leave Amal and Amane alone in the palace, especially if the Darklings found a way back inside. There was also the argument of the Aeternae’s strength and reflexes—all of them beyond adequate to support Tristan and Valaine in their endeavor. They were, after all, superior to the vampires in some fundamental ways. Derek and I were of better use here, at the top of the organizational pyramid of the Aeternae.
Taeral had been unable to give us anything regarding Death. He’d said he’d spoken to her, but that she’d asked him not to meddle. She’d also advised us to stay away from the Darklings, that her Reapers would handle it. Maybe the mention of ghouls might sway Death into being more open with us, going forward. At the same time, I had a feeling Taeral wasn’t telling us everything. Heck, I was positive that there was more to this story. Much more that we were missing.
Details that could very well make the difference between life and death for Tristan, for Esme, for Derek and me, for Amal and Amane, and other innocent people trapped between the Aeternae and their Darklings.
Derek and I had already discussed this. We’d agreed to talk to Sherus and Nuriya about it. Maybe they’d be able to get Taeral to tell us everything and try to reason with Death again—this time by mentioning the involvement of ghouls among the Darklings. Every minute that passed made me more certain that we were being kept in the dark here. The last time that secrets had been involved, our worlds had almost been destroyed.
I didn’t even want to imagine what lurked beneath the surface here.
“Perhaps you and Derek should retreat to your chambers or the study room for the rest of the day,” Acheron said after a long and heavy silence. “We’ll call upon you if we have any news, and I trust you will do the same, should Tristan or Esme get in touch with you first.”
“We most certainly will,” I replied, getting up.
“Shall we meet for breakfast?” Thayen asked, looking up at me.
I couldn’t help but smile, though I could feel Danika’s glare cutting through me. “If your parents allow it, sure. It would be my pleasure,” I said. Even Derek was surprised. We’d both grown fond of Thayen rather quickly, and the boy seemed to have taken a liking to us, as well.
“Thayen has a lot of studying to—” Danika was about to insert an excuse to keep us apart, but Acheron scoffed, reducing her to angry silence.
“I don’t see a problem with it,” he said, making his son beam with excitement. “You both seem like a positive influence on Thayen. I believe he has a lot to learn from otherworldly people like yourselves.”
I briefly glanced at Danika and bowed politely, inwardly satisfied by how productive Acheron’s wrath could be for Derek and me.
“I’ll see you in the morning, then,” I said to Thayen, then took Derek’s hand as we walked back inside.
We both felt watched but did not look back, headed straight for the double doors leading into the hallway. Tension crackled around us, and I knew we were onto something here, from multiple angles.
“Danika sort of hates us,” I murmured, while the gold guards stationed by the entrance opened the doors for us.
We walked through, and Derek squeezed my hand. “Her son is perhaps her most precious creation. I guess she’s possessive. Overly protective.”
“The five hundred thousand gold coins sound like a step forward, though.”
“Mm-hm. She hated that more than the thought of us spending more time with her son,” Derek said, the shadow of a smile dancing across his face.
“What do you think that means?” I asked.
We stopped at the top of the stairs leading down to the first floor. Derek turned to look at me, taking my hand in his. “I think people are holding back here. I think they all have secrets, and that Acheron is one of the more genuine members of his species. His actions are bound to bother the others, but, in the end, we have to make sure that we come out of this alive, and that no more of our people get lost along the way.”
“Who can we trust?” I wondered aloud, my gaze wandering down the polished marble stairs. Derek cupped my face and pulled me into a short but sweet kiss. It soothed so many of my nerves, I didn’t even realize the pressure I’d been under until he made some of it go away.
“We