Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)

I touch her hand. "I'm—"

"Don't be sorry. It happened long ago, as I said. And after my banishment, I explored lands and worlds I couldn't even dream of. I even found love, for a time." She drops her eyes, sighing. "Eventually, I made a home on Inferna. It is a good place for one wishing to be private. And there is a beauty to the land." She looks at me. "I take it, you did not pass the guardian's test?"

"No. Because I don't know what I want." To return to Inferna, or leave with Fen.

Marasphyr nods, compassion in her eyes. "I cannot tell you what to want, or what path to follow. But I can tell you that to be torn between two things you love is no way to live."

I pause, thinking on her words. "You wish to travel again, don't you?"

She says nothing.

"But you don't? Is it…" I take a breath, gathering my strength. "Is it because of Fen?"

She looks away. "Like I said, I found love, for a time."

I'm reminded of just how ancient Fen is. How much longer he has lived than me. There are parts of him I may never know. Parts maybe even he has forgotten. We are, in the end, very different beings.

Marasphyr pulls me from my thoughts. "You are with child, are you not?"

I nod, putting a hand on my belly. "Yes."

"Then may I suggest this. Imagine yourself older, your child grown. You tell him or her a story. A story about your greatest regrets. You have many things you would have done differently. But… what makes the top of the list?"

I look down at my belly. "Not saving the Fae."

She smiles. "Then perhaps you have your answer."

I nod, pondering our conversation. I feel different somehow. More certain.

I know what I must do.

I stand and leave Marasphyr by the pond, making my way back through the forest. Until I reach the guardian.

"I seek the moonlight steel," I say, my body still, my mind focused.

The gargoyle bends down, his green eyes peering deeply into mine. " You have a pure heart, but—"

"It wants Fen, and it wants to free the Fae. But if I must choose, it will be the Fae."

His stone neck stretches, examining me from all angles. "You have strength, but—"

"I will learn to control it."

His stone eyes fall back to mine, and he pauses, intent. "You have courage, but—

"I will conquer my fears."

The guardian freezes. For a long while he is silent, his eyes ever watching. "So be it. You know the truth of who you are. The moonlight, you will possess."

And then his eyes close, and he exhales.

It is the last breath he takes.

His stone chest opens, and inside a chunk of steel glows a pale blue. I reach forward and take the moonlight heart.

And now I understand why the test was so difficult. For someone to receive the moonlight steel, the guardian had to die.





Chapter 12


THE RIFT


"You can look now, Princess. Welcome to hell."

—Asher



I find Tavian and Kayla exiting a cave. They look happy, a little too happy. And they stand close together, as if their bodies orbit each other without conscious intention. Wait a minute…

"You got it!" yells Kayla, pointing at the chunk of moonlight steel in my arms.

"How did you pass the test?" asks Tavian as the back of his hand brushes against Kayla's in a quiet way.

For a moment, I grow sad, thinking about the guardian. "I accepted the truth. I didn't lie to myself." Yami chirps against my hair, nuzzling me.

Tavian nods, pointing at the steel. "Will that be enough for a sword?"

I pass the chunk to Kayla, and she studies it. "Wow. It's extremely light for its size. Yes, this will be enough. Now, I just need tools."

Tavian and I glance at each other. We speak in unison. "Oh…"

I clench my jaw, looking around at the forests and ponds. "Where are we going to find tools here?"

"I know where we can find them in Inferna," says Kayla.

"That must be a last resort," says Tavian, waving his hand. "It will take time to forge the sword, yes? Time we have here. In Inferna, we must be ready for battle."

"I know a place," says a familiar voice. Marasphyr.

Her, Dean, and Fen approach, Baron at their side. Yami jumps down to play with the wolf as I exchange a look with Fen. He smiles. By the Spirits, I just want to grab him and pull him back into that cave. But… there are other things we must do.

Marasphyr studies the moonlight steel and gives me a wink. "There is a place not far from here that will have the tools you need. Come. Follow me quickly."

She leads the way, past flowers of purple and yellow, past great trees and deep caves, past beams of moonlight and shadow.

Then we arrive at a village.

It is a curious place, of houses dug into the ground, and buildings built on trees. It is small, but intricate. And empty.

No one walks the streets. No one makes a sound.

Something dark covers the center of the village. A pit of ash. It smells of smoke and death.

Fen's eyes go cold. "I have seen this before," he says softly, moving forward, studying the pit. He pulls something from the ash. Bits of bone.

My stomach grows queasy and I turn my head, unable to keep in my sickness.

"Someone performed a ritual here," explains Fen, darting a concerned look at me as I wipe at my mouth and right myself. "A ritual to the Darkness."

Tavian looks at Marasphyr, a frown on his face. "Out here? In the Rift?"

She nods. "It seems the Darkness knows no bounds. Anyone may try to summon it."

Fen studies more bones, then draws his sword. "Be wary. The last time Dean and I came to a place like this, the villagers had summoned a Wraith. If you see any survivors, do not trust their words or their faces. It may be the Wraith in disguise."

Everyone nods.

"We must search the houses," continues Fen. "But we must stay together. Tavian, you said the Wraith is strongest in places of power. Are there any nearby?"

He glances around nervously. "The Rift is a place of power."

Fen growls.

I ask him more about this Wraith they encountered, and he explains the details. "She wanted Tavian Gray."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because," says Tavian, his words heavy. "The Darkness cursed me. And so, I must forever flee from its shadow. This curse also makes it nearly impossible for me to fight it."

I don't know why, but Marasphyr scowls at his words.

Then Tavian tells us the rest of his tale. About how he summoned the Darkness, how it killed his family, and the curse it gave him. "There were three of us," he says. "Three who summoned the shadow. Three who paid the price."

"And who are the other two?" asks Fen.

Tavian looks at him, for a moment smiling, and then frowning. "You would not know them."