Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
ELARIYA
Hundreds of eyes settled on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from Wolfe.
I stood rooted to the ballroom floor, wearing a gown that had suddenly appeared on my body. My pulse pounded so loudly it thrummed all over my body and I wasn’t sure if I was breathing.
Wolfe was on the balcony with Alaric, Bastian, and a disguised-looking nobleman…
Vampire.
He was a vampire like all the people gathered around me, polished and beautiful, ageless. But he was different from the others. More powerful. That he stood with Wolfe and exuded authority suggested one thing.
He was Viktor Thagar.
Magdalena’s father.
In human years, he barely looked fifty. The only thing that aged him was the silver hair. In reality, he was much, much older. Magdalena had told us he was ten thousand years old.
Cautiously, I tore my eyes away from Wolfe’s and looked at Viktor. He was already beaming down at me as if I were some kind of specimen he wanted to examine.
I had no idea what was happening, and from what I could see, Arielle and Kaem were still back in the cell.
I hadn’t been able to feel Wolfe through the bond, though I sensed him. That little spark kept me going. I still couldn’t hear him. I figured the magic here had blocked us from communicating.
Before my next thought could form, Viktor stepped off the balcony. Then he was right in front of me. A breath away. Far too close.
Terror raced through me, but I refused to let it show.
Never let them see your fear.
I whispered the mantra over and over until my breathing slowed.
Curiosity filled his eyes as he took me in. Then he walked around me in a slow, purposeful circle, scanning me. The people around watched him, too, no doubt wondering what had gotten their lord so curious.
Viktor looked me up and down when he completed his circle. “Fear not, child. I mean you no harm. I am merely curious.” He spoke in a deep voice that held a silky elegance I’d never heard before. It was almost lulling.
I breathed past the constriction in my lungs and steadied my racing thoughts. It was time to be brave again. “What makes you curious, my Lord?”
“You, Daughter of the Hourglass. The currents of time flowing through you are as vast as those of your air magic.”
It was almost unnerving that he knew that much about me. He looked like he could see it.
“You are different from the other children I’ve met in my lifetime.” He gazed deeply into my eyes, probing. His otherworldly eyes glowed silver beyond the ice-blue depths.
“Children?”
“Of the hourglass.” He drew in a breath and straightened. “Though the power to control time flows the same through your veins, yours is different.”
“Why?”
“Because you are half human. People will say your mage side is strongest and think you weak for being human, but it is not so.”
I’d always thought it was exactly like that. I’d grown up thinking my humanity was a weakness and that I’d never get to explore my potential as a mage.
I still didn’t think I was powerful enough.
“It is your human soul that guides the power flowing through you. You are pure of soul, and that makes the time continuum trust you more.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head. “We will not speak more of it here.”
“But I—"
“Dance with me.”
My eyes widened. “Dance?”
“Dance.”
My throat bobbed as I swallowed. I chanced looking at Wolfe. He nodded once, knowing what was asked of me.
“Okay.” I looked back at Viktor. “I shall dance with you.”
He held up a hand, and violin music filled the room, swelling into a graceful waltz. The surrounding vampires quietly stepped back, leaving us the center of the floor.
Without taking his eyes from mine, Viktor offered me his hand.
I placed mine in his.
His touch was cold. Cold as death.
Viktor inclined his head with impeccable courtesy before slipping an arm around me to guide me into the first turn.
He moved with impeccable grace, precision in every step. Soon, it felt less like dancing and more like being carried by the music itself.
For a fleeting moment, I almost forgot why I was here.
Almost.
“Vampires learn through music. Dancing to specific tunes teaches you everything you need to know about a person,” he explained, his voice close to my ear.
“What are you learning about me?” I held his gaze, my own curiosity sparking.
“All the things my dear daughter loves about you.” The twinkle in his eyes at the mention of his daughter reached out to me and gave a soothing calm. “There’s a lot.”
“That’s good to hear.”
The music gathered around us, the violins rising into a richer melody as Viktor swept me around the ballroom.
My skirts fanned around my legs with every turn, the black silk catching the light before settling again.
We drifted past the far wall, and my gaze caught on a magnificent mirror stretching from marble floor to the ceiling above.
I froze, my breath faltering as I saw only my reflection looking back at me. Not his or any of the other vampires’ in the room.
I looked like I was dancing by myself.
