A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,61

Sit there in the middle. I’ll bring him out.”

I did as I was told, crossing my legs and waiting patiently. Time closed the door and walked toward me, presenting his scythe. Its blade glowed white as he cut through the air with it, creating a slit in the fabric of space. He had unfettered access to Soul’s interdimensional pocket. Reaching into the blackness that lay beyond, he pulled something out—I didn’t immediately understand what it was—a figure covered in layers of translucent glass.

“Kalon,” I whispered.

He settled him on the floor in front of me and pressed three fingers into the glass. It rippled and peeled away like tape until Kalon was revealed. Time leaned closer and whispered something in his ear. Kalon’s eyes popped open, and he sucked in a deep breath.

My heart skipped a beat as Kalon sat up, slightly confused from his intense slumber. He saw Time before he noticed me, but when our eyes met, a smile spread across his face.

“Esme!” he exclaimed, throwing his arm out and pulling me into a hug.

Time moved away and vanished, giving us some much-needed privacy. I melted in his embrace, warmth filling my body to the brim like liquid sunshine. His scent flooded my nostrils—a mixture of musk and leather that made the rest of my senses flicker. And when his lips found mine, I tasted heaven. We kissed as though we’d been apart for years rather than hours. We kissed as though this was our last night in this world. Like every second mattered more than anything.

“How long have I been under?” he asked, his breath tickling my skin.

“Just a few hours,” I said. “And we can’t keep you awake for more than a few minutes right now. There’s a risk of the Black Fever symptoms coming back twice as hard. You’re being kept in a form of suspended animation. As soon as you’re out here, things might get rough.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, caressing my face and running his hands through my hair. “How are you holding up?”

Dark veins had begun making their way up the side of his neck, a sign that the Black Fever still had a grip on him, and that it would not let him go that easily. “I’m okay… Can’t help but feel responsible for your situation.”

“Don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “You ran. You did your best, considering that you were faced with an impossible choice. I would’ve hesitated, too, if it had been one of my brothers in Tristan’s place. But you pulled through. We just weren’t fast enough. Her darkness caught us.”

“I guess…”

“What’s the plan, going forward?” he asked.

“I’m just looking after the boys, keeping an eye on the city. We’ve sent a couple of crews out to hunt down the Whips before Danika gets to them.”

He frowned, understandably confused. “I think I’ve got some catching up to do.”

“You most certainly do.” I chuckled, then did my best to summarize everything we had learned from Derek regarding Danika, the Whips, and the Spirit Bender’s soul shards. The more I told him, the bigger and rounder his eyes grew, horror gradually settling onto his features.

“And my mother?” he managed, his voice barely audible.

“We don’t know where she is, but chances are she’s coming for one of you,” I replied. “She’ll need to transfer her shard into a son in order to survive Danika’s mission. We were all thinking that Petra might target you—the eldest living son, the one who ruined everything for her.”

Kalon sighed, his gaze wandering to the side. “It’s me she’ll want to kill, yes. Ansel, Tudyk, and Moore are still young. According to her logic, their minds can still be shaped and molded to her will.”

“It’s unlikely she’ll find us here,” I said. “Roano is protected with twice as much Word and death magic than Orvis was. Besides, we’re eight hundred miles from the imperial city. Out of all the places on Visio, what are the odds she’d come straight to us?”

“I wouldn’t underestimate her,” Kalon replied. “She’s a menace, and I can’t let her anywhere near the boys. I need to be awake, Esme. You can’t put me back to sleep. My mother is coming, and Danika will be needing Thayen’s heart. I can’t let that happen.”

His heart rate was spiking. I could hear it drumming in my ears as he grew restless and agitated. I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to hold him down. “Kalon, you’re sick. You’ll get sicker if you stay