A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Prince and the Princess Part 7

Talia closed her eyes and nodded. She looked at me and her eyes glowed. I saw her little hands ball into fists. She was angry.

“Did Petra ever tell you why she took Alyssa?” She asked.

“Yes. Because Petra wanted to see if Alyssa’s blood would make her children evolve faster. She could smell some sort of powerful magic in Alyssa. She wanted that power for herself. Our relationship be damned. That’s why I need to figure out a way to cover her scent. I won’t risk another vampire hurting her like that.” I answered.

“What happened after? I’m sure Petra was out for revenge after her entire household was killed.”

“She went running to Dark. He brought her with him to my home and was going to punish me, but Noddens stepped forward and said a hunt was called when they got word from a fae that a spring spirit was taken by vampires. They told him they were staying with me in case someone tried to take revenge against the wrong party. They took the blame for all the kills and said it was retribution from the fae. Dark couldn’t punish me. I banished Petra from my territory.” I replied.

“I remember. That Solstice he whispered something to you. The way you looked at him was with such anger and despair. That was when I decided I would become your friend one day. None of us hated our sires, but I could see the hatred in your eyes whenever I saw you talking to Dark.” Talia said softly.

“It took five years of hard work and research to figure out how to get the gate to open for me. Something about the magic in the blood of Sun’s descendants lets me enter the portal. I can stay here until it’s fully digested. It’s why I need so much of it. The more I drink, the longer I stay with them.”

Talia took a few steps toward me. I was still on my guard. I wouldn’t let someone else hurt Alyssa. She wouldn’t get past me.

She stopped a couple feet away and looked me up and down. I was ready for any attack. I was fully prepared to kill another member of the High Council. No one would ever figure out what happened to her. I’d call on Noddens to hide her body somewhere desolate where the sun could take it.

“I did not smell any sort of interesting power on Alyssa. Only the sweetness of the fae. I am not interested in the blood of your Solus Amor. Instead, I’d like to offer my assistance in trying to find something to keep her scent from those who would harm her. I can come here to test options.” Talia offered.

“Why would you offer that? So I’ll let my guard down and let you live?” I scoffed.

“Phoebe, you have known me… really known me… for five thousand years. Am I ever nefarious? Everyone knows I’m a plain dealing woman. I don’t play games. I don’t scheme. I don’t care for most of the backbiting involved in vampire politics. I’m crude and forward and utterly unvampirelike.” She sighed.

Talia had a point. She and Felix were considered the rudest of vampires. He for being introverted and disinterested in politeness. Her for being antagonistic and straightforward.

She had always treated me with true kindness. Her Solus Amor made me gifts for holidays. Talia invited me to important events in her life. She never expected anything from me and told me it wasn’t a party unless I was there.

Even in her kindest times, Petra had been selfish. If she gave a gift, she expected a gift in return of equal or greater value. If she helped with anything, she expected to be paid for it.

It hadn’t taken me long after taking back Alyssa to realize Petra had never been my friend. The realization made me feel cold. I stopped thinking about relationships with other vampires. Stopped trying to connect with them.

I ruled my territory, made new vampires, and focused on trying to find something to bring my loves back to me. When Dark decided to end his life, he called me to his home. He had the nerve to ask me when I stopped loving him and how he could fix it, since it was his greatest regret.

He didn’t even remember telling me to abandon Alyssa. He didn’t remember ordering me not to kill Petra or practically saying I deserved to have my Solus Amor taken from me. I told him to die regretting it. I had no forgiveness in my heart for him.

“You truly intend to help me? You aren’t playing me false just to save your life?” I asked.

“It’s okay, Phoebe. You don’t know how to trust me. I get it. Petra caused a wound in you that never healed. Think of Echo. If Victor had been raised by someone like Petra, he would never have agreed to share her with Gray. He would have killed Gray. He wouldn’t have cared for Echo and wouldn’t have waited for her when he started feeling attracted to her. The draw of her scent would have had any of Petra’s children bedding and bleeding her within the first night.” Talia told me with an urging tone.

