Nicholas nodded. “Yes, it is interesting that your Maker’s commands aren’t affecting you here. Truth be told, that’s new. Most commands follow to the fae lands, but you’re also not a normal vampire. You were created from a potion, not a bite, which I believe if why Major Fieldstone advised Warrior Swordwielder to bring you here to see how you reacted.”
I gave Kole a grateful smile. “Thankfully, Major Fieldstone’s advice was wise, but tell me something if you would, how do you handle your Maker’s commands? It seems near impossible that anyone would ever want to be a vampire given how awful it is.”
He sighed. “Being a vampire does have its perks, believe it or not, and even though my Maker is no longer with us, thankfully, she wasn’t a sadist, as it sounds like your Maker is. Most vampires never experience the horrendous commands that have been put on you. I was never given such specific commands as you’ve been given, so her control of me wasn’t as intense. But I was a lucky one. There have been evil Makers in the past, and unfortunately, all of their children had to be euthanized once it became known that they couldn’t stop from acting on their Maker’s wishes even upon that Maker’s death. In our realm, that fact is well known, so vampires no longer try to wield control like that over their children. Well, at least if they do, they know it’s going to be short-lived. Eventually, the SF catches up with them, and they’re all killed. Most Makers no longer take that chance.”
Kole growled low in his throat. “So this won’t be solved simply by me murdering her uncle?”
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t even considered asking Kole to do that, but he was right to suspect that it might stop everything.
Nicholas frowned. “Sadly, no, that won’t stop the commands. Primelle will still be compelled to forever erase the memories of those around her who begin to suspect that she’s a vampire or that her uncle is behind it. The only way that would ever stop is if Primelle was killed or magic suppression was used on her so she wasn’t able to wield those commands over others.”
Kole’s energy turned entirely deadly. “Primelle being killed or ingesting magic-suppression potions are not options.”
Nicholas inclined his head. “I agree. Primelle is truly innocent in all of this, so we’ll endeavor to find a way to help her.”
But Nicholas’s tone wasn’t hopeful, and I had a feeling he would search their libraries simply to appease us, but he didn’t think an actual solution was possible.
My stomach fell, and I sagged in my seat. “It sounds like it’s entirely impossible to find a way out of this. That I’ll either forever be a slave to my uncle or that I’ll be suppressed so much that I’ll no longer be a functioning fairy.”
Nicholas patted my hand. “We’ll still search. You never know. We may find something new.”
“But what about being turned back into a fairy? Would that be possible?” I asked hopefully. “Even if we can’t find a way to stop my Maker’s control of me, perhaps instead, there’s a way for me to no longer be a vampire? Then his commands wouldn’t work.”
Nicholas’s eyes shuttered. “That I can answer with one hundred percent certainty, Princess Primelle.Nobodyhas ever found a way to undo becoming a vampire. Many have searched for answers before you, but I’m afraid it can’t be undone. Once you turn into a vampire, it shall always be so, unless the Great Death takes you, and then you venture to the afterlife.”
“Oh.” I sat back, unable to say more. Because hearing that, hearing that I would forever be a vampire from now on, nomatter what, had the tiny hope inside me dying that perhaps one day I would be able to find a way to undo all of this.
Other than asking Master Fistideeous to search for a way to undo my vampiric curse, I hadn’t voiced that wish to myself or anyone else, but it’d always been there. From day one of my turning, I yearned to be fae again. To benormal. But it didn’t seem that destiny was on my side.
Forcing myself to look at the bright side, I gave Nicholas a hopeful smile. “Actually, I think there is one way around it. The Wishing Stone.”
His expression remained blank. “What is the Wishing Stone?”
I explained what the magical relic was to Nicholas and how the Stone’s wish had allowed my uncle to turn back into a fairy. “He’d been morphing into a vampire, so if nothing else, perhaps when the next Wishing Stone arrives in a millennium, I’ll find that one too and be able to use it on myself and become fae once more.”
Interest grew in Nicholas’s eyes. “I’ve never heard of that Stone.”
“I doubt many here have. It’s something that only occurs in the fae lands as far as I know.”
He opened his mouth, as though he was going to ask another question, but a vibrating sensation shook the library’s walls. I tensed, and my head lifted in vampiric speed as everything began shaking around us.
Eyebrows slanting together, Kole asked, “What’s happening?”
Nicholas grinned and inclined his head toward the door. “That would be the gargoyles awakening. The new day has arrived.” He glanced at a clock on his wrist and collected his thin pieces of parchment. “I believe you’ll be needing to head back to the fae lands soon, but I’ll task Masters Romanus, Ambrose,and Godric with finding what they can today regarding vampire magic that originated in the fae lands and that also may be based in fae legends and lore. With any luck, I’ll have some answers soon for you on how you can best survive in your new role while also endeavoring to find a way to break your Maker’s control of you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nicholas was correct that our time was running out and that we needed to return to the fae lands. But since we’d given him all of the information we had, at the moment, there was nothing further for us to do. Now, we simply had to wait to see if the Bulgarian Libraries held any information that could help us.
When we stepped out of the Veritas Library into the hall, hundreds of gargoyles were climbing down the huge stone columns or already walking through the hall. Similar to gargoyles in the fae lands, they also wore long robes, and their faces were just as hideous to look at.
Several passed us, already in deep discussion as they entered the libraries to get to work.
Nicholas clasped his hands behind his back. “I shall consult with my gargoyles, but while I go find them, you must wait here. Guests are not allowed to wander freely, so no ambling off.” With that, he disappeared in a burst of vampire speed.
Alone in the hall, Kole drifted closer to my side and placed a hand on my lower back. Leaning down, he said quietly, “I don’t blame you for how you reacted to Nathaniel. I understand it now. I know it’s not something you can control.”
“You do?” I turned hopeful eyes up at him.
