On one hand, it was only one more life and the girls would be safe which was paramount. But on the other hand what sort of man would he be to flick that switch and murder Alex’s cousin? Even though she never would remember Dante and would be safe from Julian. It would’ve robbed her of the chance to see Nicholas again. It would’ve robbed Nicholas of the second chance at life he had been given. And so, with a heavy heart, he abandoned his plan at the last minute and gave Melina the task of freeing Nicholas.
While Nicholas was making his getaway, he received a surprise. A surprise that now sat in his right hand. Orders from the Messengers. The same mystery group that Sovereign didn’t believe existed. The orders? Cease all interaction with Sovereign. Or face death. How they knew what his movements were? He had no idea. Why they felt threatened was the real curiosity for him.
Once the cloud had been lifted, Dante approached Sovereign against his new orders. He needed to know. What was it they had that made the Messengers nervous and should he, as King, be aware of it? Which led back to what he held in his left hand.
So here he was. Two options in his hands. The threat of Sovereign, very real, yet very useful at times. The threat of the Messengers, which if they made good on their threat against him, was much more powerful. To side with the Messengers, to do their bidding, ensured his girls were still at Julian’s mercy. But it would save his own life. If he sided with Sovereign, he had the means to save all of their lives bar his own.
A pop sound indicated Julian had arrived. Surprisingly, Dante didn’t feel the need to guard himself. It wasn’t long ago the two of them would’ve beaten the living hell out of each other.
“If you have asked me here to inform me you failed in your task, I already know. Amazing the hero of the story can fail when it suits him. For a vampire that enjoys killing other vampires, you really are incredibly flaccid.”
“That’s not why,” Dante replied.
“Well, what then?”
He was careful with his wording as the barest hint of doubt crept into his mind. Or was it hope? Did he have to do this? “Alexandra. Michelle. Melina. You’re never going to stop hunting them now, are you…?”
The reply was rather melancholy yet direct. “No. You had one task: kill Nightingale. You failed.”
Dante looked down at his hands. Julian had been fully restored, and he would set plans in motion to come after them again. The time had come to decide. Would Dante side with Sovereign or the Messengers? Who held the key to Dante’s fate mattered on his next sentence. He focused on his left hand. Come what may, this is what he chose: Sovereign.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked, tossing the blue and gold cylinder to Julian.
“The symbols look Egyptian. They look like something from the Messengers of Osiris. I have no idea other than that connection. Why?”
“I was given that by Sovereign despite being told to have no further contact with them by the Messengers. The fact I was told not to associate with them means they are a threat of some sort. They must have or know something of great importance. This, I believe, is one of those things.”
Julian looked as confused as he sounded. “So, who are you disobeying this time and why do I care?”
“If you know something about that, we can bring Sovereign down. This is what they gave me when I asked them why the Messengers would see them as a threat. Sovereign didn’t develop it. They said they found it.”
“Why do I care?” Julian repeated.
“Because this affects all vampires.”
“Rubbish. If it was truly something of importance, why would they give it to you?” Julian asked after swatting away a beetle.
“Because in order to gain my unyielding loyalty, I wanted a way to kill you. This was it.”
“What?” Julian asked, flustered. More beetles were crabbing across his arm. It was obvious now they were coming from the cylinder, which he dropped. “You…”
“Don’t try and pop away. The first bite takes away your powers. They’ll all die after biting you. Kind of like bees I suppose.”
Julian twitched and grunted, being bitten and stung repeatedly. He sank to his knees, ran his hand through his long hair and peeled a chunk of strands away. “You knew what it was the whole time.”
“I knew how to hold it to keep them inside.”
Julian laughed a touch just before leaning forward and spewing out blood and teeth. “You’ve thrown your lot in with those government fucks…you know what this means…you kill me. Melina comes for you. You betrayed the Messengers. They’ll be coming for you…”
“Let them,” Dante said. “They can do whatever they want to me, my friends are safe from you. This is for everything you’ve ever done to my girls.” Dante unleashed a kick directly under Julian’s
