forming at her fingertips and digging into her palms. “I still can’t believe you can say that with a straight face. We could’ve fixed it if you’d just been up front about it.”

  Pandora sneered, and the venom in her eyes and her voice rivaled that of her hydra. “You know Mother and Father always think they know what’s best. What happens to us doesn’t matter as long as the end result is according to their grand plan.”

  Tarasia said nothing, but her magic flared around her as bright and brilliant as the sun itself. She was obviously having trouble keeping herself from lashing out.

  The exchange filled me with a mix of dismay and relief. While I was upset that my sisters had known about this and had kept it from me, they still seemed on my side, and that was a huge step forward.

  “It’s all right,” I said, forcing myself to smile. “We can still stop the war. Yes, there’s been a lot of loss and pain, but that’s exactly why we need to focus on ending the conflict.”

  My sisters shared hesitant looks. After a few seconds, Tarasia made her way to my side. She pressed her warm hand to my cheek and said, “Ery, there’s nothing I’d like more than to be honest with you. I just don’t think this is the right—”

  “Why don’t you let me make that decision?” I cut her off. “This is my life and my future we’re talking about. I’m the cause of this war. For good or ill, I’m the one who made the choice to drink from that river. I can blame Mother and Father for everything else, but in the end, that part is my responsibility.

  “The Grand Lich has agreed to help me contain the death magic I absorbed while in Hades, but he also said I needed to get accustomed to my power. I’m increasingly inclined to believe him.” I still had no idea what to make of that strange kiss or of him, as a whole, but I did feel that, no matter what he might have done, he’d been honest with me.

  “Of course the Grand Lich would say that.” Cassia sighed. “This is a conversation the two of you should have. The rest of us... To be honest, I still can’t bring myself to fully believe what is going on.”

  “And if we do tell you and the Grand Lich isn’t present, I’m not sure you’ll believe us either,” Pandora added. “I know it sounds like stalling, Eranthe, but it’s the truth.”

  I glared at them both. Pandora was right. It did sound like stalling, yet an
other excuse to avoid providing me with the explanation I’d demanded.

  I opened my mouth, intending to push them until they yielded. The words died in my throat when Upakaruda appeared in the room.

  Usually, my conjoined messengers were quite graceful, but this time, they landed awkwardly on the floor, flipping several times and hitting the wall with an alarming crack. I gasped and rushed to their side. “Are you all right?” I asked as I dropped to my knees next to them. “Did the undead hurt you?”

  It was more or less a rhetorical question, since I could already see my two messengers weren’t at their best. Even so, both Upa and Karuda shook their heads. “Not as such, Your Majesty,” Upa said. “They were quite welcoming.”

  “They have defenses around their ships that make us uncomfortable,” Karuda added.

  Of course they did. I should have sent Tarasia’s phoenix with Upakaruda. They would’ve been able to watch each other’s backs. Too late now.

  I pressed my hand to Upakaruda’s chest—the chest both birds shared. I could indeed feel the lingering presence of death magic, and while it wasn’t malevolent in intent, it had left behind some unfortunate side-effects.

  With a thought, I willed the energies to release their hold on Upakaruda, much like I had done earlier, with Cloud. It was very easy, and the death magic came to me as eagerly as Veggie would have.

  It might have been yet another confirmation of my change in nature, but right then and there, I didn’t care. My messengers would be all right, and that was the only thing that mattered.

  Within seconds, Upakaruda had recovered and delivered the message they’d come here to bring. “Emperor Octavian has agreed to speak with you, Your Majesty. He has some doubts about finding a neutral location, though.”

  I’d been prepared for that, but I already had a solution in mind. “We don’t need an actual place. We can easily make one. Isn’t that right, Cassia?”