“Considering the permanent alterations my body went through to become stronger and faster, that’s still pretty far,” I remind him, trying to lighten the mood.
He’s not amused as he studies me. “I know your parentage, but where were y—I saidstop fucking calling her that,” he suddenly snaps, gripping the side of his head and clenching his teeth.
Godsdamn it. I hate seeing him so…
Insane.
Checking to make sure we’re still alone, I move closer so he can lean on me slightly.
“This is my fault,” I murmur.
He shakes his head like he’s trying to clear it. “No. It was not your fault.Tha fios anima aih’leat, thanafluir.”
Meaning,My soul knows yours, Death Blossom.
Then he reaches down to tip my head back until I can see the feral, murderous gleam in his blood-red gaze. “I know you did not leave us willingly, so tell me who took you from us.”
Right.
Bertram.
Considering that he was working for Amadeus, I haven’t spared that vampire much thought. My so-called “father” has thebrutal but efficient habit of permanently killing off anyone he no longer finds useful, unless he decides to make them Undead instead. I’m a prime example of both those preferences.
Still, I should see if I can learn what happened to Bertram. If he’s dead, I’ll spit on his grave. If he’s alive, I’ll have the honor of spitting on himbeforeI bury him for being the one to put the final nail in my coffin six months ago.
I focus on Silas again. “That’s not our priority. Right now, our priority is getting Crypt back.”
He pauses, eyes growing glassy as he tries to think through whatever riot is chipping away inside his head. “Crypt…Crypt. He appeared in my prison. While I was mad. He was asking whether I coulddèanamh alta facere sum…”
‘Make extra high?’ I can’t understand his fae.
“Try again,” I suggest gently.
Silas groans. “I hate fucking.”
I barely manage to keep a straight face. I’m pretty sure that’s the only lie he’s accidentally ever told. “You mean, you fucking hate this?”
“Yes. That one.” He sighs and concentrates harder. “Crypt brought me a strand of your hair and asked for a tracking spell on…something. It was…”
He cuts off to snap at the voices in his head again, tearing at his hair as his breathing picks up.
I consider what he said. Many tracking spells call for DNA, so that doesn’t help much. But why was he trying to track me when I was already dead?
“Pìos ostentaoth,” Silas blurts.
I don’t translate quickly enough. “What?”
“Something on display. A part of you.”
On display like?—
Oh, gods. My heart sits on Amadeus’s mantle in his chambers within the citadel. Fuck, I forgot I told Crypt about that. If he was trying to track that down…
I need a heart, but going to Amadeus’s citadel to get that one back for any reason would be insane.
“Where were you,ima sangfluir?”Silas murmurs, and I realize he’s been studying me while I’ve been thinking. He reaches up to touch the blood amulet around his neck, as if that helps him maintain coherency. “Your body vanished as revenants do when their purpose is fulfilled and they pass to the Beyond. No one returns from the Beyond, yet you’re here. Aren’t you?” he checks with a genuine frown.
“I went to Paradise,” I explain simply. “And then I came back. I’m here, and I’m staying.”
