And Allison was absolutely right. He had despised that nickname.
Bliss felt as if everything was coming back too fast and too soon—memories were falling like snowflakes, bright and glittering in her mind—but these were the Visitor’s memories: Rome, the final days, the deception, the betrayal. First with his sisters—Agrippina he could understand (Bliss was shocked to find the image of Agrippina looking back at her with the eyes of Mimi Force)—Agrippina and Valerius had sided with that damned Cassius or whatever they had called Michael back then. But Julia! How could she do this to him—his baby sister, the youngest child—she was so young when she first suspected, and it was she who had called Cassius’s attention to his corruption—Julia Livilla . . . how Julia hated that name—said it reminded her of her awful aunt, whom she despised. She had wanted to be called something else. . . .
Sophia.
He had been so close. So close to having his dream realized. He had come so close, only to have Cassius ruin everything. . . .
In her mind, Bliss saw what the Visitor had seen back then. A path. A winding path deep below the city of Lutetia, through tunnels far beneath the earth, a winding path that led underground, to a coven of demons bowing to his crown. . . . He would rise again, majestic and glorious, the Prince of Paradise once again . . . forever. All the world would shake and cower. The rivers would run with blood and the horsemen would be unleashed. . . . There would be no escape from Satan’s army.
This was the crisis in Rome.
Bliss gasped.
The demons. The deaths. The corruption. All this had happened before.
And it was going to happen again. Unless . . .
She blinked. She was sitting in the classroom, Allison was done, and everyone was stuffing books and papers into their bags. Miss Murray was looking at her curiously. “Are you all right, Bliss?”
“Yes,” she said. “I just . . . I think I forgot to eat breakfast.”
Miss Murray nodded. “You know, Bliss, that if you find you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”
Bliss nodded. Teachers at Duchesne were always super-empathic. The school policy was an “all-hands” approach. They didn’t wait for troubled students to find their way to the guidance counselor’s office. “Sure, Miss M. Thanks.” Miss Murray was smiling at her so kindly that she found herself talking, even though she had not meant to say anything.
“It’s just . . . I have this problem, see . . . and I’m worried about bringing my friend into it . . . but I have a feeling she’s the only one who can help me.”
“I see.” Miss Murray crossed her arms. “Sometimes it’s good to ask for help, Bliss. And friends are the only people we can trust when we are in trouble. That’s what they’re for, anyway. I’m sure your friend would be glad that you had reached out to her.”
Bliss nodded. “I think . . . I think you’re right.”
“Good.” Miss Murray smiled. For a moment, she reminded Bliss of someone, but she couldn’t figure out who.
Bliss removed her cell phone from her handbag. Her history teacher had helped her make a decision. She couldn’t do this alone, and the Force twins were no help at all. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with Jack was impossible. He stalked the halls of Duchesne with a shuffling, mournful air, as if grieving the loss of something precious. He rarely smiled anymore. Bliss had even seen him barking at the freshmen who got in his way, which was completely unlike him. Jack had always been kind to new students.
As for Mimi, Bliss had felt the temptation to confide in her, but so far all Mimi ever wanted to talk about was lipstick and jeans, and there was no way for Bliss to steer the conversation in a more serious direction. Mimi had once been so interested in the Conclave, but now she acted as if she could care less about what happened to the Blue Bloods.
But there was someone who could help her. There was someone who would understand. Someone who was just as intimately connected to everything that had happened as she was, and who deserved to know everything. She couldn’t shield her friend even if she wanted to. She was part of this too.
Bliss punched a quick reply on the screen. tomorrow. meet me at the prada sample sale.
FORTY-SIX
Schuyler
The Van Alen Legacy
Melissa de la Cruz's books
- Alanna The First Adventure
- Alone The Girl in the Box
- Asgoleth the Warrior
- Awakening the Fire
- Between the Lives
- Black Feathers
- Bless The Beauty
- By the Sword
- In the Arms of Stone Angels
- Knights The Eye of Divinity
- Knights The Hand of Tharnin
- Knights The Heart of Shadows
- Mind the Gap
- Omega The Girl in the Box
- On the Edge of Humanity
- The Alchemist in the Shadows
- Possessing the Grimstone
- The Steel Remains
- The 13th Horseman
- The Age Atomic
- The Alchemaster's Apprentice
- The Alchemy of Stone
- The Ambassador's Mission
- The Anvil of the World
- The Apothecary
- The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf
- The Bible Repairman and Other Stories
- The Black Lung Captain
- The Black Prism
- The Blue Door
- The Bone House
- The Book of Doom
- The Breaking
- The Cadet of Tildor
- The Cavalier
- The Circle (Hammer)
- The Claws of Evil
- The Concrete Grove
- The Conduit The Gryphon Series
- The Cry of the Icemark
- The Dark
- The Dark Rider
- The Dark Thorn
- The Dead of Winter
- The Devil's Kiss
- The Devil's Looking-Glass
- The Devil's Pay (Dogs of War)
- The Door to Lost Pages
- The Dress
- The Emperor of All Things
- The Emperors Knife
- The End of the World
- The Eternal War
- The Executioness
- The Exiled Blade (The Assassini)
- The Fate of the Dwarves
- The Fate of the Muse
- The Frozen Moon
- The Garden of Stones
- The Gate Thief
- The Gates
- The Ghoul Next Door
- The Gilded Age
- The Godling Chronicles The Shadow of God
- The Guest & The Change
- The Guidance
- The High-Wizard's Hunt
- The Holders
- The Honey Witch
- The House of Yeel
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
- The Living Curse
- The Living End
- The Magic Shop
- The Magicians of Night
- The Magnolia League
- The Marenon Chronicles Collection
- The Marquis (The 13th Floor)
- The Mermaid's Mirror
- The Merman and the Moon Forgotten
- The Original Sin
- The Pearl of the Soul of the World
- The People's Will
- The Prophecy (The Guardians)
- The Reaping
- The Rebel Prince
- The Reunited
- The Rithmatist
- The_River_Kings_Road
- The Rush (The Siren Series)
- The Savage Blue
- The Scar-Crow Men
- The Science of Discworld IV Judgement Da
- The Scourge (A.G. Henley)
- The Sentinel Mage
- The Serpent in the Stone
- The Serpent Sea
- The Shadow Cats
- The Slither Sisters
- The Song of Andiene