Kane took a deep breath. “She stood in the middle of the old front courtyard, and ripped the child and her own womb from her body, throwing them at Savion’s feet. Screaming that now he had no obligation to her. Now she would work toward his death and the utter destruction of the Vampires of S’Kir.”
My shocked gaze darted back and forth and over the three of them standing there.
“She ripped the child from her body?”
All three nodded.
Taking just another moment to digest what they had said, I grimaced. “What the fuck kind of madness do you people live in?”
All three stepped back.
“Seriously!” I snapped. “A king cutting off heads at the slightest insult? Voices screaming through the walls at all times of day? Prisoners bled in cages? Women ripping their own pregnant wombs from their bodies? This is utter and complete madness! How do you live like this? Wouldn’t it have been better to just slide a knife between his ribs and be done? Instead, you’re sneaking around and pretending you work with the devil himself.”
“You don’t understand how the madness has Niniane,” Kane said. “She’s far worse than her husband because her husband made her that way.”
“So now you’re ready to deal with her madness?”
The three of them looked at each other, and Odom pulled something out from a pocket, holding it out to me.
A hushwillow box.
I stared at for a very long time before pulling the sheet nice and tight and walking over to them.
“Is there a whisper shell in there?”
Aiko nodded.
“Who is it for?”
Odom cleared his throat. “Mine.”
I put a hand to my head. “Did you all used to get one of these?”
The general shook his head. “Not all. But the Three were rather prolific as trouble escalated before the Spine rose.”
I picked the box out of Odom’s hand and studied all the words carved into the box. They were words of protection and silence and a name.
The lid slid easily open, and it was quiet in the room for a moment. I waited. Odom, Kane, and Aiko were quiet.
“…a vision for Odom Panther. The insanity of the crowns binds you to them. The loss of love creates the path to life, a slumber that kills. When mountains fall, when the Bright Sword arrives, the first of the dark crowns will fall, and the time to conquer the throne will follow… a vision for Odom Panther. The insanity of the crowns…”
The whisper shell repeated the vision over and over. After the sixth time, I slipped the lid back on.
I took a deep breath. “So you have four of your five checkboxes ticked, then.”
“You are the Bright Sword,” Aiko said.
“Yes, I know! I know!” I turned and walked back to the bed, running a hand through my hair. “I’m the Breaker, I’m the Bright Sword. Next, you’re all going to tell me I’m the next vampire queen.”
“I don’t think—”
I held up my hand. “I’m being facetious. I know I’m not. I’m just tired of being this focal point.” I slumped down on to the bed. “Okay, fine. So tell me about the Blood Rite.”
“Keep your wits about you. It’s violent,” Kane said. “Stay close to Aiko no matter what. Even if you have to wrap your arms around him and let him drag you through the rooms, stay close.”
I looked at Aiko. “That bad?”
He nodded tersely. “No one—no vampire can resist the call of blood completely. We always give into something in the rite. The blood or the lust.”
