11. Sustain

11

SUSTAIN

Q uinn and I have had no success finding the tomb of Staphylogenes’ heart. Though we’ve poured through physical maps and online ones for hours, looking for passages similar to what we see in our minds, we’ve come up empty.

The trail blazes bright with shimmering rainbows inside our heads, but we’ve yet to find that passage on any map. We’ve scoured human world maps and ones here in the Twilight Realm, all to no avail. Just when we think we’ve found a similar passage on any particular map, that passage twists in the wrong direction.

Leading away from the area we see in our minds.

“It’s no use. The passage Iris showed us to the tomb exists nowhere, except inside our heads.” Quinn sighs at last, as he takes a deep drink from a glass of chianti sitting on the map table. Quinn’s busted out one of his finest from the racks on the walls of his elegant collection inside the solar, and we’ve been drinking it for the past half hour. The bottle’s gone now, however, as Quinn drains his glass.

Heading over to the elegantly lit vault that houses his best red wine collection and selecting another .

“Are we just going to get drunk, then?” I smile at him, feeling as exhausted as he is right now after such a long day speaking with the Dark Fae, plus us getting nowhere now with the map. Moving over to him as he uncorks our latest wine at the map table, I step to his back, winding my arms around him as he pours to refill us both.

“What’s this one?” I ask, receiving my wine from him and swirling it before I drink.

“Chateauneuf-du-Pape. French. I still like it, though.” Quinn gives me a devious smile as we clink glasses and drink. It’s excellent, one of my all-time favorite wine varieties. I heave a deep sigh and Quinn echoes it.

Both of us staring at the map table and the hodgepodge upon it.

“Let’s take a break.” Quinn nods us over to a living area within his solar now. It features a group of chaises arranged around a low coffee table with a spreading Persian rug, where we can take in all the beautiful things he’s collected down here in his private sanctuary, tastefully lit on their blue velvet pads and inside their crystal boxes.

“A break sounds like a fabulous idea,” I concur, as we adjourn to a blue velvet Victorian settee at the living setup. We sit, then lounge, Quinn angled back against the settee’s scroll back with me tucked between his legs, leaning back against him. We sip, staring at all the incredible, rare items Quinn has collected down here.

When a thought hits me.

“Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place.”

“What do you mean?” Quinn glances at me from where he sits behind me. “We’ve gathered every possible map we could find of Florence on such short notice, and some of them date back ten thousand years in the Twilight Realm, from this Dark Haven’s very own annals. We have every Vampire passage and city byway down there recorded, in both Realms.”

“I mean, what if these passages aren’t exactly… in the Twilight Realm or the human world?” I say now.

I feel Quinn perk behind me .

“Explain.”

“Well, you know how Dark Fae can use the Music to create protective barriers around their hidden cities, which separate them from the Twilight Realm somehow, even though they’re still part of it?” I say as I think it through, though it feels right as my truth-sensing magic rings inside me.

“Almost like a Nexus Realm.” Quinn nods thoughtfully behind me now. “It’s said only archangels and Ascendants can create those, carefully partitioning the weft and weave of a particular Realm into a sub-space… not separate from a Realm and all its vibrations, but not entirely part of it, either.”

“Dark Fae can use Ascendant energy with the Music of the Spheres—the Ascendant Sigils.” My idea gels now to what Quinn’s said. “What if Dark Fae like Master Ilyov and the Sages of Venice protected Novakitsk and the Hidden City that way because it had been done before? By the Ascendants themselves, when they created this earth and Fell here.”

“You think Staphylogenes created a Nexus Realm here in Florence, beneath the city, which houses his heart?” Quinn sits up straight on the couch now, scooting me over so we sit side-by-side. He glances at me, an eager fire in his eyes. “Ariana. I think you might just be on to something. Because if that is the case, then we wouldn’t find those passages on any map. They would be in a completely different space. Accessible only by raising the Music… and stepping through the half-barrier that exists between the Twilight Realm and a created Nexus Realm.”

