Victoria steps forward. “You’re saying you have a way of repelling the currents?” She scoffs. “That’s impossible. The currents don’t just swirl through this world. They are this world. They are in everything around us. They give structure to reality. To do away with them would be akin to creating a black hole!”
“Akin to, maybe,” Paul considers. “But not exactly. I’m not asking any of you to take me simply at face value. I can demonstrate.”
“What? Now?” Victoria asks.
“My dear,” he answers her. “There is never a better time to do anything than the present.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dagan
In the caves of the Ancient vampires.
I wait impatiently for the ancient vampires to bring Beth back, so what we can get the hell out of this place.
I am itching to go. The vision that Vasile showed me keeps replaying in my head. Beatrice, in that hidden cave of hers, feeding blood and giving silver to those horrible, twisted offspring.
I absolutely can’t wait to begin the search for Beatrice. Whatever she’s doing is of vast importance, of course it is, I know it now—
I cut off that train of thought with an angry growl. I cannot tell if those are my own free thoughts or artifacts of Vasile’s influence.
In either case, the sooner we get out of here, the better.
The door suddenly shifts open. A dazed-looking Beth stumbles inside.
I go to her. I don’t want to betray my worry—worrying after a woman is a damn weakness—but the fact that we’ve gone through so much so quickly together makes me want to make sure Logan’s daughter is safe.
Only for that reason. No other one at all.
She waves me away as I get close, then steps around me to collapse in a chair.
I kneel to her level. “What did they do?”
She shakes her head vaguely, refusing to speak. I look back at the entrance—it’s already sealed.
Beth and I are the only vampires present.
I take her hands. I am surprised to find them shaking.
I’m even more surprised when she not only does not pull away, but actually tightens her grip.
“Beth, tell me, what did you see?” I press. “I know they took you to the same room they did me. What did the device show you?”
“I saw… my twin,” she says. She glances at me, then looks away again. “Not my literal twin. My cosmic twin.”
“What is that?” I ask.
“It’s to do with the constellations,” she mutters. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I saw the constellations with you,” I say. “When the vampires told us there were two women of prophecy.”
She shudders. “Yes.”
“It has to do with that, doesn’t it?” I press. “Beth. Look at me!”
She jumps and then latches onto my eyes, her gaze not wavering once.
“I saw my cosmic twin,” she says. “And she was not one person, but two.”
“What?” I say.
“…it shows what you are supposed to see,” she mutters softly. “…what you most need to see.”
“You’re not making any sense,” I growl, feeling my patience grow thin. “Tell me what happened and dispense with the subterfuge. I need to know!”
“You don’t need to know anything!” she yells, surging up, “I don’t need you here at all! Why should I tell you anything? How do I even know if I can trust you? I’ve only known you for a very short time. WHO ARE YOU, DAGAN?”
I’m taken aback by the outburst. But then my anger flares to match hers.
“I saved your life,” I snap. “After you almost died deactivating that trap! Those things that chased after us out of the darkness would have devoured you if you were there on your own!”
“And I saved you, by bringing you here, by showing you this place, by letting the vampires leech out the poison Cierra infected you with!” she yells. “So now we’re even, Dagan, and we can forget about each other, and we can go our separate ways!”
“Don’t you dare start with that,” I hiss. I walk toward her, slowly, making full use of my imposing body. “You will tell me what you saw, and we will figure it out, together.”
“I don’t need you,” she challenges. “I’ve gotten along just fine on my own!”
“It’s not about that,” I snarl. “You are Logan’s daughter. If you think I’m just going to let you go—”
“So, what, you’re going to keep me prisoner?” She laughs. “I’d like to see you try!”
“If you haven’t noticed,” I say slowly, emphasizing the words, “we are prisoners here, both of us. So you’d better get a grip on yourself and tell me what in the hell happened to you!”
I seize both her arms and force her to look at me.
“Tell me,” I growl.
I can see the emotions playing out on her face. She’s defiant at first, proud, but then…
“You saw something about me,” I say softly, coming to the sudden realization. “Didn’t you?”
She drops her gaze. Her body goes limp.
“Yes,” she whispers.
“What?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I can’t… I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because something terrible will happen if I do.”
“How do you know that?”
She refuses to look at me directly. “I just do,” she says.
I let her go. She stands there, looking lost.
“What else did you see?” I ask gently. “What was it that frightened you so?”
“My twin… she is two-faced.” Beth moves a hand over her own face. “I saw both parts of her, combined, in one. Two separate entities. One body.”
“Did you recognize them?”
“Not both,” she says. “But I know who one is. The Queen of The Haven.”
“Logan’s ex wife,” I murmur. “The Mother of his three sons.”
“No,” Beth shakes her head. “That woman is no longer Queen. I saw the girl.”
Eleira.
“Two-faced, what do you mean by that?”
“One half of the face was hers. The other—someone else’s. Split down the middle.” She runs a finger down along her nose. “It was horrible. The two faces were oscillating from side to side, trying to take over. Each was battling for dominance. I think…” she takes a deep breath. “I think our future depends on who will win.”
“What about you?” I press. “Did you see what you have to do with it? What were you shown about yourself?”
“I only saw the twin,” she answers. “I know I have to go to her—go to the Queen of The Haven.”
I think back to the last time I was there. Despite the coven’s outward appearance, it is much stronger, much more resilient than I had expected.
“The Haven is a dangerous place,” I tell her. “They do not take well to outsiders. Plus, you’re a witch—you’d instantly be deemed a threat. They might destroy you before you get within five miles of the border.”
She flips her hair back and gives me a look. “Do you really think so poorly of me?” She waves a hand through the air. There’s a tiny, brief blue flash, and then a fireball appears over her hand.
Without warning, she flings it at me. It happens so fast I cannot react. It flies at my face, I tense, and then—just a millimeter away—it evaporates into nothing.
A small blast of heat still reaches me, however.
“Cute,” I growl, growing angry. This time, it’s my turn to use my speed. I pounce on her, grab her, push her against the wall.
“We already made the deal,” I tell her, “that you would not use magic against me.”
I grab her hair, yank her head back, and kiss her hard.
She fights against me but it’s just token resistance. Soon enough, she’s kissing me back just as passionately, her hands running all over my back.
I press my body against hers, then grab her hips and hitch her up. Her legs wrap around my waist. The passion intensifies. She rakes her nails down my back, and the next thing I know, her claws rip into my shirt and tear it apart.
I get the hint, ripping the shirt off me, still locked in the embrace. I lift her shirt over her head, and suddenly our skin is touching, flesh on flesh, and the sensation makes me go absolutely crazy for her.
I break away from her to identify a good place to continue. The stairs are no good, the coffee table is too small.
She takes the break to hop down. She starts eagerly undoing my belt. I look down at her and let out a deep sound of pleasure. Her hands run all over my legs, then she bites her lower lip and pulls down my pants all the way.