Cindy clung to Gabe and Dorian tightened his grip around my waist. I leaned into him, thankful for his need to protect me even though if there was an issue, I was much more likely to protect him. Still, it was nice being near him and I realized a friendship like his rarely came along. I turned back to him and smiled.
“Thanks, Dorian.”
“No worries.” He nudged me with his shoulder.
After several long, nerve-wracking moments, the metal elevator we rode on came to a halt and a blue-green light flickered on above us. With the light came a rigorous hum as the large hole above us sealed shut. As soon as the hole closed, there was a click and a door in front of us slid open. Standing in the doorway, flanked by two bodyguards, was a woman who looked startingly like my mother.
She wore slick black pants and a matching black top. It reminded me of a scuba suit, but with more flair. On her feet were boots with sparkling black buckles that went midway up her calves. On her back was what looked like a large gun. Her long hair was in a braid, hanging down her back.
“She’s kickass,” Dorian whispered.
A glint of a smile crossed my mother’s lips, as though she heard him.
I couldn’t say anything. I was too shocked. Physically, she looked like my mom, with her long hair, the color of spider silk, and a lithe body, but she also appeared more hardened. There was none of the softness I remembered. Instead she looked as Dorian said, like a kick-ass, no nonsense woman.
“Ariel,” Abernathy said, his voice low and soothing. “It’s lovely to see you again.”
Chapter 11
As they spoke, Ariel glanced my direction several times, her smile lighting my insides with happiness. Dorian wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. Cindy tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I didn’t respond.
Gabe climbed down from Abernathy’s back first, then Cindy, and then Dorian and finally me. I couldn’t focus on anyone but my mom and all of my unanswered questions. After adjusting my clothes, I debated whether to talk to her or not.
“Go on,” Cindy said, giving me a shove, but I couldn’t make my feet work.
It was like a dream and I couldn’t believe she was there, in front of me, talking to Abernathy.
When they finished, she patted him on the nose before heading over to a panel on the wall where she pushed a button. Instantly, the access doors above us began to open, making a clanking sound. Abernathy glanced at me before unfurling his wings and ascending. When he was halfway up, he spoke. “I’ll return when I’m needed, vampire. For now, I need a nap,” he said.
I noticed my mom flinched at his use of the word vampire.
I waved nervously. “Okay,” I said, my voice echoing against the peculiar walls. A strange odor radiated from everywhere. It took me a minute to place it, but I realized the strongest smells were hazelnut and salt water.
Inclining her head to each of us, my mother directed we follow. My feet began to move of their own volition. We crossed the doorway and the door slid closed behind us. The blue-green lights lit up the hallway that appeared to be made out of something black. It sparkled like black diamonds. None of us spoke. The only sound was the swishing of our clothes and the rhythmic padding of our shoes. When we reached the end of the hall, a door glided open. We went through and entered a formal living room with a fireplace, couches, chairs, end tables, even a piano. But the materials were different somehow. I touched one of the couches as I passed and was surprised by its softness.
“The furniture is made of eel skin,” my mother said. She didn’t turn but kept walking forward.
I pulled my hand away. Should I be disgusted?
“Everything you see here is from Mizu, created from the animals, minerals, and plants found in this land. Nothing is from the surface,” Ariel said, answering the question I hadn’t asked aloud.
Dorian walked next to me and gave me a look that said all of this was crazy.
I shrugged.
After the living room we came to the kitchen. An overwhelming heat radiated from an enormous fire in the center. Men and women of all shapes and heritages moved as though in a dance, preparing food.
My mother stopped and I nearly ran into her before I halted.
She turned back and grinned like I remembered, and her vibrancy touched the innermost secrets of my soul.
I breathed in and waited for her to speak.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Starved,” Dorian answered.
Gabe agreed.
“I could eat,” Cindy said, her hands in her pockets as she studied the room.
Blood sounded good, I thought, but said nothing.
