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“We’ve had some trouble lately,” I say tightly, thinking of the day our nest in the center of the city was destroyed. “We had to relocate. A strange choice, perhaps, but I like it. It’s… atmospheric.
As we cross the old rollercoaster tracks, Brynn pushes open the door that leads down to the maintenance tunnels. He was the one who discovered them, and thinks himself quite the savior.
I rewarded him appropriately, of course. But since then, he’s been very needy.
And I can’t stand needy males.
I turn to watch the Fire Bird crossing the tracks. She is all curves, and softness, and warmth.
Exactly the way my sister told me she’d be.
“She is glorious, Zephyra. Glorious. Such a shame The King must take her.”
“Are you still caught up in all that, sister? You know it will end in disaster.”
I remember Eve giggling. Her voice so high-pitched it crackled down the phone. “You don’t know him. He will succeed.”
“You always were determined to do things differently.”
“I’m a witch, you’re a vampire. Things are different for us.” She paused and giggled again. “Do you ever think about how funny it is? That I became a witch and you became a vampire.”
“I think it’s funny you have defied death as long as I have.”
“Not funny, sister, no. I have defied death because He has allowed it.”
“He is bat shit crazy, Eve.”
“Do not talk of The King that way.”
“He’s not my king.”
“Do you not wish for a new world order? A world where supernatural creatures are the ones in charge?”
“I am already in charge. I have a perfectly good life. A prosperous life. I am a queen. And I do not need a king.”
“But—”
“Eve, you can play apocalypse games with your demon master all you like. You won’t win. The Prophecy dictates it.”
“The Prophecy can be stopped.”
“We both know that’s not true. A prophecy is a prophecy for a reason. Because it cannot be stopped. It is written. It is fate.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I don’t need to.”
“You won’t be talking like this when I’m the one with a throne.”
“Eve, darling, if you end up with a throne, I’ll be the first to bow down to you. That’s how certain I am that all this will fail.”
“Zephyra…” Eve’s voice came out in a whine reserved only for me. One that reminded me of when we were children and she would go running to our mother with complaints about me teasing her.
“Eve… I love you, and I’d prefer you were around for a few hundred more years. It’s much more fun when we work together rather than against one another. But if you insist on following this path, you’ll not see another new moon. Mark my words.”
“The Fire Bird will be destroyed.”
“The Fire Bird will destroy you. And your king.”