He noticed what I’d seen.
He was already smiling back at me when I looked back at him.
"Curious, isn't it?" he murmured.
"I… thought the stories were just stories."
"No. They are not."
I glanced back at the mirror as we turned again. "Then why keep mirrors if they show nothing?"
"They show plenty, my dear," Viktor replied. "Just not us."
“What do they show?”
"Mirrors reveal far more than a face. They catch fragments of truth, echoes left behind by magic, sometimes even possibilities yet to unfold." His eyes met mine, still curious. "A mirror is a window. You just have to know what you’re looking for."
The music slowed, and he guided me to a stop before releasing me.
“I will help you,” he added. “I will bridge the gap you seek to control your powers and guide you to your dragon.”
I gasped, the weight I’d carried falling off my shoulders. “You’ll help me?”
“I will. But you need rest. You and your friends will find refuge in my palace for the night. I will meet you and your mate at first light. We’ll take it from there.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
Everything had been so bad and hard and impossible. This felt like a breath of life and hope. There was still much to do, but his help made it possible.
“Thank you.”
He dipped his head, and in the next blink, the both of us were on the balcony with Wolfe. Next to him was everyone else, including Arielle and Kaem.
Morning light filtered through tall windows as Wolfe and I walked side by side along one of the palace corridors.
A dark-haired girl in white robes led the way, escorting us to Viktor. She’d arrived at our room just before first light.
It was as we were heading here that the sun rose, waking up the palace.
House Thagar was not so different from the Royal Palace in Galaythia. It had the same soaring ceilings and polished marble floors. Portraits of nobles watched us from the walls and rich crimson tapestries hung between the pillars.
But the colors were darker—black, navy, gray, and brown. Colors that provided shade.
Contrary to the horror stories I’d heard growing up, vampires could walk in the sun; they just didn’t like it. As creatures of the night magic, they preferred gathering in shadows.
Wolfe's fingers brushed mine.
I glanced up at him.
“Are you okay?” he spoke to my mind. Communication through our bond had been restored through the night.
“Nervous.”
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, Ziyka. I’m here.”
“I just hope this works.”
“I think it will. I think Viktor can do a lot more than people may know.”
“I hope so.”
Another squeeze, and Wolfe stroked my palm this time.
We focused ahead, silently contemplating. I didn’t even know what exactly Viktor planned to do. Or what specifically he’d learned about me.
Whatever it was, was enough for him to decide to help. And he said he’d get my dragon.
It was as though I were being handed everything I needed on a plate.
My questions would be answered soon enough.
We turned down a dark corridor and stopped in front of a large set of double doors. The girl opened them and turned to us, her expression neutral.
“Go inside. My Lord will be with you in a moment.” She waved us forward.
We dipped our heads in gratitude and went inside. As soon as we did, she closed the doors and they disappeared into the wall, leaving it smooth as though no doors had ever been there.
“Gods,” I gasped, turning to Wolfe.
“It’s okay.” Wolfe steadied me. “It’s like the Hollow Room, enchanted with a spell of convenience. The doors open when you need to leave the room.”
“Indeed,” Viktor answered before I could.
We turned toward the sound of his voice, but he wasn’t there.
A black twinkle sparkled in the air, a little like Magdalena’s, but his had a blueish-black tint. He stepped out of it the same way she had, materializing before us, except his cloak rippled with shadows. Hers had light.
He had his hair tied back today, giving him a more youthful look.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked with a curt smile.
“We did,” Wolfe answered.
We’d slept surprisingly well considering we were in a vampire fortress.
“Wonderful. Then let us begin. There is much to do.” Viktor clapped his hands, and magic rippled through the chamber. The walls shimmered, the floor hummed beneath our feet, and the room slowly unveiled secrets that had remained hidden moments before.
Towering bookshelves curved with the walls, filled with weathered tomes, ancient scrolls, and journals so old the leather had darkened.
Between them stood glass cabinets displaying relics he must have gathered over millennia.
I took in intricately carved hourglasses, crystal spheres that shimmered, strange instruments of brass and silver whose purpose I couldn't begin to guess, and fragments of artifacts that looked like they belonged to forgotten civilizations.
Every shelf seemed to hold another mystery. The center of the room, however, was completely open.
The floor was etched with enormous concentric circles and symbols that glowed faintly beneath the stone.
I lifted my gaze.