Soren
Ian and I had waited in the foyer of his home that entire day. His soldiers were geared up at the North end of the Island. Marcus never came. At sunset, Ian turned to me. "Come, Soren." He dismissed everyone there and recalled the troops. Ian sat across from me behind his desk, fingers interlaced. My heart wouldn't beat faster again, and there would be no more nerves. I was done, and I had meant every word. "Soren, what happened? No one attacked us."
"You have to forgive me. I'm still young and made an error in judgment… My emotions got the better of me. Marcus… Has a tactical advantage over me."
"It is not the end of the world. We still have our Island, and if you were telling the truth… You did stop them from gaining a massive advantage over us." Ian patiently waited.
"I'm going to tell you a story. And after that, you can decide what you want to do with Isla and me." I was numb at that point. I didn't know who I was or if I could look at myself in the mirror. Juliet said staying would be an uncertainty for us. We could've been safe if Isla and I left with her. F- being safe. Either way was going to be... Anyway, I made my choice. I proceeded to tell Ian everything about Juliet and me. My whole life and hers. What happened in the room the previous night. About the brandings. Juliet's weaknesses. The cross-species breeding. The abilities. How she had gone to talk to Ahasuerus on Zoreah and how they thwarted their plans to take over Zoreah. How Hessien had been too late before Michael turned into a three-headed beast.
"You are telling me… Ahasuerus died before the war?" I nodded. "That, sticking a flaming hot poker onto her ass, had created a creature that can travel… not from planet to planet but across galaxies." I sighed. It all sounded so unreal if you were not there to witness it. "Michael is not the only one." I continued telling him about Charlene and how she had vanished after her branding.
"So not only is there a new species, but they go to places we do not even know of." Ian dug in his pocket, taking out the blue and green stone. "I understand that Ahasuerus did all he could to stop it. But why? What is so special about this one? Do you still think it opens those vaults?"
"I don't know… What has always bothered Juliet is that the men were forced down when Louis branded her. In some supernatural act of submission… I believe the four of them can make anyone bend. They have never tried it."
"You said she already had her twenty-second birthday. And it maxes at three?"
"I don't know everything. I was here for the last month. A lot happens in a month with all they are going through."
"So Ira's son is not in the picture? She doesn't have everything… You want to take it from them. Why? How can I trust you if you are so changeable? Soren, what am I supposed to do?"
"I don't care. I don't think you'll kill Isla. And if I die. Does it really matter? You have nothing to lose. If you give me a chance to prove myself." I waited.
"You are right. After everything you disclosed. How can I blame you? You opened my eyes to things I would never even have considered. We had heard things, but I thought it was a fairy tale… My own father did not tell me. It is why he died. I will not make the same mistake. I think we need to hold off on going to Palmyra for now. You have already stationed some men there. If they do go after Fahan… But I don't think they will. Marcus would further separate their troops. He will not want to leave En-gannim vulnerable."
I got up to leave. I would not bow anymore or ever put my face on the ground. Ian would have to accept that I would not help him if I didn't get the proper respect. No more scraping the barrel or submitting. He will not rule me.
I walked out and traveled to the Island where my father lived. If I were Marcus, the teleporters and communications would go next. I had no time to lose if we would set up our own hub on Palmyra, working with Fahan. Ian had said we should wait. But I was going to prove my worth. My time in the background, listening and hearing everything they had ever discussed, was paying off. Maybe not in the way I ever thought it would.
My father had bought me a house as a wedding gift. It wasn't large or ostentatious but had ample space for a family and servants. The lot was surrounded by a boundary wall. At the front entrance, a few steps led up to two large doors. "You two can guard here." Ian had sent me soldiers to protect Rana's new home. They took their places, and I stepped up to the door. It slid open. It was the first time I was there. The servants and Rana were on the floor, welcoming me home. They were all veiled and waiting. A few male servants stood behind them. It would be my first decision for the rest of my domesticated life. Do I take off Rana's veil? "You are released." They stood to their feet and waited. "You can all take off your coverings."
