by Jade Kerrion
In silence, Jaden followed Dana from the chamber. He did not look at her until they stepped onto the elevator. Jaden threw his mother a sideway glance. He searched for the right words, but could not force them past the heavy pressure against his chest and throat.
Dana, too, seemed unable to speak. She looked at him while swallowing hard and often. Her green eyes, so much like his, shimmered with unshed tears.
The immediacy of the council meeting had forced him to respond to the challenge of the other icrathari and freed him from the burden of reacting to his mother. Now, without the excuse of distractions, it was enough to be together, sharing the same space in silence.
Dana broke the quiet. “I missed out on so much, but you’ve grown up to be a credit to your father and to Lydia.” Her voice caught on the woman’s name.
“What happened?” he asked. “Why did the vampires take you?”
“It was the full moon after your fifth birthday. The vampires came for you.”
Jaden’s eyes widened. “What?”
Dana squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to block out the memory. “Your father tried to stop them, but they knocked him unconscious. The vampires took you, and I followed.”
“You followed them into Malum Turris?”
A weak smile appeared on Dana’s face. Her eyes opened and locked on Jaden’s face. A glimmer of laughter lurked in their green depths. “Apparently, I was the first person in nearly a thousand years who had managed to do so unnoticed. I was eventually captured, though. The vampires would have killed me, but Ashra stopped them and offered me a place among the vampire scouts.” Dana swallowed hard and interlaced her fingers. Even so, her hands trembled.
Jaden reached out and wrapped his hands around hers. Her hands were icy cold, the texture of her skin as smooth and hard as polished marble. Not human.
The foundation of his identity cracked. He was not who he thought he was—a human warrior sworn to protect the child of destiny. My mother is a vampire, and for the past five years, I’ve dreamed of an icrathari’s love. He fought to keep his voice steady. “And you accepted Ashra’s offer?”
“On condition that she return you to your father, and that she swear never to hurt you.” Dana’s smile wavered. “Apparently, the icrathari only keep promises as long as it suits them. At least it purchased you a few years of peace until the icrathari saw you as a challenge.”
“All I did was defend Khiarra.”
“You killed two vampires.” She grinned. “That’s only slightly less difficult than sneaking into Malum Turris.”
Jaden chuckled. “Between what you and I have done and the prophecy around Khiarra, I imagine Ashra has found our family tiresome.” He paused before giving voice to the question that lay between them. “Why didn’t you come back to tell me that you were alive?”
“Oh, Jaden.” Her face twisted. “How could I? After the centuries of hate the humans have harbored for the vampires and the icrathari, how could I return to tell you that I had become one of the despised Night Terrors? How could I do that without your father blaming you for the choice I made, or worse, you blaming yourself?”
The denial shaped his lips, but he bit it back. She was right. His father would never have forgiven the betrayal. And I’ve betrayed him too.
He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed against the spike of pain in his chest. “I have to see him.”
Dana shook her head. “Not a good idea.”
“And leaving him imprisoned without explanations is? You know him; the longer he simmers, the worse his anger.”
“He’s human. He won’t understand.”
“I did.”
Dana stared at her son for a moment before her vivid green eyes softened. She smiled faintly. “Yes, you did. You’ll have to ask Ashra, though. Only the icrathari are able to access the cells.”
Jaden hesitated. “I think I can too.”
“But how?”
“Apparently, I don’t just have Rohkeus’s soul. I have his eyes too.”
“Really?” Dana’s eyebrows drew together. “And all this time, I thought you got those eyes from me.” She reached out to tap the controls on the elevator. It reversed direction, heading down and stopping on the lowest level of Malum Turris.
She led the way off the open platform and through the corridors that wound around the massive engine rooms.
Jaden paused at a raised threshold. He tapped the protruding steel panel. “What is this?”
“Fire doors. If one of the engines catches fire and spreads beyond its room, we seal the fire doors along the corridors to keep the flames from spreading.”
“Has it ever happened?”
“No, Xanthia is the consummate perfectionist. She single-handedly keeps the engines running in flawless condition, and just as well. Life within Aeternae Noctis is fragile. We can’t afford any mistakes.”
He had come to realize that fact too. Jaden followed his mother around a corner. “I never did find my way back to the city.”
“There are many ways to the city. The closest one is down that way.” She jerked her head at a narrow corridor. “It emerges under the statue in the city square.”
“Really?” Jaden’s eyes widened.
“Yes, though we’ve not used that door in awhile.” Dana laughed softly. “The vampires usually employ the front door and the bridge over the moat, and the icrathari will take advantage of any open window.”
She stopped in front of the sealed door of a cell and threw a glance over her shoulder. “Are you certain?”
He inhaled deeply. “No, but I have to talk to him anyway.”
She nodded. “I’ll wait out here for you.
He leaned down to peer into the biometric scanner. As he had expected, the cell door opened, and he stepped in.
Six pairs of eyes swiveled in his direction.
“Traitor!” Hands curled into fists, Gareth hurled himself at Jaden.
Jaden sidestepped, and Gareth slammed into the wall. His grunt of fury collapsed into a dazed moan, but he dragged himself upright and swung his fist out at Jaden.