“Iris said Staphylogenes couldn’t get to his own heart anymore, and The Wanderer—Cereus—confirmed it,” I say now. “It stands to reason that the Music an Ascendant had when it made a Nexus Realm would be different after it maimed itself and removed its heart. It seems like Staphylogenes didn’t expect the Music to tune differently after he removed that crucial part of himself. As we’ve experienced, the Music only tunes sour whenever the Gold Eyes is around. Maybe he’s tried to get back into the Nexus Realm lockbox he made?— ”

“But his efforts have been fruitless, which is why he needs us.” Quinn is astounded now, his eyebrows lifted so high they’ve nearly climbed off his face. “That would explain why he would need to create a trio of Dark Fae, ridiculously strong and balanced in their magic, to even come close to approximating the original vibration of an Ascendant. Because in our trio, we are not just balanced in our might but extremely powerful—something the Gold Eyes would expect from the Royal Summer Fae Houses we come from.”

“Especially if he’s been trying to make something like our trio for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Judging by what he was doing amongst the Summer Fae, turning us Dark over and over, I bet that’s the case,” I say, recalling what my parents told me about the time I was born, when so many other Summer Fae babies of Royal magic were turned Dark around that same full moon.

Not to mention countless other Dark Fae Made by Staphylogenes over the generations.

“He thought I would be his perfect Animante , to raise from infancy, so I would buy into his plans.” I stew as I think about what the Gold Eyes had in store for me. “He didn’t expect me to blast him with my own power that night to make him leave when my new parents arrived, rather than stay and claim me.”

“He can’t get his heart, and he’s been testing us to make our trio strong enough so we can use Ascendant’s Sigils and get it for him.” Quinn taps one finger on his wineglass, his thinking tic. “Iris has given us the path right to it, but could it be a trap? Could she still be in league with him?”

“No.” I shake my head, feeling my heart ring true. “She didn’t expose herself to us until after we had broken our connection to the Gold Eyes’ taint inside us. She didn’t give us the location of the heart until she knew we were free of his control. That would be counter to his plans. I’m sure Staphylogenes would have given us the directions himself, eventually, once he believed we were strong enough. But only if we remained bonded to him. He was furious when we broke free… ”

As I say it, I can almost feel the terrible wrath of Staphylogenes inside me, raging through my Night. But he’s gone now; it’s only an echo of his awful connection that I feel.

My soul is free and clear of him now, glittering like calm starlight inside me, rather than a devouring void.

“You’re right,” Quinn says as he nods, sober. “Iris helped us because she knew we could be trusted, with the Gold Eyes’ connection to us gone. The heart must have some extreme power she knows can help us take Staphylogenes down. Or perhaps change him… so he no longer comes after us.”

“Do you think him getting his heart could restore him to his Ascendant state?” A strange eagerness fills me as I glance at Quinn. “If we could get the heart and use it of our own free will, we might have a chance at doing something true with it, rather than its Music twisting dark in Staphylogenes’ ruined hands. Maybe we could restore him to his godlike benevolence and he’d leave us alone. For good.”

“Perhaps.” Quinn darkens then, as he mulls it over. “But Staphylogenes had a dark streak in his nature even when he was whole, Ariana. You heard the Wanderer Cereus; he tortured his daughter with the Music, even when he was still technically Ascendant, only in his Fallen human form. That is far from benevolence; far from a compassionate thing to do, like one would expect of an Ascendant. I fear even should we restore his heart, some part of him changed when he Fell upon this plane. And that part of him is the part we should beware… even if we could return him to his more angelic state by giving him his heart.”

“You’re right.” Hope flags inside me as I sigh. “But Iris gave us this knowledge for a reason. She thinks it can help us. I say, we figure out how to use the Music to open this Nexus Realm and go get the heart. Because even if we can’t give it back to Staphylogenes, who might still punish us after he gets it, there’s a reason he wants it and Iris thinks we should have it.”

“Power.” Quinn’s onyx eyes blaze in the low light of the collection hall. “He wants more power, to make things exactly the way he wants them. Which is what he tried to do with his daughter… and failed.”

“She was too strong in her dual Ascendant bloodlines for his diminished control over the Music to touch. What is his agenda now, if he knows he can’t change her?” I ask, curious.

“Who knows?” Quinn gives a bitter snort as he swirls his wine. “Make a thousand evil golden-eyed bastards like himself to take over the world for him so he can torture us all? Who knows what a creature like that wants in the depths of its blackest, missing heart? Truly, I don’t think it matters. All that matters is we get the heart and use it to stop him, like Iris meant for us to do. He can twist in his truncated agenda’s misery for eternity. And I will laugh, all the way to my grave.”

