Vanquished Gods (Hallowed Games #2)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

S ion led me through halls of ancient stone arches, which swept over us. A cool breeze whispered and rattled through the towering windows. The glass had a dark blue sheen that cast the halls in an otherworldly light. One hall stretched on like long a winter night, so vast I could hardly see the end of it. Heavy tapestries hung on one side, the battle images rich with death and valor. I found myself staring at one of them: a cloaked man, his sword soaked in crimson, the image so vibrant it looked in danger of bleeding onto the flagstones.

Sion cocked his head at a tapestry. “Ah, the battles of Lirion. We lost in the end, but the vampires managed to keep Sumaire and the Isle of Gwethel for ourselves. We fought until our bodies fed the earth with our blood, and then we fought on, beyond death, and we have never stopped.”

“You were turned on the battlefield, right? Fighting to keep Lirion free?”

“Exactly. A vampire known as the Mormaer had been watching Maelor and me. He thought we were skilled enough, brave enough to receive the gift of eternal life. But he’s not exactly trustworthy. I don’t speak to him much these days.”

“Have you ever regretted losing your soul and turning into what you are now?” I asked.

“Losing my soul? What does that even mean?”

“Maelor said that when he became a vampire, he lost his soul…that he used to see colors when he wrote, and now he feels nothing.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Has it ever occurred to you that the man is deeply depressed? When a vampire turns, he becomes a more intense version of who he was before. And Maelor lost his reason for living before he died. If I had to define what a soul is, I’d say it’s that—a reason for living. And admittedly, it’s much harder to find purpose when life stretches on into infinity. Vampires frequently struggle against the endlessness of it all. Death, with its final stroke, carves meaning into the blank slate of a fleeting life. But I have found a way to forge my own, even with immortality. So, no, I have no regrets, and I still have a soul. I still have a purpose.”

I wanted to ask him what his reason for living was, but the faint sound of a woman screaming swept through the castle halls, sending a shiver up my spine. “What is that?”

“No idea. Probably one of the thralls. Humans are always panicking about something. You know how they are. ‘Oh, don’t kill me, I have so much to live for.’” Disdain dripped from his voice.

“That is what happens when you’re mortal. You try to avoid death.”

“Right. Another reason I don’t regret becoming a vampire. Humans are always two heartbeats away from expiring.”

I stared at him. “Only when you’re around, you do realize. If you left them alone, they’d be fine.”

“They age awfully fast from my perspective. Tell me, Elowen, do you ever get bored of being so judgmental, or does the self-righteousness keep you entertained during the long, lonely nights?”

I sighed.

“Ah, here we are.” He stopped before an iron-wrought door and pulled a skeleton key from his pocket, sliding it into the keyhole. He pushed the door open, revealing a grand room with ornate ceilings and a four-poster bed with blue curtains. A chandelier with flickering candles hung from the ceiling, and another door led to a stone bathroom with a copper tub in the center.

Climbing over the dark stone walls were blooming white poppies. These were my favorite flowers, extremely rare and difficult to cultivate inside. My father was one of the few gardeners in Merthyn who could grow them well, both inside and out. Until he died, I used to make crowns out of them. I stared at them in wonder.

If Sion were any other man, I’d wonder if he’d done it on purpose. But it was Sion, and he hardly knew the first thing about me.

On a table by the window, someone had laid out an entire steak pie, roast vegetables, and a bottle of wine with a gold-lettered label. My gaze lifted from the table of food, and I stared out across the sea through the towering, mullioned windows. Far below, jagged rocks pointed at the sky. Waves pounded, deep and rhythmic, frothing against the shore. In a small inlet, an oak cog with a tall mast bounced in the waves, tied to a weathered wooden post. Seagulls swooped overhead, calling into the clouds. The place had a stark, wild beauty. Like Sion, I suppose.

I should tell him how beautiful the view is, how amazing the food looks, but the flowers had me thinking about my father—and that particular memory sent a pulse of anger through my blood.

My fingers twitched in my leather gloves, and I felt the dark urge to stroke someone’s skin. I gritted my teeth, forcing the compulsion under the surface.

Sion picked up the bottle of wine and opened it. He started to pour two glasses. Apparently, he was staying for a chat.

I turned back to Sion, raising my eyebrows. “Did you enjoy killing those men in the throne room?”

He handed me a glass of wine, golden eyes gleaming. Metallic. “Not as much as I once would have. It used to be a thrill, like liquid lightning through my veins. But yes, I did enjoy it, because I’m a vampire, and that’s what we do. Just like a witch is supposed to use magic. But pleasure isn’t the only thing that drives me.

“I killed those men because I have to keep my kingdom safe. They were on their way to tell the Order where we are, and that absolutely cannot happen. I don’t know who put that thought into their idiot heads, but someone did. The Pater would have rewarded them with wealth beyond measure, I’m sure. He wants me dead, and Maelor, and you—and everyone on this island, really. If he knew we lived here, he would stop at nothing to destroy us. But as long as you’re here, I will keep you safe.”

I took a sip of the wine, letting its complex flavors roll over my tongue—blackberries, cherries, a hint of oak. “You will keep me safe,” I repeated. “It’s just that I remember you picking me up by the throat, crushing my larynx, and throwing me onto the ground. Do you remember that, Sion? And then you told me you enjoyed toying with your prey.”

