Chapter 23

Iwould burn her to ash the next time I got my hands on her. I'd lost her in the Cinder Lands and now there was only one place left for her to go . . . the swamp, the one place I could hardly step foot. That was one thing I'd always thought of Lily: she was brilliant. I would've done the same thing if I had been in her shoes. Except there were things on this island that she didn't know about—things that would help me get closer to her. The tunnels I'd used to move things from one court to the other in the Shadow Mountains were still mostly intact. I hadn't set foot in them since the night I'd caught her with Valandril in the pool, the night she helped ruin the world.

But now I was going to use them once more to get closer to her and either bring her to heel or lock her away forever. Either one. Didn't matter to me. The cave was just as I remembered it. It was a jagged, uneven ground made of gray slates with sharp rocks jutting up around them. Everything was covered in a thin layer of fog. A faint purple light swirled up ahead. I didn't remember seeing anything like that here. It reminded me of Lily's magic, and I slowed my approach, trying to figure out who or what could possibly have come this far into the tunnels.

I froze and pressed myself up against the wall. Voices came from around the corner. I didn't think anyone had been down here in decades, yet there were two distinct voices echoing in the cavern. Their conversation carried to me.

"I have not been here in fifty years," he snapped, sounding exasperated with the woman. "The explosion has altered it like it did the Court of Shadows."

"So this is in the Court of Shadows?" Her voice was light and smooth.

"No, that Court no longer exists. The demons own this now."

"Right. Demons. They used to be vampires and now they're something else. I still don't understand all of that, but I'll accept that as sufficient answer for now. Do they hate us now?"

"Some of us, perhaps."

I stepped out from around the corner to face them.

They were too small, too unimpressive to be venturing around here. He was a five-foot-five, skinny, freckled vampire with long, wavy red hair to his shoulder. His white shirt was pressed within an inch of its life and he looked perfectly . . . plain. A small woman stood next to him with deep-red, wine-colored curls that bounced around her shoulders. She too wore a simple cotton gown. I shrugged and kept on talking as I studied them. "Depends on the demon, depends on the vampire."

The man's eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost, and his whole body went tense at the sight of me. "Avalon."

How could this vampire know me? I'd disappeared nearly fifty years ago. "You know my name, yet I have never seen your face. Tell me, do they still talk about me?"

His skin grew paler, and he couldn"t take his eyes off me. "You died."

I smirked at the thought. Sometimes I wished I had died in that explosion rather than endure the pain afterward. "Not quite, unless the vampire King prefers to think of us all as dead."

He flinched back. "Vampire King?"

I rolled my eyes. Was he purposely playing ignorant to throw me off? Was it true what Dacio said? That they all hated us? "Whoever he is, I'm sure Valandril and Varan were replaced after their deaths."

I'd lost everything that night—my life, my love, and my best friend. I could almost taste the bitterness on my tongue. The vampire opened and closed his mouth like he didn"t know what to say. But there was more here. He was hiding something. How could they hate us so? We used to be family. Even fifty years later, it still hurt to think about the losses I'd endured on that one fateful night. Something was amiss here. They were clearly here for no good reason. Dacio was right. They did hate us. They wanted us dead. But I'd be damned if I died on this night at the hands of these two.

The woman cleared her throat and stepped in closer to him. "There's been a misunderstanding—"

"Yes, there has." My fire was my first choice, but I always carried a dagger with me. I opened the flap of my coat and pulled it from the sheath. I pointed it at them. "You're not supposed to be in here."

The man made no move to protect himself or the woman beside him. He stood there frozen in shock, just staring at me. I nearly lunged for him, but then he spoke. "Are you going to kill us just for being in here?"

"You're not supposed to be in here—"

"Then put up a fucking sign at the entrance," the woman snapped.

I fought not to smirk at her fury. Instead, I tossed the dagger into the air, then caught it again. "That would require I step foot in Isramaya . . . and that is not allowed."

The man cocked his head to the side. "Says who?"

I was getting sick of this game he was playing. I pointed the tip of my dagger in his face. I had places to be and a demon to find and lock up. "You play dumb well. I am not stupid enough to set foot in Isramaya, not when we've been told we are banned forever."

"Again, says who?" The man's face was stone serious. The way he spoke, the way he looked so taken aback . . . something was . . . familiar. Yet I didn't have time to find out.

"I refuse to play your game. If you've nothing to hide, then tell me why you've come." I motioned between them with my dagger. "Or shall we see who is faster?"

The man had the nerve to look surprised by my show. "Such animosity and vitriol. So, you have no affection for your former Court-mates?"

I gave a humorless chuckle and shook my head. "Not when my former Court-mates abandoned us right when we needed them. Pray tell me, what affection should I keep for them?"

The man seemed to be studying me as he spoke. "Were you not Prince Varan's best friend?"

"Since I was born." He was like a brother to me, and I'd lost him. The thought of him still pained me daily. "But one of you killed him before you all deserted us."

"You have been misinformed—"

Enough of this!I knew my friend was gone just like my love was gone. There was nothing left for me. I jabbed my dagger in their direction. "Tell me why you've come."

"I cannot do that while you hold a dagger in my face."

"Then let's put it elsewhere." I couldn't take this conversation any longer. Memories of loss were not where I cared to linger. I lunged forward.

The man leapt forward faster than I expected. Purple veins lit up his arms and then he changed into someone else, someone from my past . . . Varan. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. No, this couldn't be . . . The friend I'd lost . . . But his vivid eyes were so family—his short dark hair and the sheer size of him.

"As I said," Varan said in a low, rough voice, "you have been misinformed."

I narrowed my eyes at him and clenched my teeth. This couldn't be. "Remove your glamour."

"This is no glamour, Avalon."

NO. LIES. "Varan is dead."

Varan sighed, and in that one sound, I thought I might've heard my old friend. "Figuratively, yes. Literally, I am quite alive. Though not by my own wishes."

I wanted to believe it was him, needed to believe it was him. I lowered the dagger slightly. No, there was no way. I shook my head and held it back up. "You are not Varan."

"I am—"

Anger flared through my body. "PROVE IT."

Neon-purple flames shot out of the ground and swallowed Varan whole. He vanished from sight, then reappeared a split-second later right in front of me. "It is me, my friend."

My one true friend is alive! I dropped the dagger and let it clang to the ground. I wanted to grab hold of him just to make sure he was real. "Varan."

I couldn't hold back. I threw myself at him and wrapped him up. At the same time, his arms crashed around me. I gave him hard pats on his back and shook him just to make sure he was real. I pulled back, looking him up and down. Not a mark on him. He was the same as the last time I saw him. I cleared my throat, reminding myself we were not alone. "And who is this?"

I smirked at Varan. "I never thought I'd see you with a female from the Court of Blood."

Varan sighed. "About . . . her."Varan covered her in his purple smoke, and she flicked back. "Ow. Warning much?"

No fucking way. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Rhodelia."

She froze. "You know me?"

Oh, did I know her—Varan's one true love who left him for his father. I didn't know how to answer her, so I turned back to Varan. "She's alive?"

"One of the eight," Varan growled.

"And you're . . . you two are . . ." I gestured between them, ". . . together?"

"No," Varan said with a snarl, and he glared at her.

I knew the feeling well.

She threw my hands up. "I am so exhausted with your mood swings. First you tell me to die as quickly as possible, then you save my life, then you threaten my life, then you block a crazy demon with a knife from trying to skewer me, and now you regret not letting him. Pick. A. Fucking. Side."

This was different for Rhode. I kind of liked this new her. "She's mouthier than last time."

Varan pinched the bridge of his nose.

