Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Sylvara stared at Apollo, not sure she’d really seen what she thought she had before the god dragged Rolf into an embrace.
Had he really said, “Come give Daddy a hug?”
Yet as she stared at him, she saw his face overlying Rolf’s. Same features, same long, dark hair, some shine of…
Something fuzzy settled over her, and she rubbed the back of her hand, the one that glowed with the sigil also burned into Rolf.
Realizing she wouldn’t learn anything they didn’t want her to, she focused instead on the delicious food allowing her body to replenish itself.
The pain and embarrassment of having orgasms in front of thousands had yet to fade.
Only the knowledge that most must have thought her in pain, not pained pleasure, salving her ego.
Those strigoi fuckers had understood, though. She’d clearly seen and felt lust from Caturix before she’d fried him with her lightning. Caliban too.
Unfortunately, Rolf hadn’t been a wolf for very long. What an amazing creature he was. She wanted another look at that magnificent beast. His wolf form was way too large to be confused for a regular wolf or even a lycan berserker. He reminded her instead of Fenrir, Loki’s son, the Great Wolf.
She wondered again if Rolf might in fact be related to Loki. They both had blond hair. Same attitude, same insolence regarding anything of a serious nature, same bloated sense of self-importance.
Yet caught in Apollo’s embrace, a glow of power suffused both god and draugr. Odd considering sunlight killed Apollo’s cursed creations, the vampires. But maybe Apollo felt warmth for the monsters he’d made so long ago.
Finally sated, she drank a goblet of crisp, cold water then leaned back against the most comfortable couch on the planet, feeling sleepy.
Watching Rolf argue with Loki and Apollo, her eyes closed and she yawned, knowing she should stay awake but was too tired to care. Her body needed rest.
Sylvara let herself go and traveled the way she hadn’t in a very long time. Not since she was a young girl.
She landed in a place much like the one she knew, yet it was slightly wrong. The colors too bright, the sounds too sharp, the scents too strong.
She left Rolf arguing with Loki and Apollo, now weak immortals and no longer gods.
Outside the room no longer in Hades’s arena, she walked into an inner courtyard filled with lush green grass dotted with patches of white and purple flowers, surrounding a pool of clear water filled with jewel-toned fish.
Swans frolicked in the pool. Some distance away, she heard what sounded like a waterfall.
Overhead, moonlight appeared behind puffy white clouds while ravens passed, gurgling their greetings before settling upon glorious oaks set with lavender and emerald-green leaves. In the distance, a wolf howled, its greeting welcomed in this place where Sylvara finally felt as if she belonged.
A tall woman with pretty features and long blond hair walked toward her.
She wore a long blue gown that set off the deep sapphire of her eyes, the fabric cinched behind her neck, exposing strong, graceful shoulders and a slender neck.
A golden belt wrapped around her narrow waist, the threads of the belt familiar somehow.
“Ah, Sylvara. You’re a fierce fighter.”
“Lady.” Sylvara nodded in respect. “Where am I?”
“Where you were meant to be. Walk with me.”
Sylvara joined her, and the courtyard grew. Deer sat near wolves. Tigers romped with brownies and eagles, and a few trolls smiled as they passed under a bridge that formed out of nothing.
“Do you like it here?”
“Where is here, exactly?” And who are you? Sylvara wanted to ask but didn’t want to ruin the mood.
The woman smiled, her eyes kind. “Here is today. Here is tomorrow. The place of what could be.”
That made an odd kind of sense.
“Here, your vampire waits for you to join him for dinner.” She nodded to a table set out under a trellis. Moonbeams shone over Rolf like a spotlight. Of Apollo or Loki, Sylvara saw no sign.
She frowned. “Why is he here now? And looking so…not Rolf?”
The small round table had been set for two.
A candelabra with four lit candles gave it a romantic ambiance, as did the red tablecloth and gentleman vampire dressed in a suit.
Black jacket, black slacks, and black dress shirt unbuttoned at the throat.
Rolf’s eyes sparkled. He looked mouthwateringly appealing, his blond hair gleaming like gold.
“Go on. Enjoy yourself. You’ve earned it.” The lady smiled, so much happiness roiling inside her.
Sylvara could feel it. She found herself reaching for the woman, surprised they stood at the same height as the woman had seemed taller. Cupping the lady’s soft cheek, she felt instant connection.
“Who are you?” Sylvara rasped, consumed with the need to know.
“We’ll talk again later. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled up at the sky as she said it, and Sylvara caught a glimmer of determination, of threat, in her voice. But her eyes were nothing but caring as she beamed once more at Sylvara. “Enjoy your evening, dear.”
Sylvara slowly took her hand away and blushed. “Apologies. I meant no offense. You’re just… Do I know you?”
The woman’s smile grew tender. “No, and that’s a sin in itself. But you will. Go on, now.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Sylvara joined Rolf, who stood to seat her at the table with him.
“You look ravishing, Syl.” He winked. “Love the dress.”
“Dress?” She looked down at herself and saw she wore the same gown the lady had. It fit her perfectly, emphasizing the swell of her breasts and shape of her shoulders. Despite the breeze circulating, the weather wasn’t cold or warm, but perfectly comfortable.
“This is nice, right?” Rolf sat and poured them both wine.
“Can you drink that?” She nodded at the glass.
“Yes. I don’t have to be a vampire here if I don’t want. I can be anything I like.” He winked at her. “And I like you. Lightning, shrieking, and all. I can only drink your blood, Syl.”