The younger man caught his father’s fist in an open hand and pushed him back into the protective fold of the other humans. The old man glowered up at Jaden; he would have lunged forward if not for the restraining hands wrapped around him. “You traitor! You betrayed your sister, betrayed us all.”
“Father, it’s not what you think it is. The city—” How could he explain that for a thousand years, the icrathari had imprisoned humanity in a lie, but the truth was far worse? How could anyone who had not seen for himself the desolation beyond the dome believe anything other than the worst of the Night Terrors?
How could he defend Ashra when he was still struggling to separate the facts of the situation from his inexplicable attraction to her? An image of Ashra surfaced, but not one he had obtained in his life. The fresh delight of her smile, the innocence in her eyes—it was a memory of a much younger icrathari, before the responsibility of protecting Aeternae Noctis was placed on her narrow shoulders.
The images of her dancing on a dew-covered lawn beneath a full moon, her black wings glistening in the pale light were not his memories, but Rohkeus’s, and the memories were infused with love. Jaden did not know if the love echoing through those memories was Rohkeus’s or Ashra’s, but perhaps it did not matter. Her love for Rohkeus had kept her toiling for a thousand years, and Rohkeus’s love for Ashra…
Jaden clenched his hands. How could he ever tell the difference between Rohkeus’s feelings for Ashra, and his own?
Does it even matter?
His father’s voice, low and intent, recalled him from the distracting thoughts of Ashra. “Jaden, you’re not yourself. We saw her force her blood down your throat. She’s bewitched you—turned you against your people, your family.” His voice trembled, precariously balanced on the edge of tears. “You’re my son. I know you can break free. You have to. The Night Terrors have already taken Dana and Khiarra from me. They can’t
take you too.”
She’s bewitched you.
Ashra’s voice countered with a whispered memory. The icrathari only taste memories. We do not create them.
Jaden took an unsteady step back. He shook his head to clear it of both his father’s voice and Ashra’s. His decision, his choice to love Ashra would be his own, damn it. If only his dreams, Rohkeus’s memories, were as easy to dispel. His voice betrayed none of his emotional turmoil. “I’ll bring blankets and food.”
His father leaned closer, his eyes locking onto Jaden’s. “You’re closer than anyone has ever been to these demons. Search out their weakness. Find a way to kill them. It’s the only way to end the eternal night.”
Jaden turned his back on his father. “The night is more kindness than we have deserved.” He walked out of the cell and allowed the door to lock behind him.
Dana straightened from her slouch. She wore a smile, but her eyes betrayed her pain at the conversation she had overheard. “He’s hated too much for too long to change his ways.”
He refused to believe it. Surely his family and his friends were as capable of seeing the truth as he was. A soul of an icrathari wasn’t required for enlightenment, only a pair of eyes and an open mind. “There has to be a way.”
“If there is, no one has found it in a thousand years. Come, I will take you to your sister.”
Chapter 13
In the chamber, her heart and mind in turmoil, Ashra turned her back on the large screen that provided a window into the cell where six humans huddled together. The babble of human conversation emerged, soft but clear through the speakers affixed to the screen, but she lost interest. Jaden had left the cell.
“Don’t you see?” Elsker said quietly. “The humans will sway him.”
“They didn’t.”
“They will; it’s only a matter of time. You’re asking him to turn his back on his family, his friends, on everything he has ever known to be true, and to trust in memories that aren’t even his.”
“He’s seen the world outside Aeternae Noctis. He understands the battle we fight.”
“So why didn’t he tell them?” Elsker paced the breadth of the chamber. “We can’t trust him. He deliberately endangered the city by bringing the infant daeva here.” He paused and turned his accusing gaze on Ashra. “You endangered the city by rescuing him. What were you thinking? You could have been killed.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist and walked to the balcony. Far below, the city stirred as the humans of Aeternae Noctis began a sixteen-hour cycle of wakefulness. In the forests and fields, narrow columns glowed with white radiance, feeding the plants with the artificial sunlight they needed to grow. Lights flicked on in buildings as the streets came alive with activity.
Outside, the night lingered, eternal.
Ashra smoothed the scowl before it appeared on her face. “I wasn’t hurt.”
“Luck will only take you so far.” His footsteps closed the distance. His hands rested on her shoulders.
She closed her eyes. Willpower kept her from relaxing into the support he offered.
His voice was quiet. “Has the soul bond taken hold?”
“The soul bond is a myth.” Inside, she quaked.
“All myths are based in reality. I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t be.”
“I’m allowed to worry. We’ve been friends for thousands of years, and I’ve never seen you act so recklessly. You are the thread that holds the city together, yet you risked your life for a human.”
For Rohkeus, she amended.
Elsker continued. “The soul bond doesn’t just bind the created to the creator. It also connects the creator to the created.” He shook his head. “You’re not thinking straight, Ashra. I don’t think you can, not after you created the soul bond by giving him your blood.”
She snorted. “Twenty drops. It wasn’t a pint, let alone a full transfusion. Don’t blow this out of proportion.”
