I tensed, ignoring him.
Aidan found a gateway, entering a world of perpetual night called Selene Haven. Home of the vampires.
Whoa.
The memories blurred and shifted, skipping over details. They hinted at the vampires hunting humans. Predators keeping the threat of a deadly species in check.
Huh? What sort of humans were they?
More details came at me.
The vamps were ruled by a Lucius Clarence, the vampire king. He kind of looked like Silvanus, but with blond hair and a meaner gaze.
Clarence? So that was Silvanus’s surname? I always wondered why he didn’t seem to have one.
The two men hit it off immediately, drinking and laughing together, sharing stories. Aidan learned about the vampire king being the source of vampiric life, as well as the source of their engineering power. Basically a deity, just like him. Within weeks, the men became great friends.
And then Aidan met Prince Silvanus, the king’s younger brother.
Immediately smitten, he pursued the free-spirited vampire who was always out in the forests of the world. At first, the prince didn’t want to know him until Aidan showed kindness to the creatures of the forest, saving a family of deer from a rabid group of humans.
The prince was so touched, he started to see the deity in a new light, eventually falling in love with him.
Only, the whole thing was a trick. Aidan didn’t love the prince. Silvanus repulsed him. The deity wanted this world for himself, to destroy the vampires and expand his territory. Become a god for the Selene Haven humans and start another war against the other deities he’d win for sure this time.
Shit.
Make that triple shit.
“I discovered his plan,” Caer said. “I have the gift of foresight, my power in my song. It conjures visions and dreams of the past, the present, and the future.”
I saw her twirling under falling rose petals, singing away in the Carving Glade.
I swallowed a ball of barbs. “Is that…is that power mine, now?”
She didn’t answer my question, the memories smeared in a dirty haze. “This is beginning to falter, Paris. I’m sorry.”
“I—”
“Keep singing. We might be able to see more.”
I obeyed, the haze not going anywhere.
“I saw Aidan’s plan and tried to warn King Lucius,” she added. “Tragically, I found his bone dust on his throne.”
“How…” Man, my temples were aching. “How aren’t all the vamps dead?”
Her grip on my hands loosened. “I’m only seeing what I can. My memories are just as broken and muddied.”
A vision appeared, showing Caer teaming up with a devastated Silvanus. Collectively, they poured their godly powers into the creation of a weapon. A huge sword brimming with their essence. The only thing powerful enough to stop him.
Knowing he was fucked, Aidan counterstruck with his own magic, making himself a between place to retreat to and protected it with an everlasting rainstorm, hiding inside his tower.
But the deities followed him, storming the tower. He begged for mercy, pleading with Silvanus to help him.
I fell to my knees, the song dropping, the pressure of all this information too much for me now. “I can’t… I can’t keep…” I retched, collapsing onto all fours. “Please… Please make it stop…”
“We’re almost done,” Caer said, placing her hand on my head.
