There was something awry with that girl. At the time I was unable to fight off the growing discomfort of losing myself when around her. Sephania made me insane, and the only liberation was to distance myself from her.
So I told her secret to people I never should have. Dangerous forces now understand her better than I ever did. They know what her blood is, while it remains a mystery to me.
It was a fool’s errand—betraying her, letting her go. Because, in the end, she was taken by a man I hate more than anyone.Skartovius Ashfen. An enemy if I’ve ever had one.
She ran from the dhampir she couldn’t trust right into the arms of a beautiful monster who will be the death of her. I’m shocked he hasn’t turned her into a pale-skinned shell already. I know it’s only a matter of time if Sephania remains by Lord Ashfen’s side.
“Are you finished sulking, sapling?”
I jolt, jarred out of my miserable thoughts, and snap my neck to the door, where a lithe woman stands. She wears black leathers and a short black cloak to her knees. Her midnight hair runs straight, a few strands of gray near the temples. Even her lips are black, contrasting against the porcelain sheen of her skin. She stands straight-backed, a severe frown on her face.
“Mother,” I choke out, clearing my throat from disuse and sitting up. “Why are you here?”
“To get you out of another mess, it would appear.”
Alacine Mortis wanders into the room, gracefully moving as if the ground isn’t worthy of her feet touching it. She holds her chin high, ever the haughty noblewoman.
As she meanders about, stepping around the two corpses, strewn pages of parchment, broken glass, and wood chips from the destroyed table and chairs, she looks back at me. “Appears you’ve had quite an evening, little sapling.”
I hate it when my mother calls me that. She likes to think of me as a tree, I suppose. Always growing. But my roots feel stunted now without Sephania Lock by my side.
“Judging by the shattered window and your forlorn stature, I take it our treat has escaped.”
Ever so slowly, I bow my head in shame, gulp, and await my punishment.
The Spymistress scoffs disgustedly. “Oh, stand up. I didn’t raise a feckless wretch. Stop looking so doe-eyed and tell me what happened.”
Once I’m sure the arousal has left me—it surely has after my mother’s berating—I use the wall behind me to slide to my feet. While I give Alacine a summary of the evening, she keeps her thin arms crossed over her pert chest. She’s not as tall as I am, yet she frightens me with her aura of malevolence and cunning.
If there’s any person in this cruel world I’m frightened of, it’s Alacine Mortis. Others would be wise to feel the same way about my monstrous mother.
I tell her of Kleora’s writings, which are now scattered across Olhav—or at least as much as I know from my telepathic bloodbond with my dead thrall. I tell of the human’s death, slumped over next to her, and the explosion of Sutlis Spire down below. I’m still not sure what happened there. Overlord Barnabac’s soldiers went to investigate.
And, of course, I tell of the arrival of Skartovius Ashfen, his daring rescue, and Sephania’s vanishing act.
Alacine listens closely, not interrupting a single time. She doesn’t even move, looking like an intimidating statue as I ramble.
Finally, she mutters, “Into the shadows, you say?”
My brow furrows. “What?”
“Skartovius and our little treat escaped into the shadows?”
“Yes, Mother. They vanished into them. I’ve never seen something—”
She holds up a hand to silence me and I’m compelled to oblige. “We’re too late then,” she says with a sigh, turning away from me. Slowly shaking her head, she examines the floor and the different aspects dirtying it: ash, bone, glass, wood, blood.
“Too late? For what?”
“Never mind that.” She spins around, her half-cloak fluttering. “You’ve failed me, my son. More importantly, you’ve failed yourself. You let your lust get in the way of your mission.”
“I—” My head shakes reflexively, reeling. “I did no such thing, Mother! Lust played no part here.”
“It did initially. You said it would be worth keeping her alive.”
I can’t deny my desire for Sephania warped my rational mind. “I could do nothing to stop Lord Ashfen from taking her.”
Her face remains placid, calm. I hate feeling like a scolded child in her presence. I grind my teeth, shutting up, realizing how stupid I sound.
