The fire in the cave was the only sound that could be heard. After the fight all night, everyone had finally gone to sleep. Serenity sat next to Riven and watched as his chest went up and down.
The mate link was like a warm song going between them.
"You need to rest," a voice in the darkness said. Serenity raised her head. Prince Veyric walked into the light of the fire. It looked like moonstone on his pale skin.
"I'm not tired," she told a lie.
"You're tired. I can smell it on you."
"Vampire super senses?"
"Something like that." Veyric sat across from her, careful not to wake the others. "We need to talk."
"About what?"
"About why I really came to find you." Serenity studied his face. In the dim light, he looked younger. More real.
"I thought you wanted my power."
"I do. But not for the reasons you think."
"Then why?" Veyric was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was soft.
"Because I failed her once. I won't fail again."
"Failed who?"
"Your mother." Serenity's heart skipped.
"You really knew her?"
"I loved her." The words hit like a punch. Serenity stared at him.
"What?" "I was young then. Only fifty years old, which is nothing for a vampire. She was nineteen. Beautiful and fierce and completely impossible."
"But she was with my father—"
"Not at first. We met before Aldric ever saw her. In a library, if you can believe that." Despite everything, Serenity smiled.
"She loved books."
"She was studying supernatural bloodlines. I was hiding from vampire politics. We spent months together, reading dusty old books and arguing about ancient history."
"What happened?"
"I fell in love. So did she, I think. But then she met your father." Pain flashed across Veyric's perfect features.
"He could give her things I couldn't. Sunlight. Children. A normal life." "So you let her go?"
"I tried to. But when the killings started, when the Syndicate began hunting mixed couples..." Veyric's hands clenched into fists.
"I should have protected her."
"You tried—"
"I was a coward. I had armies, wealth, power. But I was afraid of starting a war between vampires and dogs."
"What could you have done differently?"
"Everything." Veyric's red eyes burned.
"I could have brought her to my house.
Given her haven. Fought for her instead of hiding in my precious indifference." Serenity felt his pain like an ache in her chest. The sorrow that had eaten at him for twenty-one years.
"She made her choice," Serenity said softly.
"And I let her die for it."
"My father died too. They faced the danger together."
"Your father was brave. Braver than me." They sat in silence, watching the fire dance.
"Is that why you want to help me?" Serenity asked.
"Because I look like her?"
"At first, yes. When I saw you, it was like seeing Lyralei again. Same eyes, same stubborn chin, same way of tilting your head when you're thinking."
"But?" "But you're not her. You're better than she ever was. More determined. She would have run from this fight. You're choosing to face it."
"Maybe I'm just too stupid to run."
"Maybe you're too brave to quit." Veyric leaned forward. In the firelight, his pale skin looked warm, almost human.
"Come with me," he said suddenly.
"What?"
"To my home. Let me train you properly. Teach you to fight, to use political power, to live in a world that wants you dead."
"I have Asha"
"Asha is strong, but she's been hiding for twenty years. I've been ruling for over a century. I know how to play the game."
"What game?" "The game of staying alive when everyone wants to kill you." Serenity looked around the cave. At Riven sleeping peacefully beside her. At Kael curled up near the door. At Asha and Thalia sharing warmth by the dying fire.
"What about them?" "They can come too, if you want. My home has room for everyone."
"Even Kael? I thought vampires and dogs were enemies." "Old hatreds. Stupid biases. Your mother taught me that love means more than species."
"And in return?" "In return, you let me protect you. The way I should have protected her." Serenity felt the weight of his offer. A vampire prince's safety. