A Shade of Vampire 80 A Veil of Dark - Bella Forrest Page 0,35

on, I’m sure we can bring him into the light again.”

“I wonder what Petra will think of all this.”

“Oh, she’ll be furious,” Valaine said. “If Kalon doesn’t kill Ansel, Petra might.”

“Seriously?”

She giggled. “No, not really. She’s a mother, Tristan. She will suffer. She will cry. Then, she will take a deep breath and sit her son down. Sooner or later, we’ll get to hear everything that Ansel has learned from the Darklings. Believe it or not, his affiliation is actually a gift to us. The Visentis dynasty is strong. They would never let him slip away from them… not forever.”

“So, you think his bloodline is stronger than his ideology,” I concluded.

“If you put it like that? Yes. I firmly believe that. You see, Tristan, the Aeternae’s noble dynasties are ancient. Many of them, including Visentis, predate the Black Fever and the Darklings themselves. By a few millennia, of course, but those years matter.”

“I find the whole concept of dynasties fascinating,” I said. “Especially when the main bloodlines seem to have consistently occupied the same positions within the empire for millennia on end. It denotes great societal stability. I can see how you’ve managed to keep both Rimia and Nalore under control for so long.”

Valaine inched her Vision closer to mine, her gaze penetrating my very soul. “Crimson has always stood for blood. For violence. For sacrifice. Our family does what others will not. My father was hoping I’d take over from him someday.”

“You… a master commander?”

She nodded. “Yes. Of course, I’m not yet sure I want that responsibility, and he knows it. Which is why he’s trained Kalon, as well. Just in case I decide to disappoint him and open an orphanage for abandoned Rimians and Naloreans somewhere south of the imperial city.” She laughed lightly. “I’m not the only Crimson left, either. I still have cousins and aunts and uncles who might find the position appropriate. Point is, Tristan, we’ve always been around to defend the empire. To spill blood, if needed.”

“I understand. Much like the Nasani dynasty has been around to rule over the empire,” I replied, occasionally patting the side of my Vision’s muscular neck.

“Yes. Other dynasties have ruled over the years, of course, but none as well and as proficiently as the Nasani. I suppose it’s in their blood, so to speak. They were the first to rise as leaders, before the Aeternae were even an empire. They were the ones to lead the conquest of Rimia, then Nalore. They have overseen the longest periods of peace, as well.”

“Gotta give credit where it’s due,” I muttered. I could see Corbin ahead, well past the battalion, his broad frame amplified by his Vision stallion—a monster of a horse with enough muscle to make me shake in my boots. “And the Shatal dynasty?” I asked, wondering if Zoltan was even the first Darkling in his family.

Valaine clicked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “I knew you’d ask. To be fair, the Shatal dynasty has always been… balanced. Most of them occupied positions high up in the government. Zoltan isn’t even the first chief councilor. It came as a shock to everyone that even one of them would be associated with the Darklings. The Shatal Aeternae are what you’d normally refer to as goody-two-shoes.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I guess Zoltan was trying to break the mold, somehow.”

“As for Visentis, they’ve always had at least one master of mazir among them. They don’t hold the monopoly over mazir, though. There are plenty of other Aeternae who practice the art, Valaine included. The Visentis dynasty have always held a leadership role over the use of mazir. They’re scholars and healers. Politicians. Caregivers. A diverse bunch, but always providing a high priestess or a high priest to serve the empire. There hasn’t been a non-Visentis high cleric in over a million years. Again, they’re a loyal bunch. Ansel is… well, he’s an anomaly.”

Ansel’s situation was oddly familiar. I had seen it before, in other cultures, in other worlds. Given his age and, like Valaine had noted, his impressionable mind, it didn’t strike me as unfathomable that Ansel had fallen under the Darklings’ spell.

“I don’t think he realized what he was getting himself into,” I said. “The Darklings offered him something; they filled a gap in his life, somehow. Maybe they promised him something. Or maybe loneliness pushed him into their arms. I understand that Ansel is one of the middle children, right?”

Valaine nodded again. “He’s got two younger brothers. One is