19. Family

19

FAMILY

M y mother heaves a deep sigh as I tell her to come clean with me on everything she knows about the Descendant Staphylogenes. Her fierce eyes pin me from across the table, as if asking me whether I really want to hear all this. I nod, knowing it’s time. All secrets must out between us.

No holding back anymore.

“In my youth, long before I went into the Summer Fae military and exhibited strong magic for war,” my mother says, “I had a relentless interest in herbs. I thought my true calling would be healing; before my family put pressure on me to make something of myself, I traveled far and wide, researching herbs in ancient Summer Fae annals. Rediscovering lost recipes was my obsession. I can’t even tell you how many forgotten troves of knowledge I searched through at Summer Fae monasteries, or how many lost codices I dug up in forgotten tombs, just because they were rumored to have some healing salve or draught fabled to keep death at bay. Most of it was horseshit, but upon my travels, I became an unofficial student of arcane history. And I learned of the Descendant Staphylogenes. Nothing good. ”

“What did you learn?” My father leans into this conversation with a deep frown now, all of this new to him.

“Much of what you already know.” My mother sips her wine with a nod. “I learned it was an Ascendant at first, one of our long-lost progenitors, and that it Fell to Earth and became Descendant, living in lust and passion and glorifying in the pleasures of the flesh as it spawned a notorious Vampire line in Florence. I heard the tale that it cut its heart out and bound it to the area that is now Florence, somehow, and that it changed and went mad after that. How it went mad, the stories did not say—only that it did so, abandoning its Florentine Vampire line to travel the world. Never to return.”

“So it left Florence and abandoned the Vampires it had Sired to their own devices?” I frown now, wondering why the Gold Eyes would have done that, and if it had already gone Revenant at the time.

“Apparently.” My mother nods, though her look is dire. “Rumors and whispers said Staphylogenes haunted kings and paupers alike, bringing either great ruin or vast fortune. I never connected those tales to the similar tales of the Gold Eyes…until now.”

“What else did you learn about Staphylogenes?” I wonder if my mother knows anything that might prove useful to Quinn, Lucca, and me.

“Not much else.” She sighs then, waving a hand. “I learned only a few other tidbits, really, since none of it connected to any rare herb or formula. The creature had once been luminous, gold of hair and fair of skin, the most beautiful of all the Ascendants. It reveled in its own beauty and the beauty of the earth where it Fell; it was said to have created the most beautiful Music, creationary sounds unlike anything else in the cosmos, a true master of that art. The stories also said it did not Fall to Florence alone, but that it had a beloved who came with it from their sublime Ascended state. Its lover was said to have cast rainbows all around her as she moved upon this earth; a being of unsurpassed joy, she made the flowers grow by her noontime luminosity wherever she walked. It is said they had a child, soon after they Fell into their earthly bodies. A beautiful daughter who was the moon to her mother’s sun, and grew moonlight flowers wherever she went in the glow of night. The daughter was deeply restless, however, thanks to her father’s nature. She walked away from the place they so loved, and kept walking… soon after, rancor was seeded between the immortal mates. They fought bitterly. It is said the Descendant Staphylogenes committed his heart to Florence not long after that. Though the tales do not say why.”

“The Wanderer!” My eyes go wide as I hear my mother’s story, knowing who the daughter is that she describes, walking endlessly beneath the high summer moon. “My gods! I’ve met Staphylogenes’ daughter! She masquerades as a Vampire—they call her the Wanderer, and she Sired someone very close to Quinn! A Vampire-Siren named Arturos. He’s in the barn right now, helping heal all those who escaped from Florence last night.”

“If anyone might have more information on Staphylogenes, it would be this Arturos’ Sire.” My father’s eyebrows rise now to hear we have someone right here on the property who might help us. “He might give us more information on our enemy, or at least summon his Master so we could get information from her.”

“She’s… not a creature you summon.” I scowl now, wondering how we might get Arturos to convince the Wanderer to give us an audience and pick her brain.

Because if I’m right, and the Wanderer is the Gold Eyes’ daughter, then it means she would know endless things about who he was back then, and why or how he became Revenant. If she walked away from him on purpose, maybe because of something heinous he did, she might still hold a grudge and wish to aid us, since the memories of the quasi-immortal beings are long indeed.

