A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,53
of Black Fever—something I’d only caught glimpses of during Valaine’s blackouts. A moment later, Eliana passed out, and the air cleared, the sconces burning again. It was too late for the children, but at least she’d survived.
“I don’t know how the Darklings knew I was the Unending,” Valaine said after a while. “The Black Fever hadn’t begun to manifest yet. They had little reason to suspect me.”
“They must’ve spotted a sign, a symptom. Perhaps you’d gotten too angry once and didn’t even realize it, much like what happened here. The older you got, the stronger your true nature became. You simply couldn’t hold Unending’s power down for much longer,” I replied. “It’s good that you remember, though. It gives us hope for the future. Just don’t let the thought of Kalon haunt you. It won’t do you any good.”
She let out a deep breath, her shoulders low in defeat. “I know. I’m trying.”
“We’re safe in here,” Phantom said. “I can do a lot more for you in this place without influencing the outside world. If we can reproduce more memories like this, then there’s a chance you’ll slip into another trance. You just need to think about how far you wish to go. It’s up to you now. There’s no risk of darkness spilling out and hurting people anymore.”
“It’s a controlled environment,” Morning added. “And we’re with you, darling.”
Ignoring Morning’s earlier request, I leaned forward and took Valaine’s hand in mine for a moment. Her skin felt warm, filling me to the brim with newfound hope in the face of such great perils. As long as we were together, we’d be okay.
“You’ve got this,” I told her. “And I’ve got you.”
She gave me a soft smile. “It’s the only thing that gives me courage,” Valaine replied. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
In and out. In and out.
It didn’t take long for her to slip into a trance. The room around us disappeared, and the four of us sat in the nothingness, much like before. This time, however, it was different. We were all present and conscious as the world around us shifted, following the golden thread deeper into the Unending’s past.
I could see it clearly, shimmering in the dark. Wanting us to reach its end. The Unending’s beginning.
Tristan
It felt like watching a movie projected all around us, three dimensions of audiovisual stimulation that made my heart race. We sat quietly in the middle of it as the scene came to life. The nothingness was replaced with a sprawling hall. We were inside a palace, I realized. It wasn’t that different from the imperial one, except it was much bigger, judging by the size of this auditorium alone.
Its floor was covered in mirror tiles that reflected the dome-shaped ceiling. Paintings of gracious Aeternae adorned every inch of it in soft pastels. The scenes depicted gatherings before the Lord and Lady Supreme, who resembled Mira and Kemi. This had to be part of the first imperial palace, built and decorated under Mira and Kemi’s rule.
Enormous windows dominated the left wall, stretching from the top to the bottom. Light flooded the hall, and I could tell the reddish haze had not been cast around Visio just yet. This was pure sunlight, and I longed to feel it on my skin again. The day-walking cure had proven successful so far, and I was eager to try it soon. Until then, I had to make do with this foreign memory.
Mira and Kemi’s portraits hung on the right wall, along with other paintings and wall-mounted sculptures. At the far end, raised on a gilded platform, were two thrones with ornate details and embroidered silk tapestry, fit for a Lord and Lady Supreme. Gold guards stood at every entrance, tall and quiet.
“Where are we?” I asked, having almost forgotten I was still conscious. I could interact with Valaine and the Reapers in here.
“The first imperial palace,” Valaine replied, keeping her eyes closed while Phantom continued materializing the details of the distant memory she’d tapped into. “Mira and Kemi have stepped down from the throne. Their son, Thyme, rules as Lord Supreme. This is about twenty thousand years before Eliana was born. We’ve made quite the jump here.”
I could see Thyme now, sitting in his throne. The Lady’s seat was empty. Another young Aeternae man stood before him, clad in elegant armor, a dark blue cape hanging from his left shoulder, on which I recognized the Visentis brooch.