Moonlight Prince (Vampire Girl #4)

Once, I awoke to Asher, and he told me the truth. He told me I was a Druid. But I had died before. When I died on Grey Mountain, I awoke knowing I was Fae. But somehow, I forgot.

Time to remember.

I fall back and fade into the abyss once more.

***

I walk on a land with no earth and sky.

Baron at my side.

He nudges me forward.

I already know what I will see.

Before me, my mother.

Her hair long and wild.

Her voice a soft melody.

She stands aside.

And then I see him.

Father?

No. It's not my father I see.

It's me. I wear a green cloak, my ears are long. And in my hand, I hold a pale blue sword. A moonlight blade.

I was…

I am…

The Moonlight Prince.

***

I do not know how long I sleep before I wake. But it seems not long. Niam walks away, toward Arianna and the creature. He will join the battle, he will help the Darkness win.

I try to stand, to help, but I feel woozy, tired. My vision spins.

Someone emerges from the shadows. I know her. Marasphyr.

"What are you doing here—"

"Shh," she says, putting a finger to her lips, her voice smooth and light. "I felt it too. The breaking of the curse. It weakens every time Arianna hurts the beast."

I try to make sense of her words. "Curse? What curse?"

"You don't remember yet? You don't remember what we did?" She starts to pace, shadow drifting behind her. It moves unnaturally, following her steps. Something familiar, this.

"Very well, Fenris, I will tell you," she says, sitting down by my side. "I've wished to tell you for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

She looks at me. Her eyes dark pools, something sinister swirling within them. "You believe you met me at the Black Lotus. But this is not true. We met before. On Grey Mountain."

"Yes," I say, the memories returning. "You helped me fight the beast."

She smiles. "Yes. I did. And we fell in love. That I am certain of." She pauses. "During the battle, you almost died. When you awoke, you… you were Fae. You were always Fae. You didn't understand at first, but slowly you gained information. A clever question there, an observation here. You realized what had happened. You learned of Avakiri. And you wanted revenge. For your people. For all Fae. You wanted them free.

"So you contacted me. Together we began a rebellion, drawing Outlanders to our cause, even some of the Four Tribes. Our greatest asset was Tavian Gray. An ancient Fae, older than the Unraveling. Many trusted him, admired him, and he recruited them. Soon, we had an army. A small one, but an army.

"We fought a war of attrition. Attacking a caravan here. A shipment there. You kept your true identity secret from the Fae, always covering your face to all but me and Tavian, and you kept your revelations secret from your brothers. That way, you could still be Prince of War, could still attend the council meetings. You gathered information on defenses, resources, and you used it to our advantage.

"At one point, we managed to steal an old Fae relic. A moonlight sword. It became your blade. And it wasn't long until the rebels, until we all, began calling you the Moonlight Prince. You were our symbol, Fenris, our symbol of hope. You weren't a High Fae. The High Fae had failed us, we didn't want another one. Not really. You… you were something more. A man from legend… like the Primal One himself. You had come to free us.

"But it was not enough. Our attacks only made them strengthen their defenses. Soon we began losing battles, loosing soldiers. Our numbers dwindled. Our supporters began to flee. And so we devised a plan.

"Tavian, you, and I, would perform a ritual. We would summon a power long lost, and with it we would defeat the vampires."

Realization shatters me. My hands tremble with sorrow. This… all that has transpired recently… this is my fault. "We…" I can barely bring myself to say it. But I must. The memories return and I must face them. "We summoned the Darkness."

"Yes," says Marasphyr. "And we could not control it. The Darkness attacked our own, spreading through Avakiri. It killed innocent men, women, and children. It killed Tavian's family. Us three however, it did not kill. Through the ritual, we had developed some kind of bond with it, gained some of the powers we had wished to summon. But, upon seeing the carnage, you attacked the beast. Your moonlight sword, a blade of legend, could harm it, and somehow, somehow you trapped the Darkness. I did not see the final battle, but Tavian and I arrived at the end. It is then, as you locked the Darkness away, that it cursed us three.

"Tavian, it cursed to never forget. So that he may live with the memory of his wife and child dying every single day. Me, it cursed to remember the future, but never to change it. To see horrible things and never stop them. And you, Fenris, you it cursed to forget your true self. To forget me and Tavian, the people you loved. So that once again you had to live a lie.

"And so you returned to being Fenris Vane, Prince of War. I sought you out, found you at the Black Lotus. I tried to tell you the truth, but you could never hear me. You could never remember the time we shared, or the person you truly were. I tried rekindling our relationship, but it was never the same. You were never the same."

I study her, memories of our time together returning. They seem a past life. We could have lived a good life together, perhaps. But now it will never be. "You…" I say, watching the shadows swirl around her. "You said the Darkness bonded with us…"

"Yes."

"Gave us powers…"

"Yes."

"You… You are the Wraith."

She smiles. And for a second her entire body turns to shadow, to Darkness. And then she is back, Marasphyr, with her pale skin and black hair. "Yes. I am the one you call the Wraith. After we were cursed, Tavian sought to conceal his powers, to deny them, while you could not remember your own. I, however, I studied them. Fed them. Grew in power. So, yes it was me in the cave. The people sacrificed themselves to give me power. But, I did not ask them to. I know I said I did, but I was trying to scare you. They performed a ritual, a ritual much like we did, and it summoned me, gave me strength. I did not wish for it to happen." She looks down, but I cannot tell if she is truly sad or just remembering. "I asked you to bring me Tavian Gray because I missed him. We had parted on poor terms when he learned I had kept using my new abilities. But he was one of the few people who knew my true self, knew my secrets. I wanted reconciliation. You, of course, failed to bring me Tavian right away, but you did eventually, unknowingly. We talked. He still hates me. Hates what I am. But at least for a while, we talked."

I see sorrow in her. Regret.

"You can still do right," I say. "Help me defeat the Darkness. Help me save Arianna."