Chapter 41

DEMETRIUS

I dragged my mother away from Rose, away from the party, deep into the Poitou woods.

We kept walking until we couldn’t hear the voices behind us and the scent of Mother’s wounds had healed.

I could only hear the insects, the small animals moving over the forest floor, the swooping wings of the owls, and our soft steps.

Eventually, we stopped. The full moon gazed down at us.

Mother was looking sullen. She’d wrapped pieces of her torn gown around her waist, her hair had been pulled out, and she was covered in blood and mud. She was glaring at me.

“Mother.”

“I know,” she snapped.

“Why did you say that?” I growled.

She pursed her lips at me, attempting to run her fingers through her knotted hair.

“Because I wanted to patch things up between us.”

“~‘No hurt feelings? No hurt feelings about that human spawn’~? You thought that was a good way to patch things up?” I snarled.

She rolled her eyes and stretched.

“I have a lot of respect for Rose, and I didn’t want to see her moping around anymore. I was kind of hoping, after ten years, that she’d be over it.”

“Mother, you know that Rose loved that human like a daughter. Could you imagine the pain you’d go through losing Angus or me when we were babies?

“How could you be so insensitive? I was expecting it to come from Uncle Lucius, but not you.” I let out an irritable sigh.

Mother was pacing, her arms crossed over her chest. Eventually, she looked back at me.

“Demetrius...” She paced, huffed, and puffed. “There’s…something that you don’t know about.”

“What?” I spat.

She took a deep breath and met my gaze with fiery red eyes.

“Before you or Angus were born, just after I married your father, I met Emperor Romulus Augustus. You remember learning about him?”

“Of course,” I scoffed. “The last Roman Emperor. Defeated by the Germans.”

“Yes, well, he was just a boy when he was crowned. A little thing, so weak.” She was pacing, not looking at me.

“Did you kill him?”

“No.” She glared at me, her eyes wide, the red dripping slowly being replaced by her usual blue.

She squirmed. I had never seen her looking so nervous. “I could never have been able to do that. I loved him.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t either when I first saw the child, lost in a throng of men. The tiny emperor was trembling, and my first instinct wasn’t to rip his throat out but to keep him safe.

I don’t know if that happened because I was pregnant with your brother. I imagine I felt a lot like Rose did about her human.”

I blinked at her. She had stopped pacing and was staring at her hands, bloodied from scratching my wife.

“What happened?” My voice was softer. I had never seen my mother so vulnerable. She was shaking.

“Well, the Germans won the battle and declared themselves leaders of Italy. It was the end of the Roman Empire as we all knew it.”

“What happened with the emperor, Mother?” She shook her head slowly.

“I didn’t adopt him like Rose did. I didn’t have that luxury. I tried to keep my distance from him. But, his innocence, it crushed me. I have never felt that way about a human since.”

She shook her head vehemently. “So, I was present, at court, teaching him to read and write, reading to him at night.

“After the battle, Odoacer killed his father and uncle and wanted to kill him. I couldn’t let that happen, so I put myself between them. I convinced him to let the child live.”

“Why didn’t you just kill Odoacer?”

“For the same reason, we have never killed royals or people who change history, Demetrius, to stay hidden,” she snapped at me.

“He had just ended the Roman empire. Romulus was exiled to the countryside with a small amount of money to let him live. I went with him.

“Your father was in China at the time doing business. He never knew. I accompanied the boy and watched him grow into a man. And men, human men, they are all the same.”

She shook her head slowly.

“When he found out what I was, he had his men come after me during the day, opening the windows, brandishing their swords to kill the sorceress who, according to Romulus, had caused the downfall of the Empire.”

She let out a loud sigh. “He had me cowering in the dirt, he burnt down the house, he had his men dig for me all day long. I could barely keep up, digging deeper underground. He almost killed me.

“When night fell, I killed his men and left. Still, I could not hurt him. Later, when I heard he died, I felt my body shatter into a thousand pieces. He was as a son to me.”

“How could you have treated Rose so cruelly?” I asked.

“Because I didn’t want her to go through the same pain. He could have killed me, Demetrius. Humans are bloodthirsty, murderous creatures. You know this.

“Compared to them, to the wars and the conflicts and violence and horrors that they inflict on themselves and each other, we are gentle creatures—only killing when we need to feed.

