A Shade of Vampire 91: A Gate of Light - Bella Forrest Page 0,10

society. When suddenly forced to confront the possibility of mortality, they’d turned against Unending. They’d chosen to support the Darklings and to keep the first Reaper buried under the seals.

The memory of those days made me quiver. “What was it about Mom that drew you to her initially?” I asked, choosing to steer away from the harsh truth of my Aeternae culture.

“Well, she was an absolute beauty,” Dad chuckled, hands casually resting on his hips. He gazed to the side, momentarily losing himself in the darkness of the redwoods as he remembered my mother. “Danika was a fierce creature. Her presence filled an entire room and made it hard to breathe without her. She carried herself with grace and poise, and she was ready to tear the head off of anyone who threatened her.” He stopped for a moment, shaking his head in disappointment. “And I was foolish enough to think she would take all that and invest it into our family. Into you.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I said. “I was blindsided too.”

“Yes. But I was your father,” he replied, his expression suddenly serious. “I was supposed to protect you, to keep you safe.”

“Dad, you did everything you could. Mom fooled everybody.” My eyes flickered to Myst. She must be so confused right now.

Myst gave me a curious look. “I take it this is a story you will share with me sometime?”

“And who is this wonderful creature?” Dad cut in, suddenly aware of Myst’s presence beside him. He measured her from head to toe with a gleam of admiration in his multicolored eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m the one who raised you from the beyond,” Myst replied, raising her chin. “I am Myst. A Valkyrie of Purgatory.”

“Purgatory? Oh wait, that was my judgment. You were there, yes! I remember you now. We’ve met before,” Dad said. “You carried me off, right?”

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “And you kept asking me to join you.”

“Dad,” I chided, but I was laughing too. It sounded just like him. My father had never been a womanizer, but he’d always appreciated the impact of a beautiful woman. He’d loved jesting in that vein too. Some in the imperial court had found his comments offensive—but only when they’d been aimed at their wives or daughters. Otherwise, they’d laughed with him, and shamelessly so.

“Your friend, I take it?” he replied, pointing a thumb at the Valkyrie. I nodded once more. “I have to tell you, kid. I am proud to see you’ve chosen to aim above your level. It’s impressive.” He looked at Myst. “My son is a good man. A fierce man. A noble man. I don’t need more than a minute here with him to know it. I hope you know it too.”

She didn’t respond right away, and I held my breath for a few seconds. Dad eyed me with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, but when Myst spoke again, he listened intently.

“Thayen is one of the strongest spirits I have ever come across,” she said. “An army of Berserkers will not break his soul. His body, yes. But not his soul. His soul has the power of the entire universe crammed inside it. And I am fortunate and honored to consider him an ally.”

Dad shot me a grin. “I think she likes you.”

“How are you?” I asked, my cheeks burning as I proceeded to move the conversation away from yet another difficult subject. He had been away for so long and was unaware of so many things, it was hard for him to know when to stop with his playful jests and devilish innuendos. In that respect, he was just as I remembered him, and it filled me with a familiar warmth. My Aeternae family was twisted and gone, but my father’s spirit had braved the unknown and had found his way back to me. “How have you been? What is it like for you?”

“I’m fine, son.” He then proceeded to give me details of his new existence, but I heard nothing. Only saw his lips moving. He was certainly saying something, yet I wasn’t getting any of it. “Wait,” Dad muttered, his voice back. “What’s going on? I’m talking, but it is silenced… Why?”

Myst rubbed the back of her neck. “There is a control system in place,” she said. “The living can never know what the beyond is like. Therefore, if you talk about it, your voice is taken from you. If you talk about anything