Reykon immediately thought about Lucidia’s obsession with Robin, her disregard for any and all rules in the name of her protection. And then there had been Master Cain, who’d acted so strongly out of line. He hadn’t shown a shred of control over.
Magnus leaned even closer and wrapped a cold, decrepit hand around Reykon’s neck. “You think you love her, I can see it all over your face. But you don’t. It’s just the allure of her magic.”
Reykon tried to rip free, but Magnus held him tightly, squeezing until shadows crept into the corners of his vision. Just before he lost consciousness, Magnus released him, and he coughed violently to catch his breath. Stabs of pain ripped through his lungs as the movement hurt his broken rips.
“You’re wrong!” he shouted, voice ragged from the vampire’s grip.
“I’m sure you don’t believe me – you’re still under her influence. Calliope didn’t tell me how long it lasted for. Could be months. Or it could be a life sentence.”
Reykon thrashed against his chains, anger coursing through his veins like hot magma.
Magnus watched with a smug smile as Reykon fought in rage.
When he stopped, and his lungs were heaving, the pieces were snapping together in his mind. Calliope, Magnus, the scope of his mission.
After a few moments, Reykon spoke.
“That’s how you found her,” he muttered, head hanging down. “Calliope acted like a doctor?”
“Yes.”
“But if you knew where she was all along, why wait until now to get her?”
Magnus laughed and checked his silver pocket watch. “It had to be tonight. Jadzia’s Comet flies overhead at exactly midnight. The same comet that the elementalists focused so many millennia ago to make the strongbloods – ironic, that it’s being used again to create a superior race to be a gift for the vampires.”
“That’s why you were so impatient,” Reykon mumbled, spitting out another mouthful of blood.
“Yes,” Magnus said. “When you failed to check in after Xander attacked your vehicle, I was shocked. I felt truly betrayed.”
“Communication would have risked-”
“Do not lie to me!” he said sharply. “You failed to communicate because your motivations had faltered even then.”
“You tracked her?”
“Calliope put a blood link on the girl, two years prior. We could have found her anywhere in the world. Your naturalist friends concealed her only from other attackers.”
“You’re insane,” Reykon muttered after a moment of processing. “You’ll never take power from the other Houses. It hasn’t ever been done before.”
“I am Magnus Theudemar Demonte, born of the old age, and more powerful than you could possibly imagine. And with her, I will take control of my people. I will unite the vampires and unlock our true potential, bringing us out of this little agreement of peace we’ve been locked up with and into a new age. A golden age. And tonight marks the first of many steps to that future. The girl’s magic will be activated under the presence of the comet, and we shall see what the casters have cooked up.”
“You should never trust a caster,” Reykon whispered bitterly.
“I should never have trusted you,” he spat back, turning and slamming the cell door with enough force that Reykon felt the impact in his manacles. “Goodbye, Reykon Thraxos. I have important matters to attend to with the lovely Robin. I will tell her that you said hello.”
Reykon yelled out again in rage, terrified at the prospect of what Calliope would do to Robin at midnight, and infuriated that he could do nothing to stop it. Magical transformation was never a pleasant experience, and at the hands of the casters, it was often brutal. He shook his chains until his breath was coming in ragged gasps, and he could no longer feel his arms.
Lucidia
She watched the door where Calliope had disappeared for a few moments after.
If Calliope had a plan that involved Robin, no good would come from it for anybody.
But Lucidia also wouldn’t be able to derail that plan on her own. Not with however many vampire guards standing between her and the upper suite where Magnus undoubtedly had her.
She searched her options, standing in the roiling crowd that had just begun the celebration.
Right about then, she heard a couple of strongblood soldiers bragging about locking Reykon Thraxos up.
Reykon. Magnus hadn’t killed him.
A spark of hope flickered in her mind. He was here, and he’d undoubtedly rush to Robin’s aid. With two powerful strongbloods, they had a much higher chance. And maybe, by putting their heads together, they could come up with a decent plan. Reykon, after all, knew this place like the back of his hand.
She made her way out of the grand hall, eyeing the witches on her way out. They were acting happy, pretending to enjoy the festivities, but they were in no way relaxed. That didn’t sit well with her at all.
All of Magnus’s people, on the other hand, were going crazy with the feast and celebration. Like sheep, herded for slaughter.
Lucidia walked out and snuck through the shadows. There was hardly anybody in the castle, now that the feast had truly started. That was great for her.
She snaked her way around the palace and found the staircase down to the dungeon, which was grimy and dank. By the time she’d gotten close enough to the prison, at least thirty minutes had gone by. Now, though, she had a new problem: the prison guards. She checked her watch. 11:50.
Just as Lucidia was about to check around the corner, a vampire guard nearly knocked into her. He paused, looking her up and down with a skeptical eye.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Lucidia only had a few options. First, play into the act. Second, make up an excuse. Third, take out the guard. She preferred the third but would settle for a more peaceful agreement.
“I was sent to relieve you,” Lucidia said.
“Huh?”
“The captain sent me to take over for you, so that you could enjoy the party.”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. Lucidia could tell he was young, comparatively. “I thought we were all supposed
