Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)

"Correct," says Fen.

"Then everything's fine. When we return, it will be as if we hadn't left. Well, mostly. We will keep our memories of this place, of course."

I wipe my forehead, relieved that my mother will be safe. My mother. All of this was for her, and yet she seems so far away now. I'm nothing like that girl I was when Asher first entered The Roxy. It seems so long ago. Now, my mother isn't the only consideration. Now there are so many other moving pieces to my life, so many people affected by the choices I make. Even thinking of it all makes my head spin, and just as I'm about to say something, the thoughts, the worries, they float away, like magic bubbles. It's all going to work out. I needn't fret. "So, is that why you brought us here?"

Marasphyr waves her hand dismissively. "Not really. Mostly, I took us somewhere Lucian cannot follow. At least, until he learns how, and I don't believe he will. And of course, we have time here. Time to think. To plan. When we return to Inferna, every second will count." She sits down and starts drawing swirls in the earth with her finger.

"And you're helping us—why exactly?" I ask, not wanting Fen to accrue more debts to this woman.

She smiles. "Believe it or not, Inferna is my home. My main home."

"But… I haven't seen any mermaids on Inferna or Avakiri. Aren't you from a different world?"

She looks down, her eyes dark. "I think we have better things to discuss than my past, girl. Like how we defeat the Darkness."

Dean whistles. "Doesn't seem easy, that. I mean, Fen stabbed good old daddy in the chest, and he didn't flinch. And that creature, you know, the ugly one, is it hard to kill too?"

Tavian nods. "Only moonlight steel can harm it."

He seems to know a lot, this Fae. I wonder who is. He doesn't seem that old, with his brown hair. But his eyes speak of a deep wisdom. And he alone was the only Fae not mind-wiped by Lucian's Primal One magic.

Fen frowns. "Moonlight steel? I've never heard of such a thing."

"I have," says Dean, his face lighting up. "It was an artifact of the Ancient Fae, much like the Mirror of Idis. But, I could never find much information on it. They say it was used by the Primal One to fight the Darkness. And, well, of course there was the prince."

"What prince?" asks Fen.

"The Moonlight Prince. Don't you remember?" Dean studies his brother quizzically, then shrugs. "Rumor said the prince had a moonlight sword. Supposedly, it's how he got his nickname."

"It's true," says Tavian.

"Ah, so you worked with the prince, didn't you?" Dean beams. "I knew you were hiding something. You helped him during the rebellion, didn't you?"

Tavian says nothing.

"What rebellion?" asks Fen.

"Really don't remember?" asks Dean. "The Fae had a large uprising long ago, led by someone called the Moonlight Prince. It was sometime, well, I believe sometime after you became a prince."

Fen shakes his head.

Tavian looks grim.

A tension grows in the air.

I butt in before things get crazy. "So, this moonlight steel, how do we get some?"

"Well, the easiest way would be to find the sword," says Tavian. "But…"

"But what?"

"But after the Moonlight Prince vanished, the sword disappeared. Many Fae have searched for it, myself included, and none found the blade."

Marasphyr sighs. "Perhaps we could succeed where you failed."

Tavian scowls at her. "The blade is impossible to find. Trust me. For thousands of years I have wandered, searching for the sword on my path. It is gone."

"Well, it can't be gone," says Marasphyr. "It must be somewhere."

"Yes." The Fae grits his teeth. "Technically, it is somewhere, on Inferna or Avakiri most likely. But last I checked, we don't have an extra thousand years to look for it."

Marasphyr shrugs as if to say fine.

"So," I say. "What if we forget the sword? What if we just find some steel?"

Marasphyr laughs. "It would be extremely hard to attain, and even if you did, you need a master smith to forge it into a weapon."

Everyone's eyes dart to Kayla. "We have a master," I say.

"I can forge anything." Kayla places her hands on her hips. "Anything."

"Fine. Fine," says Marasphyr. "But you still need to get the moonlight steel, and you won't."

Now I place my hands on my hips. "Why not?"

"Only someone worthy can receive a chunk of moonlight steel. And by worthy, I don't mean they're some cocky hero, or an innocent looking princess. I mean someone unconstrained by flaws, unhindered by doubt. Someone, and I hate to admit it, better than I. And certainly, much better than all of you."

I like this Marasphyr less and less. What did Fen ever see in her?

"But…" Marasphyr drops her eyes. "There is no harm in trying. Perhaps one of you will surprise us all."

"Okay," says Kayla, "but after we get the steel and make the sword, then what? Lucian has an entire race of Fae under his control. Two Druids under his power. And the vampires too scared or dead to oppose him."

"And…" adds Dean. "Let's not forget my lovely brothers. I bet as we speak they're sucking up to good old dad. Levi for sure. He's always looking to please father. Niam without a doubt. He follows power and right now Lucian reeks of it. Asher's under his thumb to save his lover. And Ace… actually, I'm not sure about Ace. But come on, will he really oppose an army of mindless Fae, Lucian, the ugly creature thing, and most of his brothers? That's suicide, and he's no fool."

"What about Zeb?" I ask, remembering the kind prince who treated Fen and I to food in his kingdom.

Dean rubs his chin. "Zeb… I don't think he wants to pledge allegiance. But just like Ace, what choice does he have? He's probably kissing daddy's boots right now."

"You forget," says Marasphyr. "Time moves differently here. When we leave, likely some of your brothers will still not have sworn to Lucian."

"Then we can join forces with them," I say, ideas forming in my mind. "And they must have armies. Vampires and Shade who remain loyal to them."

Dean sighs. "If the Fae haven't overtaken them. Remember, every single slave and servant on Inferna is now under Lucian's control. The Outland raiders are under his control. The men and women in Avakiri. His army spans the entire world."

"But," says Fen, his eyes shifting quickly as he thinks. "If any kingdoms can survive this invasion, it would be the realms of Sloth and Gluttony. Consider their situations. Sloth, due to all of Ace's inventions, has the lowest slave population of all realms. Low enough that the vampires and Shade will easily hold the upper hand. And gluttony: Zeb has a high slave population indeed, but most of them are on water, rowing boats. Most of the vampires and Shade are on land. If the Fae decided to invade from the sea, Zeb can lock his gate, strengthen his defenses, even set the ships on fire from a distance with archers."

I nod. "So there may be two free realms when we return."