The servants were nervously fidgeting. Rana did what she was told. Images of her beneath me flooded my mind. How I had felt touching her. She was so beautiful. The female servants were bound in duty to the mistress of the house and quickly took off their veils. We had about ten female servants and three males. I scanned the crowd to make sure there was not one familiar face. "Did you check their backgrounds?" Rana didn't answer, her eyes to the ground, hands clasped in front of her. One of the male servants went into the house and brought me the registry of our home. For a moment, I had forgotten that I was not supposed to talk to the women. Especially not about domestic issues. That was why there were servants and separation of the sexes. I took the book. "Where is my office." The man was advanced in years. I followed him. I sat down and checked everyone there to En-gannim's registry. Pulled up the globe from the table and crossed checked that they had come from Island's belonging to Ian. "It all seems in order. Did you hire everyone in the house? "Yes, Your Excellency." I glanced up at the styled address. It sounded so strange. "Send Rana to my room." He bowed, shuffled out, and left. The whole house ran so smoothly. I could get used to having a say and running my own little world.
Rana was standing in the corner. Her bruise looked awful. I had a tinge of regret about not protecting her. I went to stand in front of her and lifted her face in my hands. Her eyes avoided mine. I had not made a good first impression. Juliet was right; I had forced her, and if she didn't trust me afterward, it was my fault. But it wasn't about trust. Only submission. "The woman you saw in our room was Juliet."
Rana's eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. "How did I not recognize her."
"She looks a little different than your normal Vampire. Especially when she is like that. Did you see the eyes and the mouth?" Rana nodded. "But how?"
"She has an ability."
"Ability?" Rana asked, surprised. "Vampires… with abilities. How?"
"It must be Earth. If no one here has them."
"Regardless, how would I know?" Rana said. It had taken so much for Isla to change her way of thinking, and I sympathized with Rana's frustration in some small way. Everyone there was clueless and in the dark ages. No matter what I did. Ian wasn't going to change En-gannim's ways. I gazed down into Rana's eyes. I didn't want to apologize for the night before. If I was going to stay. I wasn't going to try and change things. I would change myself. "What do you want?" I asked softly and stroked her hair.
Rana seemed hesitant to answer. She also had to make a decision that day. Her first of many. She struggled to decide whether she could or would trust me. "It doesn't matter what you say. You can speak freely."
The confusion showed. "Well, I wanted Marcus. I wanted the baby dead."
I closed my eyes slowly and pressed my forehead to hers. I tightly held the back of her head and pushed us together. I had completely forgotten that she was, in her way, in love with Marcus. The idea of him. She wanted what his name and person could give her. How would Rana ever be mine at heart? It might have been the right thing to say. The mere mention of his name drove me insane.
"And now?" I had to ask to see how shallow she was.
"I don't know." It was as good an answer as any. "I… wanted out of a room. My own home. I have that now. It might not be the status of being Marcus's first wife." She felt exactly like Isla.
"I understand. But Rana, the war. If Ian wins. There will be a new En-gannim. Can you change your mindset and conceive to understand where you would be on top." She cocked her head and stared at me. "The name has no more meaning here. En-gannim has already split in two. Do you see that the old ways died away with Ahasuerus's death?"
She took a moment. "Ian wants to rule?"
"It seems that way."
"We thought… My mother and I… that he would honor the old ways and respect the stone and emblem. Follow the customs. My father only wanted Juliet dead. He never wanted Marcus dethroned."
I smiled. "I also thought that. We were wrong." It felt strange that I would be the only one doing the touching in our relationship. She would never, out of her own, caress me or comfort me. Even think of putting herself in my shoes. I wanted her to touch me. "Rana, place your hands on me." She obeyed immediately. It felt wrong. How would I ever change if I didn't push through? She opened her mouth to speak but shut it again. "Say what you want to. You can always ask for permission."
She nodded and hesitantly asked, "Why was she in our room?" At last, Rana's brain seemed to bridge the gap from following everyone's orders to thinking for herself. How did I explain it? Would she even understand?
"Juliet is in love with me." Oh, how my heart ached with every word. I was going to be the person that broke Juliet's heart. Not be that man she had thought I would be. That picture she had conjured up.
She seemed confused. "In Love?"
"You do not understand love. It has never been a word here, has it." Isla only had those notions because of Juliet and the books. My, how reading can change a whole nation.
