A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,95

matter who they were or where they hailed from. There were no Rimians or Naloreans in sight among the service staff, so I assumed that we’d made it back to a time when the Aeternae empire was still growing.

The little girl, however, couldn’t care less. She didn’t even know there were such creatures as the Rimians and the Naloreans. In her mind, only the Aeternae existed, and they were beautiful and graceful, violent and everlasting. The combination startled and fascinated her at the same time, but she would soon grow up and accept these various facets of her species.

She closed the window and continued with her promenade through the sun-kissed hallway. The walls were painted a delicate shade of cream with white baseboards and crown molding, together creating a tasteful contrast to the dark hardwood floors. She wondered why her parents hadn’t used marble like she’d seen in other mansions, until she remembered her father once said that the wood would help keep this place warm during the winter. She was glad, because she loved walking barefoot.

White stone statuettes adorned the hallway, mounted on bronze pedestals. They were portraits of the girl’s mother, father, grandparents and great-grandparents. Each carried the features and grace of the Razelyon dynasty, with small noses and cupid’s bow lips, oval faces and round, peach-like cheeks. There was glory in their name, for they’d stood tall and proud alongside the Nasani and the Visentis bloodlines from the very beginning. She had been taught to cherish her legacy.

Looking up, the ceiling was painted, covered in scenes of the Aeternae’s birth. She recognized some of the key figures that were there that day, including her uncle Kemi and her aunt Mira, the Aeternae Lord and Lady Supreme of Visio, succeeding the Unending herself. The Razelyon and the Nasani dynasties shared a common gene from before they were all made Aeternae, and that made them closer to one another than to any other noble family. Her grandparents were up there, as well, heralding the arrival of the Unending. They had studied the skies for years, and they had seen the bright light coming to Visio.

At the time, they’d been worried that the light might destroy the planet, but as it approached Visio, it had begun to slow down. In the middle of the scenes, the Unending was depicted wearing a white dress and black gloves and featuring long black hair and ruby-red lips, her skin like porcelain, her eyes filled with stars. Endless rays of white light beamed out from her form to spread all across the ceiling, granting immortality to the Aeternae. Of course, the Visio people were not known as Aeternae at that time. Not yet.

“We were Trakkians,” the little girl murmured. Creatures of habit and invention, of comfort and progress, of boundless curiosity and dreams of a brighter future. They’d lived to be a hundred years old and considered themselves lucky. Now, however, they were Aeternae, looking forward to forever. She wondered what it must’ve been like for her grandparents to say goodbye to their mortality.

At the end of the hallway, there were two rooms across from one another. On the right was her parents’ bedroom. Their voices could be heard through the closed door. They were engaged in a heated argument, and it made her feel queasy. She hated when they argued, though it seldom happened. On the left was the girl’s bedroom. She stopped near their door for a while, listening to the exchange.

“We cannot let anyone suspect her,” the mother said.

“She has a hard time controlling her instincts, my love. She’s stronger than her previous incarnation. It will be revealed sooner than later, I’m afraid. The Darklings are paying attention, even though the last Black Fever cycle ended less than a decade ago,” the father replied. “I’m confident some of them were present at her birthday celebration.”

“Do you suspect anyone in particular?” the mother asked.

“Perhaps among the Shatal or Amos families,” the father said.

They were talking about the little girl. She’d been having strange moments lately, and hearing them discuss this so feverishly made her feel bad. She liked seeing them happy, always smiling and looking forward to their days together. But lately they’d been spending more time together behind closed doors, arguing over their concerns about her.

“We must tell the Lady Supreme, at least,” the mother insisted. “You know Mira would gladly help. If our daughter is the Unending, she will want to help set her free. We have a small advantage