Chapter 158
“Artemis, wait—”
“Go to hell,” she hissed. Gilgamesh lunged for her. Three members of New Moon surged to block him off.
Members of Moon Shadow seemed to back Gilgamesh up.
Then, the door opened.
“As useful as it would be for you to all die in a fight, I would hate to waste my people’s time by having them clean up the carnage,” Ian’s voice cut through the hall. “But do go on and quicken yourself to your deaths.”
Vanessa turned, glaring at him. “And what the hell does that mean?”
“Moon Shadow and New Moon, while in opposition, are after the same thing,” he said. “And you’re doomed to fail.”
Francia gasped as she turned to look at Ian. I turned as Ian swept through the room. He glanced at me and rolled his eyes.
“What a waste of time,” he said and flicked his hand in my direction. A burst of light shot towards me.
Candido turned sharply but he didn’t move fast enough. The light hit me and tossed me off the table. I shrieked, tumbling through the air and landing in my perfectly human form. I still felt heavy, delirious, but I was a little stronger. I scrambled for the blanket that Candido had wrapped me in and pulled it around me.
“Would hate for you to throw another fit about not being able to join the conversation,” Ian said. “And I’d like you all out Lunae sooner rather than later. Get up.”
I glared at him. “I don’t have to do anything you say.”
He snorted. “So, you’re going to stay on the floor. Naked? Do you make a habit of being stupid out of some misplaced sense of spite?”
“You can’t—” my voice broke off. I was silenced again and Ian turned his gaze over to Candido.
“I don’t like you,” he said plainly. “I don’t even care about you, but I wouldn’t wish her on anyone.”
“Who are you?” Vanessa asked. “What have you done with the Triskele?”
“It’s exactly where it is meant to be,” he said. “I expect the Crown of the Night and the Spear of the Day will be returned soon as well.”
Vanessa blanched, “You—”
“All that to say that we should hurry through the Q&A I know you want,” he said. “I’ve spared your lives and kept Damian from killing you in my stead. Do not make me regret that decision.”
Something lifted from around my throat. “Hey!”
“Don’t make me silence you again,” Ian said. “Next time, I might just leave it.”
“Where’s Raven?” I asked.
“Coming soon enough,” he said. “Hopefully dressed. I’m putting her, Ian, and Messiah, in charge of you all until you can be released.”
“Can be?” Candido asked stiffly. “What does that mean?”
“Finally, an intelligent question,” Ian said. “Almost. Do you think I went through the trouble of dragging you and the rest of your little team of vigilantes away from certain death, just to let you go back?”
He scoffed. “I may know that you are doomed to fail, but I will benefit from keeping you alive as long as possible.”
He turned to Francia. “As for you, Francia, I’m surprised.”
Her lips twitched. “My son, Your Highness.”
He glanced at Francium briefly and shook his head. Her eyes widened and she looked frantically between the two of them.
“But—”
“It is done,” he said, shaking his head. He glanced at Claire. “Though… perhaps not without hope.”
He turned to Claire and stepped towards her. He tilted his head seemingly evaluating her before grinning.
“You’re the pernicious little new blood that bit into Damian’s throat, aren’t you? Claire, right?”
She glanced at Francium and nodded. He hummed.
“A shame that some of your viciousness and intelligence hasn’t rubbed off on her,” he tutted. “You’d do well to remember the importance of the bond you’ve made with Francium.”
She frowned. “I… made?”
He smiled. “Perhaps I was wrong. Dear girl, how could hybrid entity like your Francium have turned you?”
She blinked and looked at Francium who looked at her, confused.
“I’ll let you ponder that,” something chimed as the doors opened again. I looked over and saw Raven.
She was mostly dressed in leather-like pants and half a shirt again. She stretched and yawned.
“I’m here,” she said and rest a hand on her hip before pulling out her phone. “Looks like the towers are back up over there.”
“Excellent,” Ian said and turned towards her. “I had a feeling that your lovers would work a bit faster.”
She smiled. “I did promise them treats.”
She handed her phone to him. “Though I find it interesting that they know already.”
“Know what?” I asked.
Raven nodded at Claire. “That she’s alive.”
I looked back at Claire who stared at Raven in shock. Candido seemed just as stunned, growing paler by the moment.
“Here,” Raven said, putting a phone in my hand. “You’ll want this.”
I opened the phone as another person came in with a box of phones and started handing them out. I scrolled through the Academy forum and gasped as the messages about Claire still being alive continued to appear beneath the large photo of her.
“Now that you at least have a means of communication,” Ian said. “I suppose we’ll have to make provisions for your actual living arrangements.”
Raven groaned. “That sounds like it’ll take even more time!”
Ian chuckled and pat her shoulder. “Try not to be too upset.”
She scowled into the room. “Why are we getting involved? We could just let them kill each other and find the other artifacts later.”
“Because that would take too much time,” he said kindly. “I’m not tell you to eviscerate them. It would hardly be fair for you to clean up their mess. Remember that this is a long game?”
She huffed and nodded. Then, glanced at me. “What about her?”
“She’s already made her decision,” Ian shrugged. “It is out of my hands. Thankfully.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, stomping towards him. “We didn’t do anything! It’s you vampires who’ve destroyed everything. You should have just stayed in your caves.”
Raven frowned. Then, she looked at me thoughtfully.
“I see…” Raven shook her head. “Is it too late to not claim her?”
“Unless you plan to forcefully change her face, yes,” Ian said. “Blame your mother for her choice of partner, and pray for her quick death.”
“You know it’s not nice to pray for death.” Raven sucked on her teeth and crossed her arms. “And I wouldn’t do that to a virgin.”
My face heated.
She scoffed again. “Unbelievable…. Your Dad better be hot like melting or something, and if your Daddy’s dick game isn’t up to par, I might just have to kill him myself so maybe you can move on with your life...”
“Is that a threat against the king?” Someone hissed.
Raven laughed. “I don’t threaten. I barely even warn.”
“Raven, do not engage with them,” Ian said shortly. “Her father is at least less cowardly than others. Though crueler and more prone to greed than others. I don’t know what Hedwig was thinking.”
“That a face is worth a thousand hours of labor?” She asked.
“It’s not nice to make fun of the dead.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You do it all the time.”
He smiled and pinched her cheek fondly. My heart clenched with longing. “I am her brother.”
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow as I stared at them. His eyes narrowed as he turned to face me.
“To answer your question, it was werewolves who decided it would be a good idea to turn on their betters—”
“Betters? You’re not—”
I lifted into the air, though I didn’t want to. He spun me around lazily almost. I kept the blanket wrapped closed and tried not to fight, as I knew he would just make it worse if I did. I glared at him. He would never do this to Raven.
“Betters,” he said pointedly. “Werewolves decided to erase the truth and create a society full of ignorance, to disavow themselves of their true history. Werewolves drove the fallen vampires into hiding in the caves rather than making peace. Werewolves launched attacks and stole what was never theirs, to begin with.”
He snorted and looked over at Candido as I started to get sick. “Werewolves decided that they were the most powerful because the retained just a few drops of vampiric blood.”
He turned and fell into a heap on the floor. “This battle with Damian is your fault and your problem. I am allowing you refuge here in Lunae’s circle because it serves my purposes. Do not forget that.”
He drew his hood, and as he walked past me, I felt as though I had been dropped back into the forest. The face of the hooded man who had attacked me and forced me to drink whatever it was became clear.
It had ben Ian.
“Wait!” I cried. “What did you do to me?”