"Another thing I don't know." It seemed that Rana had a little spark to her. A frustration of being told what to think. "Ian would kill you if you're working with them."
A slight sound of laughter didn't pass my lips. "I am not working with them. They cast me off a long time ago. You saw me sitting in that office. Nothing more than a lackey when they needed another set of hands."
Rana's few brain cells seemed to be working. "Yes. I did. Like Ian always was."
I smiled. She seemed to relax even more. "I want us to have some common ground for now. I think we can meet somewhere in the middle… Do you understand where it leaves you if Ian takes over?"
She was so well trained. Her hands were roaming my chest as I held her shoulders in mine. Not too overbearing and would wait for more orders. "I am his sister… so I would be…"
"You can say it. It is what you want."
"Will be with him at the top. Our house. Our name."
"Yes. Exactly. And Ian and I had come to an arrangement. Because I know everything about them. I can help him win the war."
She nodded. "Can I ask you something?" It would always be that first taste of freedom that brought out a person's personality. I knew how Rana could be after Michael held her against a wall. I also nodded. "I want to understand more. My mother had a lot of duties in the house that not many women get. My father allowed her a lot of privileges. She also talked to me…" I grasped her shoulders a bit tighter, willing her over that line. Stroking her with firm thumbs to dive. "Will you help me to change the way I think?"
A flood of relief washed over me, into my gut and soul. I closed my eyes. "Within bounds. Yes." She had a sincere smile on her lips. I placed my hands on her cheek and stroked over the bruise and her lip. She dropped her hands from my chest and covered the bruise. "I forgot for a moment that I may not be pleasing to you." I gently took her hand. If I had free reign over how much sex we had. Didn't have to ask or dance around the elephant in the room. Do all the mating rituals. My father's words came to mind. "Take every last drop till there is nothing left." Did I want to go down that road completely? I led her to the bed. I was at a point where I thought I could get off without any effort. I was going to touch her and take my time. I would wait until I was on the brink and cross another line.
***
A few days later, Ian told me he would accompany me to Palmyra with the stone. We would finally test it and see what it could do. He had not wanted to let it out of his sight. It didn't bother me. I had enough responsibilities, as it were. After the wedding, I scrambled to help Fahan connect with all our teleporters. Ian didn't believe that Marcus would cut it off. I was redeemed when we wanted to travel to Palmyra, and the guard told us it was not working.
"Dismissed." The station worker left. There would be no point if we needed it all to work from Palmyra.
"It's my fault."
"Do not be bothered." Ian didn't even look upset. "One thing my father did right was making Fahan believe we were helping him get the power."
"You were using him."
"We had to have a secure place when he took Beatrice. And an army to keep it safe. And what are the chances that Fahan and his one mate figure out how to make a nation bend before Juliet does? Send Fahan a message."
I took out a plate. "What do you want me to send."
"It is time."
I put the plate back in my pocket. "You know the coms will go next."
"Yes, it seems Marcus is determined to use that stone… Soren, it is your job to figure out how we kill Jade and wipe out a race. My father had the power and a sure way to get rid of the army standing between him and having it all. Because if I were Fahan, I would not let her out of my sight." Ian actually laughed. "No wonder Ahasuerus went to such great lengths… Tell me. Do you think if we kill one Ittoqure? Do they all die? Does all the Earth die out? Oh, Soren, no. I don't think I will kill you. We are brothers now. And seeing that our goals align. Together, we will have everything we want. By then, it would not matter if I trust you or not. The proof is in the pudding." I smiled. "See! I've been reading."
***
Juliet
"And then grandma, what happened? Did you kill Soren and that Vampire guard?"
"No. Your grandmother was a little stupid back then and scared. That massive Vampire made me crap my pants."
"Scared? You. I don't believe you."
"I was so young. You know how it feels to not be as strong as your father."
"Oh, yes. I forgot you were only twenty-two." We were walking across a gorge. The only way to get to the other side was a fallen tree trunk spanning about hundred and fifty meters. The boy jumped over the holes in the trunk. I steadied him with my walking stick when he fumbled his landing. I didn't need it, but I liked pretending to be old. I let my shoulders slump. Wore a patched-up long grey coat with a hood. My hands were all wrinkled, and my grey hair was long to my shoulders. I tied it on top of my head in a messy bun.
