With my gentlemen by my side, I went upstairs to my quarters and found my family ring was right where I had left it. The moment I slid the ring down my finger, I felt warmth andpressure.
CarpeNoctem!
Panic set in and I could barely talk. I hurried out of my quarters and down the stairs to the foyer, mumbling as I went to myboys.
“Carpe Noctem is coming,” I managed to getout.
“What?” River asked frantically. “What? How do you know, myQueen?”
“Carpe who,” Seanblurted.
“Carpe Noctem. The vampires responsible for the Drishane massacre,” Ethan said under hisbreath.
Oh, bloody hell! Klyn was still outthere!
I quickly ran through the folklore behind this ring. As long as I wore this ring, no vampire could make it into the castle or on thegrounds.
I looked out of the open massive wooden doors. The rain was pouring down as thunder boomed overhead. Just beyond the bridge lay heavy fog.They werehere.
“No one is to leave the castle grounds,” I told the head castlehand.
“I will relay your wishes, my Queen,” he said and hurriedoff.
“How do you know it is Carpe Noctem?” River begged foranswers.
“My ring.” I held my hand up and looked at him. “My family ring told me. While I wear it, no vampire can cross onto the Darick grounds or castle,” I quickly explained as someone emerged from thefog.
“There can be flaws with that ring, my Queen,” Riversuggested.
I ignored him and walked to the front door, hoping it was Klyn. The castle hands told me to stay back while they greeted the person that was running toward the castle, yelling myname.
“Queen, stayback!”
River and Ethan pulled me back from the foyer as the man made it to theentrance.
“Urgent message for the Queen!” hepanted.
The man passed the rolled-up parchment to the castle hand, which was handed to me. I unrolled it, and my eyes quickly read. My heart felt like it was being squeezed. I looked up and stared into the dark eyes ofRiver.
Epilogue
Klyn
Once I mademy way across the bridge, I began counting my steps. Finding the warlock required complete concentration. As tired as I was, I worried that I might not find Kaspar at all. The ground felt soft under my feet, and the air was heavy. I could feel that a storm was on the horizon. I counted one thousand steps to the east, then fifty to the south, followed by five hundred to the eastagain.
Situated between a set of wide trunked trees sat a long and narrow shack. Kaspar’s place was no wider than these particular tree trunks. Not all of the trees in this forest were as wide as what Kaspar’s place hid between. But I knew that Kaspar had a particular concoction that he spread at the base of the trunks to help keep his placehidden.
Kaspar was outside in front of his shack with his back to me. He looked like he was tending to someplants.
“I sensed you were coming, my friend,” Kaspar greeted me as he turnedaround.
“Kaspar, it is good to see you,” Isaid.
“Come inside and have a seat. You aretired.”
Kaspar had an excellent ability to sense things as well as see into the immediate future. I took a seat at his table as he set an iron plate on the table along with a few smallcarafes.
“You have a weary mind and body, Klyn. Is there a reason you came here instead of theapothecary?”
