“I’m sorry it has to be that way. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. You’re an incredible ruler who’s earned my respect and inspired me in such a short manner of time.”
Reaching out, she squeezed my hand in a comforting touch before picking up her tea cup again. “One day, my dear. My dream is a day when no one needs to hide who they are. Until then, I will do what is best to keep the peace in my empire.”
I didn’t want to open the obvious emotional wound it gave her further, so I switched back to the previous topic. “How have we never heard of dhampyrs? I mean, in my situation it’s a bit more understandable, but none of the Lords had heard of them either.”
Myrin relaxed on the couch and spoke openly. “For the most part, they have been scrubbed from all public texts and records. It has been so long since your kind has been present in number, and most others have forgotten as those that knew died. We don’t encourage them to remember—the dhampyr history isn’t a happy one.”
“How so?” I asked, feeling unease skitter beneath the surface of my skin.
“I mentioned last night that when dhampyrs are born, they are destined for a fate that will change the course of our society, our world, in its entirety,” she explained. “It has happened time and time again.”
Standing up, she went to her desk and brought over a thin leather bound book with red silk wrapped around it. If the dust was any indication, it hadn’t been opened in years. She placed it on the table and pressed gently to the top of it with her hand while looking me in the eyes. “In this book, we have kept a detailed account of each dhampyr and their rise to greatness—or fall to darkness. Every time, each and every one of them have altered the course of our lives.”
And I was one of them? Destined for the history books? It was actually laughable, the thought of me doing anything noteworthy. I wasn’t skilled in anything enough to make a drastic shift.
“Is that why they were considered so unique? Besides the obvious?”The obvious being their bite and the ability to kill vampyres.
A lightbulb went off in my brain and my mouth popped open in realization, cutting my own previous line of questioning off as I exclaimed, “Fangs! I don’t have fangs. How could I kill a vampyre without them?”
I was obviously word-vomiting, and I was grateful when she let out a chuckle at the slew of questions tossed at her.
“Dhampyrs do have fangs. With you being born a vampyre, in a sense, your body will stop aging at twenty-five. It is where we drew our inspiration when we made the law that no human would be turned before that age. It seemed to be the body’s natural preference for transformation, so it seemed fitting to adopt that to the rest of our society.”
I nodded, processing her words in silence before I realized I hadn’t stopped nodding for an uncomfortably long stretch of time. Stopping myself, I asked, “Does that mean I won’t have fangs until then?”
Five years seemed like an awfully long time to wait.
With a tilt of her head, she considered my question. “I am not educated on the details of dhampyrs that underwent the transition early as you have. Typically, dhampyrs get their fangs at the same time their body transitions, thus beginning the need for blood to sustain itself. I would wager that your fangs will come early now that your body is solely craving blood. When, though, is unknown to me.”
Lifting my fingers to my teeth, I tried to feel for any signs of lengthening, but the only thing I felt was a stab of disappointment.
Myrin quickly moved on in conversation. “To answer your previous question about why you are so unique, the deadly bite is only part. The old gods began to hunt dhampyrs because they feared their ability to rise to power. They believed it upset the balance between the two empires of beings that had been so carefully crafted.”
“Hunt them?” I repeated, horrified.
“Yes.” Myrin nodded, sadness flashing in her gaze. “Of course, once they were captured, there was only one thing that could ever kill them. The Evathrina flower.”
My fingers closed around my necklace.Could it be?
Myrin noticed the gesture, a sad smile pulling at her lips. “The flower around your neck is an Evathrina. It grows on my empire’s land in one small area. Your mother was gifted the necklace by someone who knew of what was to come, whether she knew it or not herself.”
“These are just sitting around? How is a flower used to kill us?” I asked anxiously, needing to understand every detail. I needed to know what to look out for so I could protect myself.
Her eyes filled with understanding. “No. You see, not all the old gods agreed with the hunting of dhampyrs. In fact, one of them was so staunchly against it that he became the protector of the Evathrina’s location.”
My, how my life had changed in the past three days. I went from being fearful of Malakai and his guards’ wrath to now being worried about an elusive flower that could kill the rare supernatural being that I was.
“When the flower petals are crushed and consumed, they will kill any dhampyr.”
Alright, not incredibly helpful. How was I supposed to look out for that? Someone could easily slip it into the blood I consumed, even here in the castle—it’s not like I knew it was clean and fresh from the source.
My mind flashed to the three Lords. Perhaps I’d need to ensure I drank from them now. Heat pooled below my navel at the intimate thought before returning back to the real issue at hand.
“Elijah mentioned that the old gods are in some kind of eternal slumber,” I said. “So is the location of the flower no longer protected?”
“The location of the flower is protected, and yes, they are in an eternal slumber, but it isn’t as clear-cut as that” she answered vaguely.Color me intrigued. Reaching out to lay her hand on my forearm, she squeezed it and added, “I can assure you that you are safe from the flower, Kyella. I simply sought to explain its existence so you are fully aware.”
I wasn’t sure if that made me feel any better or not. Time would tell, but for now I needed to have my guard up.
