A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,72

I never said it would be easy. In fact, I specifically remember telling you there would be tough choices to be made along the road. That the mission required strength of character. Being a Darkling means having no hesitation. If murder is required, you do it. Period.”

I cleared my throat, drawing her attention for a moment. “You taught your children—mere boys as young as six—that murder is okay. Petra, you’re definitely not winning any parenting awards. Cultural differences aside, killing other people should never be considered okay.”

“You’ve never killed anyone?” Petra sneered. The boys watched me with renewed interest. I had to choose my words carefully.

“I’ve killed plenty. But I never reveled in it. I still see their faces when I go to sleep, and I will forever remember each and every one of them. Taking a life is a wretched and awful thing to do, and while I admit it is sometimes necessary, the Darklings take it far too lightly,” I said.

Petra rolled her eyes, clearly in no mood for my sermon. But Tudyk had gotten my message. “He’s right, you know,” the boy said to his mother. “You never talked to us about it. All we’ve ever been taught was that people who got in the Darklings’ way had to die. Our mission was sacred, and nothing else mattered. Well, it turns out our mission was a lie.”

“I, like my ancestors before me, made sure the Aeternae remained immortal. We stopped the Black Fever from destroying us all!” Petra said. “Yes, we had to kill people along the way, but in the end, we save more than we lose.”

“There was always another way,” Ansel cut in. “You could’ve set the Unending free and offered your heartfelt apologies. She gave us immortality, and she could take it away. But don’t you think she’d forgive us if we released her? If we stopped all these bloody games?”

Petra laughed as if Ansel had delivered the punchline to a clever joke. “Oh, my dear, sweet Ansel. The Unending cursed us with the Black Fever, remember? If she’s set free, she will wipe us all out. It’s not that she’ll take our immortality away. No, she’ll do so much worse.”

“Valaine is our friend,” Ansel replied. “She would never—”

“Valaine is not the Unending. She’s merely a shadow of that great power. A manifestation of the first Reaper,” Petra said. “Whatever Valaine wants now, it will fade away when Unending takes back the mantle. And trust me, after about five million years, there aren’t enough apologies in this world to make up for what was done to her. Our only option has always been to keep the cycle going for as long as the Aeternae breathe.”

Ansel shook his head. “That’s not right. It wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now.”

“As it turns out, the odds are more in your favor than mine. I’m merely trying to make you understand what has driven the Darklings up to this point,” Petra conceded with a shrug. “I’m not willing to get myself killed for the Spirit Bender, so I’ve switched sides. I’m here with you now, and I’m no longer a Darkling. You will bring the Unending back, and maybe you’re right and she won’t kill us all. But she definitely won’t grant us immortality anymore. We will die someday.”

“Better to live a short and meaningful life than an eternity at the expense of others’ wellbeing and happiness,” Esme countered, drawing nods from all three boys.

Petra narrowed her eyes. “My dear, sweet Esme, you continue to occupy space in my vicinity. The least you could do is keep your mouth shut. Your voice alone irks me.”

“Don’t be mean to her!” Tudyk snapped. “She’s looking after us. She’s looking after Kalon, too. He’s—”

“Away with Trev, for now,” Esme interjected before the truth came out. Again, I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for her quick thinking.

Petra eyed each of us carefully—particularly her sons—until her gaze settled on Moore. “Forgive me, my darlings,” she said. “There’s only so much I can change about myself after this long life I’ve had. I love you more than anything. That’s why I’m here.”

“Wait, did you say you disavowed the Darklings?” Moore asked, slightly surprised.

“Derek can confirm I am no longer their friend,” she said, giving me a sideways glance. Moore looked my way, and I was compelled to nod in agreement, though I wasn’t at all comfortable with Petra’s full statement.

“From what I witnessed, Danika was determined to kill Petra for the