But if she came back, then soon enough things would come out, and I didn't know if he would love her or kill her. To me, love was a curse. "Did you ask—"

"She has no memory of before."

Of course she didn't. Just like Lily didn't. "How convenient."

She grabbed the dagger off the ground and pointed it at me. She wouldn't get far with that between Varan and me, but I had to give her credit for trying. Her cheeks were pink with anger as she held it. "You have no reason to hate me—"

"That is not entirely accurate." I shrugged. "He's my best friend."

"Ah, so this hatred of yours, Varan, is from my first life, just carried over." She nodded and tossed the dagger back at me. "Fantastic. That seems fair. Tell me, demon twat, is this about his father? I would love a little reference for the animosity I've received."

I easily caught and sheathed it. "She really does not remember."

"No, I don't. And trust me, it's infuriating for me and completely overwhelming when an entire kingdom knows who I was and I don't. So, either tell me what your problem is or spare me. It is unfair to drag me for what happened in a previous life." She glared at Varan, then turned to look at me. "Tell me, Avalon, are you aware of this prophecy?"

"Of course—"

"Great, so where is your eighth?"

"His eighth?" Varan's brow furrowed.

"Yet on the Eve thy battle ends, eight fierce souls will make amends. Hand in hand they shall unite, a pact in blood, heiress to fight." She looked at us both like we would catch on. "In fifty years, eight heiresses will return to bring peace to all lands that burn. Do you not remember these lines?"

Varan's face fell. "I had not thought about the demons having their own. I should have. Avalon, do you have her?"

"Yes, we have her," Lily's face ran through my mind, and I couldn't stifle my own growl. "But I don't know if she can be trusted."

"Trusted?" Rhode scoffed. "Did you not hear the words of the prophecy I just said? Make amends and bring peace? How can you not trust her?"

I scoffed, remembering her in that pool with Valandril. "Big words for someone who does not remember what we went through. What we saw—"

"Ah, so you're also holding a grudge from this poor girl's past life." She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I wonder how either of you would like such treatment."

"Unlike you, she has her memory." Her little trip to Ashington Keep would ensure that she did now. "So I have no shame for my judgment of what I saw."

She sighed and shook her head. "Listen, I understand how this might be hard on you if you had conflict with someone in their past life but it's still very much your current life. I don't remember my life before, so even if I got him to open up about it, I'd have no way to defend whatever actions I made against him to cause such resentment. But if this girl has her memory from before, then you owe her the chance to explain her side."

I scoffed. "You assume she has a side worth explaining, worth hearing."

"From what I have been told, eight of us sacrificed our lives to kill Valandril and end the war, which is why we were blessed with a second chance at life, although with the added bonus pressure of helping to fix the remaining problems." She threw her hands up. "Unless you think Mother Terrea chose to honor a monster."

"Well, she—" A noise came from where I'd been. A noise that hadn't been there before. I snapped to attention to look in the other direction. I flicked my wrist and let the shadows wrap around us. I put my finger to my lips. No one was supposed to be here, and yet they were.

A few seconds later, Dacio emerged from between two boulders. He was holding a piece of paper in his hands. He stopped and held it up. Varan's hands balled into fists and a cold wave of energy rolled out of him. I frowned at him. Why would he have such a reaction to Dacio? We waited for a few moments in a stalemate of silence. Dacio scowled, then turned and walked back in the direction he'd come from.

I gestured for them to wait. After a few moments, I flicked my wrist and let the shadows drop. "Sorry, I just thought—"

"I thought he had died when my father did," Varan said with more rage than I'd ever heard in his voice.

"Who was that?" Rhode peeked in the direction Dacio had gone in.

This didn't make any sense. I frowned at Varan. "Why would you think that?"

Varan cracked his knuckles and snarled in the direction Dacio had gone in. "Because he was my father's right hand."

I gasped.

No, it couldn't be. Dacio had done so much for the demons since the explosion. "What . . . what are you saying?"

