The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of(52)

She retreats into her own private hall, effectively dismissing us.

Phillip stops me outside the castle. “Let’s give Raul some time to cool off.”

I nod. The darkness of The Haven weighs on me, and it’s not just from the lack of light. There’s tension and turmoil in the air. Things are changing too rapidly for me to keep up.

“Where do you go when you want to just… get away?” I ask. “When you need to clear your head?”

Phillip looks at me in thought. “Usually I’d be in my suite,” he says, “but I have a feeling you’re asking for something else.” He turns his head in the direction of the far woods. “There is… well, I’d better just show you.”

He takes me past the first row of trees. The ground beyond them slopes upward. It’s rocky and uneven, but there’s a feeling of cleanliness here, of purity.

We hike in silence for a long time. I appreciate the serenity. After all the commotion I’ve endured, this is the perfect escape.

We come upon a deer trail. I hear an owl hoot from high above. A light breeze blows through the trees.

Then the ground before us drops, and I’m presented with the view of a magnificent secret valley. At the bottom is a small lake, dark and tranquil. Smooth black pebbles line the beach.

Phillip looks at me with a twinkle in his eye. “Well?” he asks.

“Phillip, it’s beautiful!” I say. “Can we go down to the water?”

“That’s why I brought you here.”

He offers me his arm. I take it, and we make our way down the slope. The lake reflects the many stars shining down on us from the sky.

“This used to be one of my favorite spots in the entire Haven,” Phillip tells me. “Raul’s, too. We would spend hours here at a time. The water has a calming effect on us, we found. When things were getting too hectic outside, this was the perfect place to retreat to.”

“I can see why,” I murmur softly.

Phillip nods. “I still come here sometimes. Raul does not anymore.”

I look at him. “Why?”

He exhales. “There was a girl, long ago. Her name was Liana. She…” he trails off, and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this.”

“You can’t just start and leave me hanging!” I protest.

“Raul would kill me if he found out.” Phillip offers a wry smile. “Figuratively speaking, of course. I think I have to clarify in light of recent events.”

Is he making a joke?

“Can you keep a secret?” he asks.

I feel a small zap of excitement. “Yes!”

“Liana was very important to Raul. They met, I believe, when he led the coven’s vampires on a hunt. This was nearly two hundred years ago. The systems we have in place today were not so developed back then. We did not have The Hunt, for example. Vampires made pilgrimages out of The Haven once a month to feed on humans in faraway towns and villages. We kept a few humans here as slaves, but there were always more vampires than humans in The Haven.”

“What changed that?” I ask.

“The landscape of the world. As new technologies emerged, Mother realized it wasn’t viable to keep sending hunting parties out. The murders would be discovered. She began the breeding program and set up the village as you know it now. That led to an expansion of the human numbers. Soon, vampires didn’t have to travel anywhere to feed. The hunt Raul met Liana on was one of the last officially sanctioned by the Queen.”

“So who was she?” I ask in a whisper.

“Somebody a lot like you,” Phillip says. “Somebody who broke through and managed to claim Raul’s heart.”

I take a sharp breath. I feel like I’ve just been stabbed in the chest.

But then again, what can I expect? Raul’s been alive for more than half a millennium. Of course he’s had relationships before.

“But it was a love forbidden by the Queen,” Phillip continues. “Because of what the celestial charts predicted. Mother took one look at them… and cast Liana out.

“But Raul didn’t listen. He hid her here and confided the secret in only two other vampires, James and me.

“We swore we would never betray him. We saw the way Liana and Raul were when they were together. With her at his side, some of his darkness was… swept away. Much the same way it happens with you.”

My shoulders tense in discomfort. “I’m not sure that’s entirely true.”

“Trust me,” Phillip says. “It is.”

He stops and looks out at the placid water. When he doesn’t speak, I prompt:

“What did the celestial charts predict?”