“Please, have a seat.” She indicated a wooden table. The centerpiece was filled with radiant purple flowers I didn’t recognize.
When we were seated, plates were positioned in front of us. The food smelled divine. It looked like fish covered in a creamy yellow sauce, green beans, and freshly baked rolls. My friends looked at me before shoveling it in. Obviously, it tasted good, but I didn’t even try to fake it. My stomach was already in knots. I wouldn’t add human food to the mix.
My mom ate a little too, but mostly she answered questions from random people who came in and sent wary glances at me and my friends. None of us spoke for several minutes. I stared at my plate and I caught my mother staring at me.
When they finished, my mother addressed them.
“Better?”
“Yes,” Cindy said, giving me a sidelong look.
“Good.” She rose and eyed two elven men who appeared to be her bodyguards. They stood against a wall, out of the way. “Will you escort these children to their rooms?” she asked. “They should get some rest.”
The bodyguards moved forward in one fluid motion—as though their brains were connected.
Gabe, Dorian, Cindy, and I began to follow. I wasn’t tired and had no desire to relax. I wanted to stay with my mom. There was a lot I wanted to discuss. But I didn’t know how to voice my wishes. I was still shocked that she was alive and standing feet away.
As we trailed them down the hall, my mother grasped me by the elbow. “Can we talk? Just the two of us?” Her voice was light, soft.
Dorian and the others turned back, waiting for my answer. I shrugged. “Sure,” I said, my shaky voice betraying my nervousness.
Cindy shot me a look, but I flicked my chin, indicating I was fine. She nodded, and they continued to follow the guards.
My mom and I went back to the living room. “We should have privacy here.” She walked over to the fireplace. At the touch of a button, flames sprang to life and she rubbed her hands together a moment before crossing her arms.
I couldn’t stop watching her, unsure this was real. At the same time, I wanted her to hug me, but I was scared.
She was focused on the flames when she began talking. “From the day you were born you were special. Even as a baby you were this little black-haired, blue-eyed force to be reckoned with.” She paused.
My mother was alive. I waited, watching her in awe. I wanted to tell her my eyes were no longer blue, but I didn’t.
When she spoke again, her voice shook with emotion. “Every day, every second of every minute, I thought about you, wondered how you were growing, if you were happy.” She sniffed and suddenly turned. “Are you happy?”
I winced, hesitant to reply. A part of me wanted to comfort her, ease the agony evident in her eyes. But memories flooded through my mind of all the times I had needed her, from knee scrapes to birthday parties to the first time I got my period and Vivianne just laughed, telling me to suck it up.
Then there was everything else. I was bitten and transformed into something new and wholly fantastical. First a revenant—not quite human, not quite vampire—to what I was now, a vampire and more. The Seal. And I was given the task of restoring balance to all magical creatures.
In the past thirteen years I had experienced moments of happiness. I laughed, enjoyed time with friends. Fallen in love.
But there were plenty of miserable times as well. Most of them normal teenage girl problems. Human problems. Like whether or not I’d trip up the stairs. Would I ever get a first kiss, pass chemistry, or go to college? I still didn’t know how to drive—not really. And what about when I needed to talk to her about my craving for boys and blood… and kissing…? Or just needed my mom because I was having a horrible day?
It was one thing when I thought she died. Something else entirely that she chose to stay away. Living in this… place. I glanced around the room again, admiring the clean lines and the otherworldly look of all of the furnishings.
Was I happy?
My mom had been hiding. When I needed a mother, she ran.
She reached out a tentative hand, but I pulled away.
She sighed. “I’m sorry, Snow.” She turned back to the flames. “If I could have stayed, I would have. I swear. I know what I’ve missed.”