The view from the tree was magnificent. It sloped a little downwards, and across the small deserted lands in front of us was an ancient city in the distance. The center of the mining town was built into a mountain, and at the peak, smoke emanated from the top. Valleys of green forests encircled the town with a soft mist hanging on their branches. The hills behind the city were blue and purple in the sun setting.
Green mossy plants grew over the trunk, and it was eroded and dark from all the rain. The boy was young. Around eight or nine. He had a bowl haircut that formed a straight line around his eyes and covered his ears. Light brunette hair with a hint of blonde. A long-sleeved green shirt with long blue pants and a brown backpack hanging over his shoulders.
Chris landed behind the boy and caught him as he struggled to keep his balance. "You're back?"
"Not like I could go far."
"Did you really cause the loss of the first war?"
I sighed heavily. "Yes. I didn't lie to you. It was all my fault."
"Not all your fault."
"What do you mean, Chris?" The boy asked.
"Well, not even your grandfather knew that Soren would win the war. Or what kind of man he was."
"Louis didn't know? But he could read minds? How could he not know?"
"Something like that happens in an instant. Someone can change in a moment, and you would never see it coming."
"It makes life really difficult."
Chris and I laughed. "Yes, and we underestimated him."
"You should never underestimate anybody!" The boy chimed in. We had drilled it into him from a young age. "Like what happened with Miné in the great war of Palmyra."
We were quiet. "Miné is a werewolf. They are very loyal but shallow. The women especially. You can't really blame her for going with her nature."
"Why did you blame Soren? Wasn't it about the fittest will rule? The strongest won a fight, and the challenger was left standing or dead."
"In the first war, the customs were not in effect. But you're right. I shouldn't have blamed him for tapping into his shadow side of Vampires."
"Juliet. I know you don't want to sit still. But I'm getting sick of walking. The boy must be going out of his mind. We have been walking forever."
"I don't mind." The boy said. I turned and held out my fist. He gave me a fist bump and almost lost his footing again. "How long have you been walking?"
"Two hundred years… I think. Is that right, Chris? I can't remember anymore."
"Sounds about right."
"Are you still hiding from Michael, grandmother?"
"Yes. I have to."
"Never break your promises and keep your commitments." He chimed again.
"I'm glad you're as clever as your grandfather was."
"And Chris has been walking with you ever since then."
I laughed. "He doesn't have a choice… Michael and Charlene are probably on some island making Ittoqure babies as we speak."
Chris laughed. "The two of them. I can't see that happening."
"You wouldn't have gone there?"
"Ewe. No. Charlene?" Chris shook his shoulders. "Then I might as well have slept with Maya."
"So let me get this straight." Chris and I laughed. "Caleb is on Zoreah. Ruling with an iron fist." He slammed his fist into an outstretched hand.
"Sammy married some idiot human… named Warden. They live on Earth. She is just as old as you. Doesn't want to live on Zoreah forever. Roger is ruling En-gannim. And I'm stuck with you until you feel the change of time, and you go sit down and die."
"Sounds about right."
"So my father was the last baby you had?"
I sighed. "Yes. Not that it was my fault. Or a lack of trying."
The boy snickered behind a hand. "Grandmother." I had to pick him up and twirl him in a circle. We had stepped off the wood and onto sand. He giggled. "I don't want you to die."
"There is nothing I can do about that."
"But it's so sad. You are supposed to be surrounded by family in your last years. That's what the books say anyway."
"I'm not alone. I have Chris. He is all I need. And you to see me off. Remind me of how worthy my causes were."
"I can go back, and we can start it all over again."
The boy and I said at the same time. "No!" Chris shrugged, manifested, and picked me up."
"I'm the strongest I will ever be. There is no need."
"But I want to." Chris wrapped his arm around my leg to hold me in place on his shoulder.
"So Romero is dead. Kubra is dead. Carl died hundreds of years ago. And what happened to... what's his name."
"He's with Roger. His right-hand man."
Fia, Romero's child, is on Mirach? What happened to her?
"She married Roger, remember."