Quinn’s statement is vicious, but not wrong, as we sit silently for a moment. As we both ponder what to do, I feel us reach the same conclusion.

“We need to raise the Music between us.” Quinn looks at me. “We need to see if we can sustain our Music long enough now to do something useful, with intent.”

“Like ask it where Staphylogenes’ heart’s tomb can be found,” I say, getting it, “and help us find the entrance to that half-barrier between worlds.”

“Eventually, we’ll need the Music to crash that barrier; but for right now, I’ll just take some information on where to start.” Quinn is sober as he regards me. “We need to know where we should go in the tunnels that are in our Realm… before we get to the place where we can cross over into the Nexus Realm.”

As I nod now, knowing Quinn’s right, he lifts an eyebrow at me.

Sex simmers in his dark eyes—with lust.

“What?” I ask, liking that look even though thinking about sexy time interrupts me from our conversation.

A lot .

“We need to raise the Music, Ariana,” Quinn says with heat now as he takes my mostly finished wine glass away and sets it aside. “We need to see if we can sustain the Music long enough to form an intention with it—a true Ascendant’s Sigil. One we meant to make, rather than one that is just spontaneously chosen for us in a dire time. And to do that?—”

“We need to get naked.” I grin, loving what Quinn’s thinking about, knowing I’m all in.

“Foreplay first. Naked later.” Quinn grins with rapacious delight now as he moves close. His hands trail over me, sensual, and I shiver, loving it. “But before even that,” Quinn says as he regards me, ever the planner, even when he’s about to get it on, “we need to focus our intention. We need to tell the Music what we need from it. And hope it will finally respond to our chosen needs. Rather than our spontaneous ones.”

“Perhaps we should just think, open sesame .” I chuckle, though Quinn’s idea rings true inside me.

“I was thinking something more like, show us the path to the tomb. ” Quinn smiles at me, nuzzling his nose over mine.

“Sounds good.” I agree, taking a deep breath. “So what? Do we just hold that as a mantra inside our minds the entire time we’re making love?”

“If we can, yes.” Quinn is serious now, even as his hands glide over my shoulders, seductive. “If we can focus enough, then raise the Music while we make love, there’s a possibility it’ll finally focus for us. You heard Iris; we don’t have a chance at learning how to create complex phrases with the Music and the Ascendant’s Sigils like she can do. But maybe we can get something that’s just simple enough, to sustain long enough, to do something of our choosing. Like show us the crossing-over point. Or something comparable.”

“I’m in,” I say. “Time to get it on.”

“Don’t be so abrupt.” Quinn chuckles now, leaning in and kissing my neck. “We have time, Ariana. Let’s not rush.”

“We do need a little time together,” I say as Quinn kisses his way down my neck, loving the soft touch of his lips upon me—along with feather-light grazes of his bite. “Things have been so insane lately, with all the Dark Fae and everyone else coming to us. I could use a little break.”

“Things with the Vampire Council have been quiet.” Quinn takes me in his arms now, whispering his lips and the tips of his fangs over my neck as I shudder with delight. “They’re regrouping, and King Bellari has likewise been relatively silent. If they know what’s going on here, they haven’t gotten their ducks in a row yet to do something about it. That means we have time to rest and be intimate. And I’d very much like to.”

“Me, too.” Quinn’s strong hands knead my waist. I’m dressed in a simple white camisole with high-waisted linen pants that have a ruffled waist and a belt. His deft hands slip down and untie the belt now as he kisses my neck, freeing the silk cami from its tuck.

His fingertips find my skin and slither up; in a moment, he’s got my camisole shed, only a lacy beige bra on underneath. His cool-hot touch eases over my skin. I lean forward so he can undo the clasp.

His hands glide in, easing the bra off as they gently cup my breasts.

Quinn’s hands are scalding, yet chill, all at once; it’s breathtaking as he rubs his palms over me now, cupping my breasts and supporting their weight. He rubs his thumbs over my nipples and I sigh even as everything inside me grips. He chuckles by my ear as he kneads me, gentle.

Yet hard as iron, as his strong hands hold me.

“You can’t get away from me, Ariana.” He reads my mind now, knowing that it thrills me how strong he is, even though I know my own Dark Fae might could match it now, if I tried.