Finally, I found my voice. “Do you? Really?” I shook my head, swallowing back my sadness. “How did leaving, pretending to be dead, help me in any way?” The words tumbled out, filled with aching grief. “I needed you. In so many ways. You leaving didn’t stop Chris—my hunter from biting me. It didn’t stop my need for human blood. All your absence did was tear a hole in my heart. You left me by myself, afraid all the time. I didn’t have anyone. Dad and Vivianne were barely around, leaving me alone in that house, and not just for a few days. For weeks or more. If it wasn’t for Professor Pops—I mean, Mr. Henry and his sons—I would’ve died from loneliness. So, tell me how it helped. Tell me why leaving was so noble, because I don’t buy it.” I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling rapidly. Tears were streaming down my face and I let them. My mother was wrong to leave. I knew it. And I wanted her to know it.
Chapter 12
“I understand, Snow. I do. Leaving you has weighed heavily on my heart since the day I left. But look at you.” Her eyes sparkled with awe. “You’re magnificent. A leader. A creature destined to save us all.”
I let out a noise somewhere between a snort and a sob. I wiped at my tears, wishing they would stop. “How can you say that? I’m a wreck.” But I had to admit her words made me feel better.
She came over and gently wiped my cheek with the back of her hand. “Maybe you are a bit of a wreck, but aren’t we all? Isn’t that what life is about? The mess.”
My hands trembled. I listened to her words, heard the tenderness of her voice, and all it did was make me angry. How could she console me or tell me anything? She didn’t have the right.
“I don’t know,” I whispered through clenched teeth.
She rolled her shoulders. “Do you want to sit?” she asked, trying to take my hand.
I shook my head, moving my hands behind my back.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “Abernathy told you the name of this city, correct?”
“Yes,” I answered, and cleared my throat, working to force down words and emotions I wasn’t ready to share. If I said more, it would all spill out.
“Did he tell you the city’s purpose? Why we’re here, under a million tons of water, in a different realm?”
“No,” I said, knowing something big was coming, something I didn’t want to hear but couldn’t stop.
My mother nodded. “It’s here so Sharra, the vampire queen, can’t find us. It was built to protect those who stand against her. In a way, we’re refugees, people and creatures without a home of our own. We stood against Sharra and she nearly slaughtered us all.” In a lower voice, she went on. “It’s also here to protect you.”
My hands shook. I didn’t know what to say.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit?” She indicated a couch.
I wanted to yell. Tell her she was mistaken. A liar. A coward. But I got the feeling she carried a whole lot more than the strange-looking gun on her back, so I agreed.
I followed her to the couch, sitting across from her. She looked sad, but also determined. It was apparent she believed in her cause. “When Silindra died, Abernathy knew right away because Ryden brought him the necklace, the Seal of Gabriel. The others found out rather quickly. Devoran. Oberon. But they believed Sharra’s words, intrigued by her attitudes for a new world, one where we were all the same. That the lion and the lamb could lie down together and be friends.” She shook her head, disgusted. “The problem is that a lion is a lion—a predator who must hunt to survive. And the lamb is a lamb—the hunted. Can the lamb eat the lion? Of course not. But Sharra spoke of growth, of progress, saying that a unicorn could be a unicorn, but he could also be a horse. A fairy could be a fairy, but she could also be a butterfly. And so on. ‘Evolutionary advancement’ was the term she used most often.”
She glanced down at her hands. “It wasn’t until many of the magical creatures were nearly extinct and became devoid of magic that they began to realize Sharra’s plan wasn’t one of peace and friendship, but of power. Total domination. She didn’t want any of the other creatures to have any power. She wanted it all for herself.”
“I get it,” I said, interrupting. Silindra had talked to Abernathy and Devoran about such things, that she believed Sharra wanted all the power. She was right.
“Do you?” my mom asked but continued before I could reply. “Devoran understood her plans long before anyone else. He kept his people as far away from her as possible. When her lies and deceit started to seep into his kingdom, he was frantic. With the help of Abernathy, the elves built the realm of Mizu, desperate to save magic and the magical races. When Sharra caught wind of what was happening, she created the land of Sharra. Most were trapped there, but those of us who escaped came here.”