"What a stupid name. Roger. What were you thinking?"
Chris spun me in a circle. "Because he almost died. It was the first thing Marcus said when your mother was squeezing his hand. Not that I was there for any of the births of my children."
"A true Riphath."
"Why did you start walking?"
"It was the day I had my first wrinkle. I was about seven hundred. Michael would live for so long, and I didn't want him to see me like… this."
"How shallow."
Chris and I laughed as he kissed me.
"If you could go back, Chris, where would you go?"
"Oh, I've had a very long time to think about it. Never answered your grandmother when she asked me that very question."
The boy was jumping at our feet, tugging on Chris's shirt. "Tell me! Tell me."
"I will if you give me a chance."
Chris put me down and looked deep into my eyes. "I'm not going to say." He started running. The boy squealed in delight, and we chased him until he began to teleport. "Unfair. Grandma, it's unfair." I laughed and laughed and laughed.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
The boy ran into his father's arms. I always had to take a minute to compose myself. Basaam looked so much like Louis. Chris gripped him at the elbow and put his head on the Basaam's forehead. They shared a few words. The intimacy was visible in their body language and features. I dragged his wife in under an arm, who rewarded me with a side hug. We were going to spend the night together. And I was okay with that.
"Mom, Michael was on En-gannin today. He knows I know where you are. It's just a matter of time."
I scoffed. "He's not found me in two hundred years."
"He says Charlene went to the origin city of Zoreah. She is staying. Helping them populate. She's going to try and shed all her other creatures."
"Really?" Chris and I shared a glance. The boy was fast asleep in his lap.
"Don't you miss her mom. I can take you right now."
"No! I don't want to see Selena and her brood of children."
Chris held out his hand to me. "She and Jessy and Jamal are happy. You got what you wanted. Why are you still so angry at the poor woman."
I jumped to my feet and sliced through the air with my short blades. "She might just be the last person I kill… I'm going to practice."
"For what!? Basaam hollered behind me.
"Because I still can." I stuck out my tongue at him.
Chris passed the boy to his mother. "Well, if you want to fight. I'll fight with you."
Chris manifested, and I laughed nervously. He had grown up to be enormous. His horns were towering high above his head. Floppy ears with jewelry hanging from top to bottom. But with my ability. Chris being able to teleport. We ran circles around each other. No one ever got the upper hand, and we would fight for hours.
***
My eyes opened. "It was a dream." Strong hands gathered me up into a chest. "I was wondering who they would send to talk me down."
Chris turned me and pulled my lips onto his. "Why do you look so happy."
"I had the most wonderful dream. A true ending to our story."
Chris pulled his lips in an upside-down smile. "You going to share."
I told him every detail. Chris kissed me and kissed me and didn't stop. He tenderly assaulted me, and I welcomed it.
"Juliet. I am really sorry. I made such a huge mistake and tried to fix it by making another one."
"You are only forty-five years old. Aren't you supposed to go through a midlife crisis about now?" He tickled me until I couldn't breathe. "Stop, please." He lay facing me. "I can't get over how I felt in the dream. I think I get it now. And I have to apologize as well. Can you forgive me?"
He kissed me again and again and didn't stop. We made love so many times that day that Marcus's once-a-week was just a foggy memory.
"I think we should take some time and remember how it all started. How much we went through. I've been back from Zoreah for only six months."
I sat up, "No!"
Chris smiled and laughed lightly. "Yes, six months. Juliet."
"No! Impossible."
"Juliet. I've only had six months to get over Selena. The way of life I had for so long. And you only six to get over, Soren. They both disappointed us in ways…" Chris closed his eyes.
It was my turn to kiss him and kiss him and not stop. Ending on top of him and dragging his mouth onto my breast. My arms were around his neck, and my legs wrapped around his waist. Chris flipped us and stood to hold me up while I moved up and down on him.
"I've never done that before," I said, stretching out on the bed.
"What! Never? Me neither." We both burst out in peals of laughter.
"Okay, so truce," Chris said.
I sat up and held out my pinky. Chris looked at my hand and rolled up, facing me. He nodded earnestly. "It seems you understand how serious this next promise will be… Not like Sita." He shook his head. "Not like Selena." He shook his head again. "Not like Soren."
