A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,35

Darklings. They’d become brazen back then,” Mira said. “Eliana had come with us because we dared not leave her back home on her own—not after we’d intercepted several messages addressed to her and signed by one of the Whips, who’d beckoned her to meet with the Master.”

“It was all a ploy,” Kemi replied. “Many people died here because of the Black Fever, and the Darklings slaughtered the rest of the survivors, making it look like we were responsible. We were deemed too violent and bloodthirsty and stood accused of causing too much collateral damage in our fight to eradicate the Darklings. We took many of their people down in that melee, but the odds were stacked against us.”

“It was with a heavy heart that the Lord Supreme, of the Crimson dynasty, forced our retirement,” Mira added. “We were surrounded by too many gold and silver guards. Back then, the Crimson guards were practically an army on their own. We were outnumbered, and despite our standing and experience, we were taken to the islands. It was there that we realized our retirement had also been expertly orchestrated by the Darklings. They’d infiltrated the government at the highest levels. Our only link to the outside world was through Darklings. No one knew what they had done to us. The death magic barriers, the suicide-prevention charms… they kept us well fed, sure. They delivered construction materials and other things when we needed them, but we were prisoners there.”

Kemi let out a deep breath, one he seemed to have been holding for a long time. “Mira and I lost our daughter and freedom in the span of a single week, along with our last chance to help the Unending before the Darklings got to her. We outlived our children…”

“Didn’t you try to get Eliana to remember her past lives?” Tristan asked.

“The Darklings were circling too closely,” Mira replied. “I worked with her on a couple of occasions, looking to coax her memory a bit, but she struggled too much with the guilt of having caused the Black Fever. The circumstances were different compared to what they are now. You found Valaine relatively early compared to us, and that gave you an edge. Eliana’s mental state was much too fragile, and Endymion was annoyingly persuasive.”

“I know how horrible it is to lose a child,” I said to Mira and Kemi. “And I know it’s not the kind of pain that you ever bounce back from. I was fortunate to see our son come back to us, twice—I’m sorry you never got that opportunity.”

“Valaine here is the closest we’ll ever get to Eliana again,” Mira murmured, looking at Lady Crimson with a warm half-smile. “I’ll take whatever fate tosses my way.”

Time cleared his throat. “Considering all the craziness that has happened to this point—and even though I have a way of containing Valaine’s darkness—I think we should isolate her from the rest of the group. It’s safer for everyone, including Valaine.”

“The north tower,” Tristan suggested.

“Where Eliana died,” Valaine murmured. “Yes. It might help jog my memory.”

“We’ll take Kalon up there for the same reason,” Time said to Esme. “If I put him in one of Soul’s interdimensional pockets, he’ll be safe from Unending’s darkness.”

“Yes, there are multiple rooms in the tower,” Mira replied. “It’s a good idea.”

Esme didn’t have much to say about any of this. Ashen with worry and barely able to formulate a full sentence, she just nodded her faint agreement. We were close to either breaking through and releasing the Unending or losing everything and everyone in a flurry of unknown death magic.

There was no way of knowing what advanced tricks the Darklings had learned from the Spirit Bender. There was only the hope that Valaine would reach the Unending within her before the Darklings would find us in this ruined city. Meanwhile, my husband was still in the lion’s den, and my nerves stretched beyond their limits as I wondered if I would get him back.

I could walk in the daylight now, and I couldn’t even enjoy this momentous breakthrough. There was no celebration. No music or dancing. No laughter or relief. Only the fear that everything could come crashing down around us at any moment.

Esme

Kailani came with me to the north tower. We needed her magic to rebuild the top of the structure. Using nearby chunks of stone in a breathtaking display of telekinesis and a shapeshifting spell, Kailani took the rubble and raised it to the top, laying it brick