Well, here goes nothing. Cheers. I raise the obsidian vial I carried from Ruvan’s room in a toast to the past and drink.
Loretta’s blood was the basis for the Hunter’s Elixir. The vial we took from the fortress was likely mixed with Tersius’s blood as he continued to experiment. I theorize that the original elixir in the old castle was mixed with Solos’s blood, since she was working with him. And, even if it didn’t, they were bloodsworn.
If I’m right, if any combination of my theories is correct, then I should have the blood of all three of them in me now. Those markers—those memories—I should be able to access them in dreams, even if fragmented.
Holding up my dagger, I lightly nick my skin between my collarbones—right over Ruvan’s mark. Just like before, the pain that creeps up the back of my neck at the mere thought of trying to recall my dreams abates. A door has been opened within me and I walk through by lying on the bed.
As soon my eyes close, I’m whisked to a different place and time.
Loretta races through the night,wet up to her knees in the Fade Marshes. I can feel her heart racing as keenly as I can feel the anger that burns around Tersius’s ears. His eyes are ringed in gold and shining in the low light.
“Don’t run from me!”
“You took my work!” she shouts back.
“It wasmywork,” Tersius seethes.
“Our work.”
“You stole and bastardized it!”
She clutches three books to her chest—the three journals that had been missing from her bookshelf in my earlier dream.
“It was mine!” he roars. “Now come back here. Loretta! Listen to me. I am your brother!”
“You are a monster.” Loretta glances over her shoulder, her eyes growing wide.
“I am the future of the vampir, of humanity, of all of Midscape. Humans will return across the Fade. We will no longer be the weaker species, preyed on by the others. I’m doing this for us, all of us, Loretta.”
“We were never preyed on.” Loretta shakes her head; tears spill over her cheeks. She ducks her chin and barrels into the night. “You could’ve worked with them—with me—but you went too far.”
“Don’t pretend like I still hold a place in your heart! Did you even weep for me, sister, when your precious King Solos banished me?”
Loretta stumbles, glancing back. That wound is still fresh for her. I can see the longing in her eyes—feel it in her heart. She misses her brother. Misses the man he was.
“Go, run back to him, do his dirty work of fetching my stolen breakthroughs.” His words are bold, but I can sense a deeper panic in Tersius. He’s afraid of Solos. I wonder if he’s freshly turned, if his powers aren’t as great as he thought. “No matter what you do, you know he will never respect you. Jontun will never write about you and Solos will never command it. You will be his hidden whore!”
The entrance to the secret tunnel is ahead. In this time, it’s protected by a wall and gate. I can feel Loretta’s panic. Her belief that if she can get there, she’ll be safe. She clutches the books tighter.
But she slows to get one last look at her brother. “When I am queen, I will ask for fairness when they judge you for your crimes against humans and vampir. But I will not ask for leniency.”
Tersius moves as fast as a vampir. He grabs her wrist, looming over her. The books topple to the ground. “I can’t let you do this.”
“Let me go.”
“He is close enough with the Elf King that he might be granted permission to bring his armies across the Fade if you tell him of my plans.” Tersius’s face relaxes slightly; his voice becomes pleading. “Don’t you see? I’m doing…I’m doing this forus. For our people. We will claim Midscape and I will be a benevolent ruler. You can sit at my side and help me, just as you always have. Why can you not trust me?”
“I don’t know who you are anymore.” Loretta rips her hand from his and goes to grab the books.
“You will not touch those!” Tersius shoves her. Perhaps it’s the rage surging through him. Perhaps it’s his newfound power making him stronger than he realized—stronger than he can compensate for.
He barrels into her with the force of a charging boar. Loretta barely lets out a gasp as all the wind is knocked from her. It’s not a cry. It’s not a howl of agony as her ribs collapse inward. Her eyes widen slightly. She hardly realizes what’s happening.
She’s thrown like a ragdoll into the gate behind her. There’s a sharp crack followed by a smear of blood. She’s propped up, impaled on the ironwork as her head hangs limply.
There’s a long moment of silence.
“No,” Tersius whispers. “No, no!” He rushes over, trying to lift her face. Tears stream down his cheeks. But the softness quickly vanishes, replaced by rage. “I told you…I told you not to go. But you had to. Why did you have to?” He shakes her and then suddenly releases. Loretta falls to the ground. Tersius backs away, as though he’s been burned. “It’s his fault,” he whispers. “The Vampir King…the one who twisted your heart against mine. This is his fault.” Tersius begins to laugh.
