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Kira chuckled at my question. “Her gift will grant her the ability to travel without the Eye of the Dragon and in any time period, not only one based on the comet.”
At least, I had to be grateful that my daughter was far stronger than I’ll ever be. That gave me some solace. “So Vedoma somehow figured out that my daughter was the one to defeat her and has made friends with Gabriel? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t add up.”
“We do not know the extent of their coalition, but rumor has it, The Empress had something to do with his vampiric transformation.”
“What?” So much information hurt my brain, but at the same time, the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.
“I believe I spoke too much. Forgive me, Milady. I should better go before I make things worse,” Kira said and started moving toward the door.
“No, you’ve done everything right. Sooner or later, I would’ve found out. It’s always best for it to be sooner. But I do need time to process this. I would like to be left alone with my thoughts.”
“Yes, Milady,” Kira said and left.
“Now what?” I asked myself as I grabbed a pillow and held it tight. All this perfect life Gabriel had prepared for us was but a house of cards. I had to figure out what to do next, but first, Gabriel deserved to explain himself. Jumping to a conclusion usually could lead to rash decisions.
My tired brain took me to sleep in a matter of minutes, and when I woke up, my first thought was to search for Gabriel in his study. I walked through the gallery of my portraits and entered the exquisite room. As I searched through the drawers, I found a pack of letters tied with a red ribbon. Before I had the time to untie them, someone opened the door. It was Gabriel.
“You’re here,” I said, startled.
“Are you okay, my love? I’ve received notice that Empress Vedoma had forced you to make acquaintance with her.” He approached me and tried to get a response from my gaze.
“Gabriel, why is our worst enemy living in your castle?” I asked. “Don’t you remember the hardships she made us go through?”
“Please take a seat,” he said as he took the letters from my hand and placed them back in the drawer.
I considered it best not to fight it and sat on the sofa opposite to the wooden desk. Gabriel joined me and grabbed my hands. “I never planned you would find out this way. It was I who was supposed to inform you of this situation.”
“Why are you beating around the bush?” I asked.
“It is true, Empress Vedoma and I have formed an alliance. It happened not long after your travel. I’ve searched high and low for a way to be with you. She was the only one with an answer.”
“So it’s true. She turned you.”
“No, it’s not how it works. She knew the spell that granted me the initial transformation, but to become a vampire requires far more steps than a simple spell.”
“Okay, so she aided you in becoming immortal. But why would you still keep in contact with her? Once the transformation was done, why the need to forge a coalition with her?”
“You must realize that The Empress and I are the two most powerful beings throughout time. It was bound to happen.”
“I thought you said you were the most powerful being in The Other Realm.”
“Between the supernatural ones, yes. She is of the human form.”
“I still cannot get what would both of you have in common,” I said as I looked at Gabriel’s guilty face.
“It’s all business,” he said and regretted it instantly.
“Wait a minute. Business? That means all those rare paintings and sculptures I saw in the West Wing are supplied by her through time travel. That’s why your clients have a hard time believing they’re real. But this is stealing.”
“Throughout humanity’s history, art has been the victim of too many wars to count. We do God’s work by saving and assigning them a new owner.”
“While still making a pretty penny. Where is the chivalrous knight I once knew? What would Vlad the Impaler, whose name you represent, say to such unscrupulous behavior?”
“The world might’ve chosen his name, but I am the true vampire,” he bellowed. “I am Gabriel the Immortal, First of His Kind, King of the Undead, Ruler of The Other Realm.” He stood as anger seethed from his body.
“You might be a true vampire, but you have yet to step in the shoes of Vlad the Impaler.”
His eyes turned a fiery silver as his rage continued to spread through his body.
