Instead of turning his attention to the new finding, Kole reached for the first book, the one we’d just read that spoke so plainly of vampiric traits.
Panic began to fire through me because Kole carefully pulled the book closer to him as Ree and I studied the scroll. I gave him a side-eye, but he didn’t seem to notice me watching him.
Nerves tumbled in my stomach.
He was reading the passage again about a vampire’s characteristics. Pale skin. Cool flesh. Heightened senses, strength, and speed. Constant sexual urges. Fangs.
It was all there. Everything that was nowmelay before him.
My leg began jittering beneath the table, because if Kole began questioning me and began to truly suspect what I was, and I could no longer doubt it...
But he never looked at me twice, never commented on the similarities between a vampire and my appearance, and his voice was steady when he asked the gargoyle, “What do you know of potions that can turn fae into vamfeers and vampires?” Kole slid the book back to him, and some of my nerves calmed.
He’d obviously been looking for more information about that specific question, and I reminded myself that nobody had commented on my looks since I’d returned from my uncle’s, only my temperature. My glamour and uncle’s potion were obviously keeping my new traits hidden well enough.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and my jittering limb calmed.
Master Fistideeous smiled widely. “Ah, yes, that was a most fascinating discovery, and I will admit, it took me the longest to find a connection between the two.” He stood from his stool and hobbled over to a second table, then returned with a giant tome. It had to be at least two thousand pages thick and was covered in dust.
He set it on the desk and blew the dust off, causing Ree to cough and wave it away as the gargoyle flipped it open.
A ribbon marked his page to the beginning of a new chapter titled, “Potions Infused with Godly Magic: the How, Why, and Forbidden Aspects of Godly Creations.”
“I believe this may be how someone has created vamfeers.” He slid the monstrous book around the table so we could all read it, and like the other items he found, it was also spot-on and perfectly described how Arnel had likely created the potionsthat had ultimately created his vamfeers. It even spoke about how slight alterations could result in different creatures, similar to what the Imperial Council had done in their tests, and likely what my uncle had also done in his alterations that had made the expedited version that had turned me into a vampire.
The second Ree finished reading, she raised her eyebrows. “So someone appealed to Tenevris to infuse the needed ingredients with his magic? And that created the initial vamfeer potion?”
“They must have.” Master Fistideeous nodded. “A potion that could turn a fairy into a vamfeer would have to be infused with godly magic. Nothing in our realm that grows naturally, even highly magical plants, would have been able to create such a transformation.”
My mind turned to what I’d seen at my uncle’s estate. A temple hidden in the Wood. A circular stone creation that he used to channel the gods. In the previous seasons, my uncle had discovered how to contact the God of Night, and the god must have actually listened and given Arnel what he’d asked for.
My mind buzzed because what I really wanted to know was how big of a supply my uncle had produced of his potion.
I leaned back from the table, my brow furrowing, because if there’d been no further sighting of vamfeers, two things were possible. Either my uncle had already run out of his potion to create them and those that he’d created had been killed by the Imperial Warriors, or he’d simply stopped commanding his vamfeers to hunt me.
And while I knew the second was likely the reason, I prayed with everything I had that it was the first.
Because if my uncle still had access to his potion, he could continue turning his God of Night followers into vamfeers, and for all I knew, inanimate vamfeers that he could call forth at any time were currently at his estate.
And even worse, with more of his altered potion, he could turn other fae into vampires, like me, which meant he could trap other powerful fae and force them to fall under his command as well.
And who knew what orders he would place on them.
My mind churned more, because every time Arnel had commanded me, he’d had to be in the same room with me. I’d needed to hear his voice in order for the magic to take hold. And if that was required from me, it was likely required for his vamfeers, and potential other vampires.
It was most logical to assume that if any vamfeers were left, they were probably near his home. If not, he risked somebody else stumbling across them and reporting them to the kingsfae. And unlike me, they certainly couldn’t live out in society. They were too monstrous. Too insidious.
If they’re at his estate, it also explains why he doesn’t allow servants in his home and why it’s always so empty. The less fae about, the less chance there would be for anyone to accidentally find them.
But while his vamfeers were likely kept near him, I had no idea if he had other vampires throughout the realm. It was possible he’d done the same to other fae as he’d done to me, turned us, sent us home, and then commanded us when his needs arose.
Whatever the case, I needed to discover the extent of Arnel’s treacherous actions.
A plan began to form in my mind. If Arnel did have more vamfeers waiting to follow his commands, they needed to be destroyed. And if he had more vampires, I needed to discover who they were and where. And last, and possibly most important, I needed to discover if Arnel had any more of the godly-infused potion that could create additional monsters.
My stomach tightened as I thought of the consequences if my uncle was left unchecked. He could continually capture and turn unsuspecting fae into vampires, vampireshecontrolled. And if there were other fae throughout the realm who harbored magic as strong as mine that my uncle commanded...
The extent of my uncle’s power would be bottomless.Nobodywould be able to stop him.