“Since when?” She sipped the wine, and it refreshed her from head to toe without making her muzzy headed. It in fact brought clarity, enhancing her senses.
“Since that’s what you prefer.”
She blushed. “What? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He laughed. “Hmm. Do you know where vampires come from?”
Change of subject, but okay. “Mommy and Daddy vampires?”
“Funny.”
“I know Apollo created them. Cursed them into being because of some insult to his sister. But vampires can only be male, and they always have dark hair and dark eyes, no matter who their parents are. No one knows what happens to any female children, if any are actually born.” She’d always wondered about that.
“Would you like to hear the story?”
She nodded.
A light fae appeared at her elbow and put a plate of food in front of her and another in front of Rolf. Regular food. Regular drink. But why?
Despite having just eaten, she felt hungry all over again and tucked into the fragrant fowl dressed with faeberry creams and spices. The vegetables were cooked to perfection, and the bread steamed, soft yet full of flavor.
Rolf spoke, his voice gentle yet strong with a love for storytelling.
The entire scene felt like one giant ball of magic she never wanted to end.
She was transported back to a long-forgotten time in her youth, when one of her aunts had lain in bed next to her and told a story of the Fates, full of love and wonder as Sylvara drifted to sleep.
“Long ago, an exceptional human named Ambrogio fell in love. Ambrogio was a great warrior and merchant who began his life in Mesopotamia. He lived past his lifespan because of his ability to enrich the lives of all he encountered. And so a group of magir enchanted him with longevity. One day, he wandered into a Greek temple devoted to Apollo.”
“The same Apollo who was just hanging with Loki at the arena.”
Rolf rolled his eyes. “Yeah, him. Anyway, a beautiful woman named Selene was there.”
“Apollo’s priestess.”
“Actually, she was Apollo’s sister just pretending to be mortal. She liked to play games with humans, probably because the celestial realm is boring. Anyway, when Selene saw Ambrogio, sparks flew. He, of course, fell in instant love with her.”
Sylvara frowned. “Hold on. Isn’t Artemis the goddess of the moon and Apollo’s sister?”
“Yes and no. Selene predates Artemis, and you know how the Greeks love multiple gods for the same worship.”
“Ah, okay.” That was true.
“Selene fell in love with Ambrogio, a mortal. A gifted mortal, but not a divine creature at all. That irked Apollo, who then lost his mind about the inappropriate pairing.” Rolf snorted.
“As if that guy should be protesting anyone when he’s been known to—” He blinked.
“Ah, yeah. Anyway, Apollo told everyone that he cursed Ambrogio because of a lack of respect for his temple maiden.
When it was really because the guy had the audacity to think himself good enough to love a goddess.
“What Apollo hadn’t realized was that the affection went both ways.
He cursed Ambrogio, turning him into a monster unable to tolerate the sun, forced into a lifeless existence without Selene.
But Selene loved Ambrogio and followed him to the cursed cave where Apollo tossed him.
She let him drink from her veins to soothe his unquenchable thirst.
“He nearly drained her dry, because believe it or not, you can do that to a god. But between her divine blood and Apollo’s curse, Ambrogio morphed into what we now know as a vampire. And that’s also where we get the Bloode Stones.”
Leaning forward, enrapt in the story, she asked, “How’s that?”
“Well, when Ambrogio realized he’d nearly destroyed Selene by drinking her blood, he wept.
Those six tears that hit the ground became the Bloode Stones.
Some believe he tried to kill himself by slicing his wrist, and that his bloode turned into gems when the drops hit the ground.
But I think it was all about his grief and his tears.
“In any case, hundreds of years later, worried at the consequences of his growing power and great love for Selene, he and Selene agreed with the gods to limit the vampires’ numbers, so that couples would only have one child in a lifetime, not counting the odd birthing of twins.
They would only ever have male children with vampiric traits to ensure that their kind would always keep to smaller groups.
And their children would never live in harmony, always at war with each other. ”
“Don’t you think that’s sad? Unfair even.”
Rolf shrugged. “It is what it is.”
She nodded, lost in thought, and drank more wine.
Then she sat straighter. “Wait. But that means vampires are godly creations. Demi-gods, really, if Selene is the mother of you all. And though Ambrogio was mortal, it was Apollo’s curse that created your father.
” She gaped at him. “All that talk about vampires hating gods is kind of stupid since you’re godlings yourselves. ”
“Well, kind of. Not really. We’re more comfortable thinking of ourselves as monsters.” He winked at her, rubies glowing in his irises. “But what a fun tale over a romantic dinner, hmm? A human giving up his life for his love. A goddess giving up her divinity for a human.”
“Romantic, but still sad.” She frowned. “If it had been me, I’d have kicked Apollo’s ass and kept my human regardless. My children wouldn’t suffer. I’d build an army and we’d take over the world.” She felt angry about what had been done to the vampires, who had never asked to be born.
Punished because of what they might have been capable of. Yet, the Fates would know. Would the Norns have allowed such a thing to happen if the vampires had been capable of turning into outright monsters, the bringers of the end?
“They didn’t kill Jormungandr or Fenrir though, did they?
And those two will certainly bring about the end of the world one day.
” Rolf’s gaze was piercing as he stared into her.
Not at her, but into her very being. “There’s so much more we could do.
Together.” He smiled. “Just think about it my love.”
“My what?”
His grin widened. “My mate.”