But thinking back to her aloof and cryptic nature, I’m not so sure we could even get an audience with her, much less make sense of anything she told us. I heave a dark sigh now as I churn deep inside; as I take a big drink of my wine, I see my parents watching me .

Knowing something’s not right with the plan they hope to create.

“The Wanderer may be a dead end, I’m afraid,” I tell them now, as I swirl my wine. “She’s not exactly a creature who comes when called, not even by her progeny, whom she tends to abandon. It’s more a situation of right place, right time to catch her. Arturos may not even be able to help us, since even he seems shocked whenever she shows up. And from his abandonment issues with her, I get the feeling she never comes when he wants her to.”

“Still.” My mother pushes, as her fiery gaze pins me. “It’s an avenue we should explore until it fizzles out. Never assume any opportunity is a dead end, Ariana?—”

“Until it thoroughly becomes so. I know.” I sigh as I finish my mother’s oft-repeated phrase.

But my mother has nothing more to her tale as we all stare at each other now, our conversation at a standstill. Our latest bottle of wine is gone, and my mother gestures us all up from the table so we can retire to the living area.

We head over, me plunking down on a green silk settee that’s always been my favorite, while my father and mother take their matching green silk wingback chairs nearby, across a low crystal coffee table. The living setup is near the room’s hearth; a low blaze crackles in the fireplace now to push back a brisk chill that’s taken the night. I hear a pop as my mother uncorks another wine.

I hold my glass out and she refills it.

“What do you suppose the Gold Eyes wants from me and my mates?” I ask as we settle into a thoughtful silence before the fire.

“Nothing good.” My mother sets the wine bottle down on the coffee table with a clink. “For your two life mates are not just any regular Summer Fae, Ariana. They are true masters of our kind, Royals from powerful houses, whose magic is legendary among our people. Adicus and I could only dream of having the power you, and they, may one day possess. We are strong in our arts of war, but Valerio Incendari and Lucca Bellari were prodigies of magic thanks to their bloodlines, even way back when they were under your father’s and my command. Had they been a few centuries older when the War of Rome hit, they might have been strong enough in their magic that they never went seeking to become Dark Fae. The old King Aurelio Incendari knew of Valerio’s cunning and mental might, even as a child. It’s why he always pushed his son to think twenty times further than anyone else, tying him in knots, sometimes, with the plots and plans he urged Valerio to generate.”

“I didn’t know that part of Quinn was pushed by his father.” I cock my head.

“Aurelio was no fool.” My father nods as he glances at me. “He might have been clandestine in his politics and harsh with the Forbidden Lineages, but he saw his son’s promise. He wanted Valerio to become his ultimate strategist; when the young prince and Lucca began to associate, Aurelio was furious not simply because he wanted heirs, but also because having romance of any kind in Valerio’s life made him stay in his heart too much, in his passion and not just his head. It wasn’t something the old King could tolerate.”

“Lucca said his mother died because of his association with Quinn,” I say now, thinking about what Lucca’s told me. “That his father was so irate about it, he nearly beheaded Lucca with a strike from his power. Except his mother dove in and took it, instead.”

“Gods rest Lauria Massi Bellari’s soul.” My mother shakes her head, a terrible look upon her face. “Yet another reason to hate Archivolio Bellari and the monster he is.”

“Do you think he’s behind the Gold Eyes, urging it to do his bidding?” I glance between my parents. “Or is it the other way around, and it’s using him for its own aims?”

“Most likely a bit of both.” My father answers as a slow thoughtfulness takes him. “A good strategist lets their most powerful underlings think they have the upper hand, when really it is the other way around. I could see the Gold Eyes manipulating King Bellari into thinking it does his bidding. When really, he only does what the creature wishes him to. And it’s thinking a hundred steps ahead of him, all the while.”

“My magic can manifest the Music of the Spheres,” I say now as I watch my parents. “With Quinn orchestrating its wielding, and Lucca powering it as our trio’s heart, it’s done some incredible things already. Powerful. And dangerous.”

“We’ve heard about a few of those things,” my father says as he stares me down. “If what the Gold Eyes wants from you is to wield the Music for him, doing his bidding with it, only the Ascendants themselves know what he might do with it. Build worlds, shape them, create them in his own image. Wreck them beyond all hope of ever recovering and laugh as they die.”