“I was trying to keep Rose safe!”

“Mother, why didn’t you tell us, both of us sooner?”

“Passing the law was more important. When he came to kill me. I was reminded that humans and vampires, we don’t mix.

“They’re our prey. They’re not our families. They’re not our loved ones. At their first opportunity, they will turn on you.”

“Eleanor was different. Times are different.”

“Humans are the same,” she scoffed. “And so are we. I wanted to save Rose from the pain I suffered.”

“She’s suffering, still, every day. I am as well.”

“The human was very young. You didn’t have many years with it. It will pass, the pain. It will pass soon. Demetrius, I told you because I know you understand, but others won’t.

“That’s not the image I want them to have of Rose. She is a Mcnoxnoctis, and her daughter will undoubtedly be Queen one day. Rose is a leader of her people. She cannot be seen as weak.”

“Is that why you antagonized her? To show she was strong?”

“A show of force so others, the Shahalias, for example, remember their place, and hers.”

“Your mind works in twisted ways, Mother,” I grumbled.

“You cannot tell anyone,” she whispered.

I ran my fingers through my hair, breathing out heavily.

“I won’t. I’ll tell Rose.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “Demetrius, I did you a favor,” she insisted.

“No, you forced us into a position where—” I stopped, picking up a new scent. Very faint still, but recognizably my son’s.

“I’ll return to the party.” Mother brushed off her filthy dress and gazed at me. “I might need to go hunting first, though. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

She nodded once, then stepped away into the forest just as Aric arrived from the other direction.

“Father.” His eyes were blazing. He looked in the direction that Mother had left, frowning deeply. “What the fuck happened back there?”

“My mother happened,” I grumbled, thumping him on the back. Aric scowled at me.

“Father, we need to talk.”

“I need to see your mother.” I started walking away.

“Father!” Aric grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back roughly. I hissed at him.

“I know it had to be you,” he murmured. “You had an Infinity with her.” His arms were clenched by his side, his gaze unwavering.

“Which is how I know that she’s dead, Aric,” I snarled at him. “I ~felt~ it.”

Aric shook his head. “Henry insists it was her. And you saved her. How did you do it? Where is she now?”

“Aric,” I snapped. “I didn’t. She died. I buried her twelve years ago.”

“But Henry saw her,” he growled, keeping his voice as low as possible, though it wasn’t necessary. Mother was long gone.

“Henry was wrong,” I denied.

“Father!” Aric let out an exasperated sigh. “I could never hurt her. I just want to keep her safe from others like us.”

I stared at him. I knew he wouldn’t hurt her. I knew he could never hurt her. He had loved her. But I also knew that she was safe, and I couldn’t risk him finding her and dragging others with him.

“Aric,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I really felt her die that day.”

“Did you heal her? She’s still human.”

“Aric!” My voice was strained.

“Father, I won’t tell anyone! I need to know where she is!”

“No!” I roared, my teeth bared, my eyes flashing red. Aric stood, blinking at me, and a slow grin spread across his face.

“I knew it was you.” He grinned at me. “Where is she?” I glared back at him.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“Father, but you can still feel her?”

“Aric.” I shook my head. “I won’t tell you anything. I cannot risk it.”

“You have been keeping her safe all these years?”

“I let her go and never looked back. She has been safe since then.”

“Until she met Henry, and he recognized her.”

I pursed my lips. “She’s safe, Aric. If you seek her out, you will put her in danger again. If you tell anyone that she’s alive, you will put her in danger. The best thing we can do for that poor girl is to leave her alone.”

“I want to protect her.”

“Then forget about her.”

“You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”

“Aric, I implore you. Let it go.”

“You never told Mother, did you?”

“No,” I admitted. “I will, one day. In fifty years maybe, so she can see her, but she won’t have the same emotional tie to a geriatric human.”

“Where is she, Father?”

“I don’t know. I walked away, I told you.”

“But you can sense her? Has she come close?”

“A few years ago, I felt she was close, probably in France. She is happy, Aric. I can feel it. Don’t go near her.”

Aric was beaming. “I could never hurt her,” he insisted. “She’s my sister. I lost her once. I just want to make sure she’s safe and happy.” He nodded. “I’ll let you know when I find her.”

He grinned at me then, with a flourish, leapt into the sky and ran away.