"For better or worse?" Chris asked.
I shook my head. "No! In the dark city. Consummated and sealed."
Chris gazed deep into my eyes. He lifted his hand and mingled our fingers. "We should set a date." He said softly.
"Well, you guys did forget my birthday this year."
Chris sat back. His hand jumped to his mouth, contemplating and agitatedly ran four fingers over his lips and chin. "That's why you went to Amsterdam… Oh, Juliet! Louis didn't even say anything."
"I know how to keep some thoughts to myself. Everyone forgot about it. Even him."
"And I danced with Selena the whole night." Chris laughed and rolled around on the makeshift bed in the sand. "Michael was talking to the women at the table."
I licked my lips, roaming his body up and down. Chris cocked an eyebrow. "So, my birthday. Next year?"
He pulled my head down, and I did what I wanted. "Maybe not next year… No more doubts." He had to force the words out between grunts.
***
Fahan
Soren had become a fixture in Palmyra. I would rather work with him than with James or Ian. I never wanted to see the man again after he left me stranded on that Embassy platform, hoping I would die. Soren had come to us and helped Dimitrios and me connect the plates and travel to the other two spots Ian had given us. I could connect the core power, but the programming was beyond my understanding. Since we could go to the embassy, our men were stationed there to be able to govern the incoming. Soren and I had noticed all the equipment the vamps had used and left. It seemed they didn't need any of it after Juliet used the stone for the first time. I had never run that fast in my life. Dimitrios sent me a message, and I had to see it for myself. What we couldn't do with it. Soren knew about the stones and had told me of Ian's plan to get a hold of the one Marcus had in his possession. They had mistakenly taken the wrong one. Why the vamps had been there in the first place. Asked if I would allow them to come and see what the fuss was about.
I was still waiting. Regardless of Ian and his schemes, we had started to clear the city of all the Chadari who would settle in the villages. The island would be where the army lived. They traveled daily to train at one of the two coordinates and would return to their families at the end of the day. It was the best that we could do. Ian would not share information with us. We could not grow in our learning if we had nothing to learn. There were no books or any form of documentation on the whole Island or at one of the other two spots we had. It was as if someone had deliberately cleaned out the schoolrooms and libraries. It was either Juliet or Ian. I felt that we would always be a step behind. Not living long enough to make a difference to our own race. The next generations would have their own ideas.
Aries would have to take over from me, and I wanted better for him and my people. I wondered if he wouldn't have been better off with Juliet. She would have forced him to read at a young age. They would have the ability to adapt any equipment to our fat fingers. Aries was in his crib. I was spending some time with him. Dimitrios had taken a few good men and assembled a team for me. They quickly caught on and went through the plates the scientists had left there. They found the coordinates of places I didn't know, and they found the one for our old planet. I picked Aries up and called Jade over. The three of us made our way back there. Some of our people were still stranded. They were happy to see us. We had to tell them the tale of what had happened. We also asked them to stay to protect the mines. Our red rock would be one of the most essential weaponry in the future. We would send them food and everything they need to improve the planet. They agreed with all of my plans. I was proud that my people still followed me. I had promised them we would alternate and have the army relieve them of their occupation there. It was a quick trip, and we needed to have two bases. There was enough space for everyone to choose a home and make it their own.
Back on Palmyra, I knew I had made the wrong choice when Juliet brought Aries back. Chris was right. She would have given him back. I was too impatient. She was a woman who needed time to cool off like my Jade. Made the decision herself when she knew the right thing to do. I should have aligned with her and not Ian. Soren asked too many questions and gave us nothing in return. He had not started negotiations for natural resources or for technology, and I knew they viewed us as a stepping stone. Ian wanted us out of there. They would have a hell of a time to fight us. We had a reason to fight. I still didn't know why Marcus had let me live. But Ian would not have. Jade's life and mine had signed a contract for the rest of our race. Another reason why I decided to leave some of my people on our home planet. Soren was just a child and had given away much information about the brandings. Which I had kept to myself. I was trying to get Soren to think about cutting Ian out. But something was going on that I did not understand. I decided that it was time to get the boy drunk.