“I don’t want to get away from you.” He massages my breasts, then takes my nipples gently in his fingertips. He pulls them, stretching them out as he rolls them deftly in his fingers. I arch for him, pressing back with my head on his shoulder and my ass contacting him now as I gasp.

Feeling his hardness so solid behind me in his pants.

Quinn’s in no rush tonight. He works me, gripping and rolling, then releasing my breasts and nipples until I’m searing hot, flushed and ready to be his. The Music begins to sing between us as we both heat; with a blink, I remember I’m supposed to be focusing on finding the path to the Nexus Realm where Staphylogenes’ heart is. I hear Quinn chuckle behind me.

Then feel him refocus on our agenda, too.

I feel something brighten inside me, then. As Quinn releases one nipple, stroking his hand down my belly to slip beneath the waistband of my pants, I feel the Music tighten, along with my body. As if it’s responding to our intimacy, to our slow, eager lovemaking in the way we like it best, the Music sings with a different harmony inside me and Quinn now than it ever has before.

I feel that vibration rush through me, along with the heat and spike of my desire. As Quinn slips his hand all the way down now, palming me, then rubbing my clit, I feel that Music brighten tenfold inside me.

As he slips a finger inside, then two, stretching me with a pleasurable ache, I arch for him. I grip him, shaking and shivering as he works me, then pulls out to rub my clit again, before plunging back inside.

I’m so wet, shaking now as Quinn devours me. He’s not even inside me yet, but the things he can do with just a simple touch are more than plenty, as I feel his power plunge into me now, over and over.

It’s strong, strong and bright now, rather than dark, ever since we retuned from the Sages. Quinn still has his darkness, but it’s like mine now as I see it inside my mind—bright with stars in the night, rather than seething with an empty, cavernous darkness.

It’s gorgeous, incredible as fire spills around the edges of the room now from Quinn’s unfurling aura. I’m thrusting for him, needing him to take me; I’m close, ready to come from what he’s doing.

Playing with me and making me spill my rainbow-dark aura all through the room.

Quinn chuckles diabolically as the Music blazes now between us. As his fangs graze me, ready to bite, I want him to do it. I tighten my thighs on his hand, securing him to me as I lift a hand, wrapping my fingers around his neck .

The Music careens, reckless and bright; Quinn loves it when I master him just a little, when really what he’s doing is mastering me to both my pleasure and his.

As his fangs slide into me and his fingers and power thrust up deep now, I scream, coming in a blaze for him as he works me harder.

But something else crashes into our lovemaking suddenly—before we can use the bright surge of my orgasm to hone in on our intent.

A tremendous explosion of the Music from Lucca, it blares with spears and war-horns all through Quinn and me as Lucca’s power suddenly roars our connections wide open, calling for our power.

We give it wholeheartedly, as Quinn and I feel he is in battle, terrible flashes of bright Summer Fae magic going off all around him in the night.

The rest of the United Haven feel it, too; as Quinn pulls his fangs from me and snarls, focusing his furious intent like a lance to wield all our power as one, we’ve got seven massive portals just ripping open right where Lucca is.

Getting his people back to the Red Letter Hotel Florence, fast.

But Lucca’s struck, then; I feel it as he tumbles from the sky on his owl Altenni, locked in battle with the Summer Fae Brightwatch Captain Junius Alterri. Junius carries something awful that he fights with; I have only a glimpse of a terrible silver-white spear festooned with the most grotesque black sigils I’ve ever seen as a physical pain rips through me, right through my upper thigh.

I scream, a short shriek as Quinn does the same, jolting. We both regroup fast, as true fear sweeps us. Because what we felt just now came from Lucca.

As Quinn and I open our connection to him wide now—and find disaster on the other side.

Lucca is down, the Summer Fae Brightwatch Commander Junius standing over him with some kind of Summer Fae devil-spear, as Quinn and I see through Lucca’s eyes. But before we can take in much, only that it looks like a bomb went off all around Lucca and Junius in the trees, our connection to Lucca becomes thick as mud.

It’s all Quinn and I can do to even reach Lucca now, as everything from him fades. I can still sense our connection, still feel it.

But everything with Lucca has gone radio silent.

As I glance at Quinn, feeling the horror in his eyes.