Abernathy’s words came back to me: “The answer is the same for all questions. Magic. I have it and I know how to use it.” My eyes grew big and I realized he wasn’t lazy at all. Magic was a whole lot more than words and spells, and I wondered how witches were created. They didn’t exist during Sharra and Silindra’s time. At least they hadn’t possessed one of the seven magics. Witches used Abernathy’s magic. Obviously. Cindy had his spell book. But how did that all come to be? How was the first witch created?
“Snow,” Arial prodded, her hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged it away. “So, what does this place have to do with me? Or you, for that matter?” She said they were refugees, but why choose to come here when she would have been safe in the human world?
She licked her lips, a very human gesture, and I caught myself staring at her, checking to see if she had any hint of elf in her. Her frame was thin, willowy like the elves, but that’s where the similarities ended. Her skin was the wrong color, as was her hair. The way she spoke did remind me of someone from while I spent time with Silindra.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, studying me intently.
And I remembered the mannerisms, the particular way she had of speaking. “You’re Devoran’s daughter,” I breathed as the realization hit me. Many of her mannerisms were the same as his.
A look of amazement splayed across her features. “Which means you are his granddaughter, Snow.” My mother gazed at me in earnest. “Do you know what Sharra would give to have your lineage as her own?”
Devoran was around back when Silindra and Sharra were alive, which made me question how old my mother was. But I shook that away.
“I still don’t get why that knowledge meant you had to leave me. If what you say is true, why didn’t you bring me with you?” Images of what life would’ve been like living here with my mother filtered through my mind. I could’ve helped her. At least spent my life with her.
And I wouldn’t have been bitten. An eerie tension coursed through my body.
My mother sighed; her shoulders turned in. “The city isn’t to protect you from those out in the world, but to keep those who would kill you, in.”
“Oh.” A light bulb clicked on inside my head. The day I ran track with Christopher. It was raining, and I was trying to catch up with him. Then I felt a pr
ick in the back of my legs, and they went numb, making it impossible to move them. Christopher said I was poisoned. And he told me there were those who wanted me dead. Did he know about Mizu? I had no doubt he did, which meant Sharra probably knew as well.
My mother must’ve read the confused expression on my face because she elaborated. “Specifically, my father swore he would kill you if I didn’t leave you and return.” She sniffled, and I watched her eyes fill with tears. “He said he would kill you to punish me.”
I was so confused, I clasped my hands together, hoping to alleviate some of my irritation. “So Devoran is still alive?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“And he’s here in Mizu with you?”
She nodded again.
“But I thought Abernathy sent you to the human realm to get away from him and your family. Why trap you down here with them?”
“Very good questions,” she said and swallowed.
I ground my teeth together, remembering Devoran’s interactions with the unicorn, Envy. He was kind to her, took her in when no one else would. My confusion grew. “He tried to have me killed anyway,” I said through clenched teeth. “Or at least there are those in the human realm who want me dead.”
She shook her head. “It couldn’t have been him. He’s been down here with me the whole time.” But she didn’t sound convinced. Her words sounded hollow, and I sensed she knew as well as I did that she was lying to herself.
Besides, why would Devoran be honest with her? I thought of the stories Abernathy shared, about her parents rejecting her. If they treated her badly before, why would they change now?
“I still don’t understand why you’re here. Why you left me.” Really though, what did I know about anything? Was my mom—Ariel—lying to me? I couldn’t put it past her. “There was this unicorn. Her name was Envy. Devoran was so kind to her,” I said slowly.
She nodded. “He brings up that story all the time, about how he’s so empathetic, but the truth is he’s only accepting when it comes to other people’s problems. If anything in his own life is imperfect, then he wants nothing to do with it.”
Queen of the Vampires: Snow White Reimagined with Vampires and Dragons (Seven Magics Academy Book 3) Page 5