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Solon turned into a monster.
I lift my chin to look up at him, his gaze going straight into my soul, a sad smile on his lips. “Unless you were dreaming about me,” he says quietly.
I stare, trying to recall everything about last night, even the things that I don’t want to. I remember it all, except I asked him what he was and he said he’d explain in the morning. I said there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep, but I guess I did. I’m still exhausted, every part of my body aching, but I’m ready for him to talk.
He nods slowly, hearing me, the tip of his tongue wetting his lips, causing an automatic ache inside me. I ignore it.
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he says to me, running his fingers through my hair. I close my eyes at his touch, marveling at how gentle he’s being after being so rough, grateful that he’s still in bed with me.
“What time is it?” I ask softly, burying my head into his bare chest.
“Almost five. Sun should be coming up soon. Should I get you a coffee?” He makes a move to leave but I grip him hard.
“You’re not leaving this bed.”
“I don’t particularly want to,” he murmurs, placing another kiss on the top of my head. “I’m afraid if I did, I might not ever see you again.” He pauses. “I wouldn’t blame you for leaving me.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I assure him.
“Even though you should? Even though you will?” His hold tightens around me. “You strive to see the good in me, Lenore. Even when faced by the very monstrous thing that I am. You want to see the good so badly. But I am what I am. I’m the opposite of good. And you’re going to break your own heart by believing in me.”
I lift my chin, his eyes meeting mine, looking like glass close to breaking. “Let me make that choice then. It doesn’t belong to you.” I exhale through my nose, gathering strength. “Now, tell me. What happened last night?”
His black lashes flutter as he closes his eyes. “That was the beast.”
“It was a literal beast, Solon.”
“I know,” he whispers, pain ravaging his voice. “I thought you could see that when I told you about Esmerelda.”
“I didn’t, I just…saw flashes of what it was like to be you. And the feelings. That feeling of darkness, madness, being all alone.” It’s breaking me all over again. God, to have been him back then, constantly changing from something bad to something worse, afraid of your own body, your own self, your own soul. To fear you don’t even have a soul.
“Tell me what you are,” I plead softly.
“I don’t even know,” he admits. “I just know that, at the beginning, this was what happened to us when we were made into vampires. I was…the first one.”
I blink at him. “The first vampire?”
“The first one made.”
My mouth drops. “You…you mean, Skarde is the one who turned you?”
He nods, his teeth set. “Yes. I am his first son. The original monster.”
I can’t believe this. All these questions I’ve had about the vampire king, and it turns out that Solon was the vampire prince. “You really are the Prince of Darkness then.”
His smile is grim. “My father, he didn’t know what he was doing when he made the pact with The Devil.”
My stomach twists, eyes going wider. “Wait, what? That’s how vampires were made, Skarde made a deal with the actual Devil? Satan himself?”
“I don’t have all the details,” he says after a moment. “Part of me doesn’t want them. But when my father called upon the darkness that night, wanting eternal life, this is how it was given. He was turned into a vampire, but it was the Devil’s creation now, and as a result, he had the Devil’s influence in him. When he created me, it was passed down. Both of us were forged in darkness.”
This is blowing my mind and it’s been blown so many times lately, I’m surprised there’s any part of it left. “So the beast is just, what, the Devil’s doing? The Devil himself?”
“Could be. You saw what happened, the flames. I’m just glad it stopped when it did. I still had control. I shudder to think what would happen if I didn’t.”
I reach up with my hand, placing my fingers on his jaw, feeling his stubble and cool skin. “I survived. More than that…I think I might have enjoyed it.”
A muscle near his eye twitches. “This is nothing to joke about, Lenore.”