Varan caught my eye. "I'm saying he's as vile and monstrous as my father, and you should kill him before he rips our world apart again."

It was almost too shocking to believe. What? How? Why? So many questions raced through my mind. "How do you know that? Who told you that?"

"He did." Varan clenched his teeth. Purple smoke coiled around his arms. "Dacio looked me right in the eye and said he'd helped my father kill my mother. That he'd killed you, killed everyone, and that I had nothing left, and then he left me for dead."

Fifty years of my loyalty had gone to Dacio. Fifty years of service. Fifty years of being wrapped in lies . . . and I believed. My stomach rolled. There was no way my best friend would lie, which led me to only one thing . . . Dacio had.

"I'm going to guess he told you I was dead?" When I nodded, Varan continued, "I'm also going to guess he's the one who informed the demons the vampires had abandoned them and that you were banned from Isramaya?"

This was too much. How could I have been so wrong? I believed him, believed the web of lies he'd spun. I was going to be sick. I could only manage a nod to his question.

"Well, if you still trust me, then you should know that Lord Cresswell and I have tried for fifty years to send aid to the demons. We have tried to get you to come home to Isramaya. We have beggedKing Marinoto let us help in any way possible, for we had no interest in losing a third of our family, but we have been rejected at every word."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. There was no such person as King Marino. Dacio had lied to us all. I had no words. All this time my best friend had been reaching for me and I wasn't there. They could've helped the people, helped get them things. The demons needed more than they were able to do on their own, and Dacio had tricked both sides. How could I have been so blind?

He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "And as the King of Isramaya, my word is the only one you need."

"You're . . ." My voice broke off in my throat and I had to clear it. "You're King?"

Varan nodded.

I swayed on my feet. He would be a wonderful king. He would help his people. "I . . . I . . . I have no words right now."

Varan nodded. "Well, when you do, call for me. Elden Palace is always open for you and yours. There isn't a vampire in either court who would not welcome you all home. I'll let you handle what you need to. Just know Isramaya stands by your side ready and waiting to provide any form of aid you require. And that is an open offer, without time limits or disclaimers."

"Thank you, my friend." I scrubbed a hand down my face and shook myself. I had to make this right somehow. "It is not safe in this tunnel for the King of Isramaya. Why have you come here, Varan?"

"The vault." He sighed. "I need my father's scroll."

My eyes widened. "Do you remember where it is and how to find it?"

Varan nodded.

"Go. Now and with haste. I would not be surprised if that's what Dacio is looking for in here." I needed to kill Dacio, but he couldn't see it coming. I would deceive him the way he'd done me for so long. Varan had all but signed his death warrant. I would kill Dacio and try to make things right. But they needed to get away from Dacio, and they needed to move now. We were surrounded by earth, and Dacio would be at his strongest. "I will keep the tunnel empty until you're out."

"How will you know when we're out?" Rhode asked.

"The same way I knew you were in." I smirked. "I felt your presence. I suppose I should have known it would be you, Varan. Had I known you were alive, I would have."

Varan pulled me in for another hug and whispered words of comfort in my ear. He was alive and he was here. I would forge the ties we needed with him. I pulled away from him, feeling like the weight of grief had been lifted, and I had a new purpose for myself and for my people.

I looked to Rhode and bowed my head. "Rhodelia."

"Remember, talk to your girl. Your eighth." She met my eye.

"Oh right, who is it?" Varan frowned. "Your eighth?"

I grimaced. "Lily."

Varan's eyes widened. "Lily? As in Lily from—"

"That's the one."

Varan whistled under his breath. "Best of luck, my friend."

I looked at them, feeling confident I would see both of them soon. "You too."

I had too much to do. Too many places to be. And a King to kill. But one thing at a time. First, Lily, or whatever she called herself these days. I pulled the shadows around me and took off in her direction. My eighth and I were going to have a conversation, and then her fate would be decided.