I shudder at the horrible possibilities my trio’s magic might create if still yoked to the will of the Gold Eyes. I glance at my father, as that terrible void opens up once more in my heart and I despair.

Even as some small part of me that is Staphylogenes celebrates.

“We need to break free of its power,” I say now. “Quinn, Lucca, and I. Master Vasily Ilyov said we need to find the hidden Dark Fae sect in Venice to finish our training, and learn how to break our magic free of Staphylogenes. For good.”

“We know the way to them.” My mother nods. “As soon as you are all recovered enough, we can take you to them. It is wise, what Master Ilyov suggests. He may be a bastard, but he is one of the strongest Dark Fae there is. He knows much about the Music. If he says the Venice Dark Fae can help you, then they can.”

A flicker of hope fills me now as I nod. The hour is getting late, but there are a few things I still need to address with my parents.

And I finally get to them, now that we have nothing more to say about the Gold Eyes.

“I forgive you, you know,” I say as I watch both my parents, “for keeping all this from me. I was furious, at first, and felt betrayed by all the secrets. But knowing what I do now, of everything you’ve done for the Dark Fae and for me, and all the insane stakes you’ve been up against with King Bellari and the Gold Eyes… I don’t feel angry anymore. It still feels strange, viewing my entire childhood in such a vastly different light. I’m not furious with you anymore, though. I just need more space to digest it. And probably more talks, once things settle a bit.”

“And you shall have them.” My mother takes my hand, gripping it tightly as her dark eyes shine. “Anything you need, cara mia , we are there for you.”

“No secrets, not anymore.” My father smiles at me, sad, but with such love as I feel it beam from him. “You are a woman grown, with powerful magic that we must now help mature. For only by knowledge and stronger power will you be kept safe now. Which we will help with, in any way we can.”

“I don’t want you two in the line of fire when shit goes down. Not with the Vampire Council, or King Bellari, or Staphylogenes.” My heart grips, fearing to lose them.

“We are fighters of old, Ariana. Battle is what we do,” my mother says stalwartly as she squeezes my hand. “Your father and I have been in this war for centuries, figlia mia . We will not abandon it and leave you unprotected. For you mean more to us than anything. We will fight for that, and for you—no matter how dire things get.”

Incredible love swells up in me then, as I feel my parent’s love and support. Though a part of me still fears for them, I know they’re right; they’ve been accomplished warriors for centuries before I ever came along, and they will not abandon their principles and this battle no matter what I say.

They love me; I feel it shining from both of them now as their gold and silver magic flickers in the air. As mine rises also, it sings around me subtly now, with the ephemeral chimes of the Music. Both my parents inhale, my mother smiling sweetly now as my father gets a faraway smile to hear it. As something in them both softens, I see firsthand how deeply soothing and convincing the Music can be to a regular Fae.

As they close their eyes now, listening to it in the night.

“Such a tremendous magic.” My mother sighs as her eyes open. Their dark depths shine, beaming at me. “Even though it was not our choice for you, your father and I approve of the mates you have bonded, Ariana. For in Valerio Incendari and Lucca Bellari lay power and purpose just as strong as yours. Ever you sought the truth of things, as per your own underlying nature as the bloodline of House Altvie, the House of Shadow Truth. Now, you are with two men who seek the truth at all costs, just like you—one with his head, and the other with his heart. Keep them close, cara mia . For in them, lay the key to upending the Gold Eyes’ purpose for you. I’m sure of it.”

“I hope so,” I say, as a deep strength yet fear takes my heart. The deepest part of me, the part that knows the truth in all things and seeks it out relentlessly, knows my mother is right, though. That part of me sings like a bell inside me now.

As the Music brightens tenfold, chiming all around us in the night.

I don’t know where it leaves us, as I feel our long talk come to a close. Just before I’m about to rise, my mother does it for me. She comes to me, raising me up from the settee by my hands.

And wraps her arms around me.

My father comes into that loving embrace, surrounding us both with his strong arms as my mother holds me. I feel their love, so purposeful and so strong as we come together as a family now, in truth.

Whatever happens now, whatever comes next, I know they’re with me. It’s an incredible feeling, as the Music rises in me once more.

Then sighs out—lost to the beautiful moonlit night.