All of Talia’s children were well-mannered. We got remarkably few complaints about any of her descendants. She had a point. She couldn’t have raised so many well-behaved vampires if she were anything like Petra.

“I’ll accept your offer, Talia. Please don’t make me regret it.” I said softly.

“Thank you, Phoebe. I’ll wait right here if you want to get some clothes on. Not that I’m opposed to looking at you. Your body is amazing and I love the flowers and vines.” She giggled.

“It’s my mark. I love them, too. I’ll be right back. If I come back and you’re not here, I’ll hunt you down and kill you. Keldan and Alyssa are in a place even you can’t go. Nothing that isn’t entirely fae can cross the threshold.” I warned her.

“On the honor of my sire, I will not move from this spot.” Talia promised.

That was easy enough to accept. Her sire was very honorable. Moon only turned people who were near death. He didn’t like the idea of stealing someone’s life from them. Talia had taken that habit up herself. I started doing it as well, once I broke from Dark.

Quickly, I ran off to where my dress was hanging and pulled it on before rushing back. Talia was right where I left her. She was sitting on the ground with her face to the sun. Like a child pretending to be a sunflower.

She turned to me when she heard me approach. A smile spread across her face and she stood. It was the first time someone from the High Council had seen me in a dress since before I was marked by Keldan and Alyssa. I started hiding my marks as soon as I returned from Petra’s territory.

“I recognize my Solus Amor’s handy work. She was right in her last letter. This dress truly does suit you.”

“Is the dress how you tracked me?” I asked.

Talia smiled coyly. “You know I can follow anything my Solus Amor makes. Normally, on this night, I just end up in your closet. This was meant to be, Phoebe.”

“You’ve been hoping I’d wear one of these dresses for the last fifty years! I can’t believe you. And dragging Zendaya into it.” I scolded.

“Whose idea do you think it was?” She laughed. “We’ve been very worried about you. While you were gone I started making a list of who I could get involved in this. Who have you talked with?”

“Some members of the wild hunt. A few other fae. A couple of vampires who were planning to meet the sun and had no connection to Petra or her bloodline. A couple witches.” I told her.

“I thought as much. I’ll get some older witches on this, some powerful shapeshifters like Bellamy, Stanton, and Lucien. We’ll pull Felix and Lila in on it as well. If we hit a dead end, I’ll see if we can work something up with Echo and her siblings. The supernatural triad hasn’t matured yet. They’re still learning, but I feel like they could be the answer.” Talia said as she rubbed her chin.

“Not Felix or Lila. I’m okay with Echo as long as she doesn’t say anything to Marius. I don’t want any living vampires to know about this. Felix is busy with his own Solus Amor issue.” I insisted.

“Lila doesn’t tell Marius everything. She may ask for some sort of p*****t, but I think her experience and knowledge will be useful. As for Felix, I should be able to bring him with me to do tests. I’m betting they just smell sweet to most vampires. Petra’s bloodline is ghoulish. I think the scent of rebirth magic calls to them more because they look more like corpses than most of us. The other lines like that will have the same reaction to the power in Alyssa’s blood. Keldan’s magic is the vibrancy of life. I’ll bet his blood will call to another type of vampire. We need to protect them both.”

It had only taken me a couple minutes to get dressed and come back. She was already thinking of so many different options and why they would and wouldn’t work. She was already considering things I hadn’t thought of.

Talia’s mind was something else. Maybe it was that she wasn’t as close to the problem as I was. No matter how many years went by, I was still emotionally attached to the outcome. It could be that I wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Come to the house. I’ll go get Alyssa and Keldan. They should be involved in this conversation.”

“Are you sure? I can stay out here. The sun doesn’t feel as harsh as it normally does.” Talia answered.

“I’m inviting you into the home I share with them one night a year. It’s not an offer I extend often. If you prefer the sunshine, we can meet outside, but I want them with us.” I replied.

“Sure. If you trust me enough, I would be silly not to accept.” She smiled.

We went to the house. I left her in the living room while I went to the safe room. When I came to see them the first time, they showed me the house they’d built and this room. It ensured no vampires could get in, they wanted to have a totally safe place.