“But that’s precisely the problem. No one knows what proportion of pure icrathari blood will trigger the soul bond—”
“Enough!” She spun around. Her wings flared out, driving him back. “My life, Elsker. I choose where and how to risk it.”
“Ashra—”
“And if I choose to risk it on a human being, whether or not he possesses Rohkeus’s soul, who are you to stand in my way?”
His pale blue eyes widened. An expression of injured innocence flashed across his fine-featured face. “Ashra, we’re friends; I’m just trying to help.”
“Are you?” She folded her arms across her chest. “In the same way you tried to console me after Rohkeus died?”
He flushed.
“You tried to poison my memories of him with lies. You said—”
Elsker shook his head. He ground the words out through gritted teeth. “I spoke only the truth. Rohkeus was a manipulative son of a bitch. He would sacrifice anything and anyone to get his way.”
“He was bound to his duty.”
“A duty that cared nothing for friendship, let alone love. He used you; he used all of us.”
“He salvaged all that was left of life on Earth, and it cost him his life.”
Elsker snarled. “Fine; make him out to be a hero. Your eyes have been closed to all his faults for thousands of years. No reason to expect you to start seeing them now.”
Ashra cast him a steely glance. “Are you still rankling over the fact that I left you for him?” She brushed past him and walked toward the central shaft. Her wings spread, rustling in the slight breeze as she prepared for flight.
Elsker’s voice, pitched low, spoke from behind her. “That was three thousand years ago.”
Icrathari memories are flawless and eternal. She did not respond to Elsker; they had never seen eye to eye on Rohkeus, and there was hardly any point in attempting to do so now. She leapt high, twisted in midair, and dove down the shaft. The wind screamed up at her, slowing her mad plunge. She flared her wings and maneuvered onto the landing outside her suite. Her feet touched the ground as a soft chime heralded the arrival of the elevator.
Jaden and Dana stepped off the platform.
Ashra’s gaze flashed to Dana, and she jerked her chin, the gesture imperious.
Dana backed away, retreating around the corner. Jaden’s only reaction was an arch of his eyebrows.
Ashra beckoned.
Jaden did not move.
She stifled a chuckle. This soul bond that Elsker fears I’ve created by giving Jaden my blood obviously needs tweaking.
For a long moment, they stared at each other across the few feet that separated them. Jaden broke the silence first. “Where is my sister?”
“In here.” She turned and strode toward a door. It slid open, steel whispering against steel. She stepped into her suite of rooms, the only place in the tower that she considered entirely her own. Beauty was not innate to Malum Turris, but over a thousand years, she had scrounged from the city enough material—satin, silk, and velvet—to soften the sharp edges and warm the cold surfaces of her suite. Cloths of gem-like hues draped across the bed and lounge chairs. The rich and deep colors were a sharp contrast to the gauzy white dress she wore.
Jaden cast a startled glance around the room. “Do icrathari sleep?”
“We don’t have to, but an occasional nap has been known to improve a sour disposition.” She led the way to a small door tucked in the corner of her suite. She unlocked it and flung the door open.
The small antechamber served as a private sitting room. The screens on the wall displayed images of lakes and oceans that existed only in historical records and the memories of the icrathari. On a daybed, tucked beneath a heavy quilt was Khiarra, fast asleep.
Jaden released his breath. The soft sigh was accompanied by relieved smile. He sat by the bed. His hand stroked his sister’s hair with a gentleness that no longer surprised Ashra.
Khiarra stirred but did not wake.
He looked at Ashra. “Thank you.�
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“You thank me so often; it seems you must not have set particularly high expectations for my behavior.”
He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
The sound charmed a smile out of her, but she stamped down the flash of delight. “You went to see the humans.”
“Yes. I had to see if I could talk sense into them.”
“You can’t. They’re human. They cannot change.”
He pressed a finger lightly to her lips. “I’m human too. The only part of Rohkeus that exists in me is his memory of you. I’ve just learned that everything I believed for twenty-eight years was a lie, and somehow I survived.”
Her lips pursed. “You are different.”
“You think I’m different because you haven’t dealt with humans in so long. You have no idea what we’re like. Give us more credit. We are adaptable; we have to be. The final change—death—looms over each of us every day. Change is easier when you don’t have to contemplate the immortal consequences of your decisions. If you can win the humans over, they’ll fight for you.”
“For a thousand years, we’ve defended the city without aid from humans.”
“You need our help now,” Jaden insisted. “The daeva attacks have thinned your vampire army.”
She tilted her head. “And you’re offering your frail humans in its stead?”
“We number in the thousands.”
“And you’d die to protect the city?” Her lips twisted into a sneer. “I find that hard to believe.”
“You already cull through us each night of the full moon. We’re used to dying for your beliefs.”
Ashra pulled away from him. “Is that how you see us?”
“Until recently, you didn’t give me a chance to see you any differently.” He reached for her, and she allowed him to hold her cold fingers in his warm hand. “I changed. The others will too. This is our city, Ashra. It’s our home. We have always believed that the icrathari and the vampires kept us from the real world. You did, but we never realized before that the real world isn't worth having. We owe the icrathari our lives and the vampires our safety. If you give us a chance to acknowledge the debt we owe and the stake we have in the city…”