Shadows filled the air around him, and a dark expression crossed his beautiful features. “What do you think the Pater would have done to you if I hadn’t? He thought you were defying him, and he wanted to exert his power. I had to make an example of you, or he would have. You’re not my prey, Elowen. If you were, you’d be dead.”

My pulse raced. Even in the grandeur of this gorgeous room, for some reason, I found myself staring only at him. “So, tell me, what do you love about being a vampire so much?”

He took a step closer, sipping his wine. The candlelight sculpted his cheekbones with shadows, and his dark expression was hard to read. “I’m a king with the strength of a god. I live in a castle staffed with servants ready to fulfill my every whim. I command an army. I enjoy the divine thrill of sinking my teeth into a pliant woman who is begging for it. In the evenings, I watch the sun set in my towering lunarium as I sit between the earth and sky. I sleep in a room that overlooks the sea and listen as waves beat the rocks beneath my window. This island, this castle, the night is mine, and I am as eternal as the stones around us.” He raised his glass. “And do you know what? This century-old Rocamor from Aquitania is as delicious as the sweetest blood straight from a heart’s wellspring.”

“That metaphor is kind of ruining the wine for me, to be honest.”

He chuckled softly. “As a vampire, heightened senses allow me to enjoy pleasures that would elude mortals.” His golden eyes darkened as he looked at me over the rim of my cup. “And as always, I delight in beauty where I can find it.”

Beneath my clothes, I felt a flush spread over my chest, and I turned away from him.

Light poured through the windows onto a table set with fruit and pies, and on the desk, a mirror. A few corked bottles stood before the glass. I picked one up and held it up to the light. “The anti-vampire elixir?”

“And in case you’re still worried, you’ll find stakes in the drawers.”

I pulled open the top drawer to find neatly arranged sharpened stakes, and I pulled one out, staring at it. It was hard, reddish-brown, and smooth to the touch.

My eyebrows flicked up. “Cedar?”

He stalked closer. “Hawthorn. It’s in the elixir, too.”

“You’re telling me how to kill you?”

Abruptly, he gripped the stake and shoved the point against his chest. “You will want to thrust it upward, through my ribcage, straight into my heart. End my life for good, but it must be hawthorn. You bring it up under the ribcage…but you don’t need that instruction, do you? You demonstrated your skills quite vigorously in the temple.”

“And why would you tell me how to kill you?”

“Because next time, I will see you coming,” he whispered. “And if it came down to a fight between you and me, I believe I would end up on top.”

My breath shallowed. “Don’t you have some more thralls to kill?”

“Tell me, Elowen. Since I have told you what I enjoy, what is it that you like to do in your free time? Wrestling with your own repressed emotions? Wallowing in guilt? It just sounds ever so fun, though it might drive you over the edge of reason eventually.”

“Oh, I have tons of fun, Sion. Don’t worry about that. I gather berries, I make baskets…” My sentence faded out as I realized how boring that sounded. Fuck.

“Basket-making? And you didn’t invite me? I can’t believe I missed out.” He slid his wineglass onto the table. “Tomorrow, let’s try to make those powers of yours useful, shall we? A vampire hunts, and a witch practices the art of magic. It’s time to do what you were made for.”

“And what if I can’t do it without going over the edge of reason , as you put it?”

His voice was quiet, but intensity burned in his eyes. “You’re more likely to lose your mind from denying your true nature. And if you refuse to even try, do you know what will happen? The Order will keep growing, and strengthening, and amassing their forces until even Eboria is conquered, and Gwethel, and all of us stand tied to pyres, watching as they light the flames. You’d not only lose your mind, but everyone you love.”

“This island is just west of Sumaire. Can’t the rest of the vampires help?”

He shook his head, and a strand of his long, dark hair fell before his high cheekbones. “No. The Mormaer rules Sumaire. He no longer speaks to me. If you think I’m not very nice, he’s worse.”

I swallowed hard. “Is that why you’re so determined to take down the Order? To stay safe?”

He inhaled sharply, his expression impossible to decipher. “No, Elowen. It’s because it’s the right thing to do, and that’s just who I am, isn’t it?” He held his hand to his heart. “I’m just a giver.”

More sarcasm instead of a real answer.

He turned to leave, then cast another golden look at me. “Join us for dinner in the lunarium.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Do you eat?”

“No, but I drink. And you will be well looked after as our guest of honor with actual…honestly, I hardly remember what mortals eat, but our cooks are well-trained. Oh, and Elowen? You have the only room with windows that let in real sunlight. You’re in a remote part of the castle here and have it all to yourself. Most of us do not have the butterfly pendant protection that I possess.”

At the door, he turned back briefly. “And you can take off your gloves here.”

The door closed behind him, and a heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the faint whistling of wind through the towering diamond-paned windows.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my thoughts racing. Through the thick stone walls, another distant scream pierced the air, and the hair rose on the back of my neck.

I pulled the metal butterfly pendant from my cloak pocket and crossed to the bed. Crouching, I shoved it deep under the mattress.

I hurried to the door, relieved to find it had a thick iron bolt across it. I slammed that shut, locking myself inside.

But the sound of screaming still made my skin crawl.

I sighed, suddenly unsure if the sound was even real, or just in my head.

I’m already plunging over the edge of reason…

I stared out the window at a distant figure by the shore, dressed in a flowing white gown that fluttered in the wind, her hair covered in a white veil, body contorted as if she were in agony. She looked like a ghost, ethereal and agonized.

I blinked, and she was gone.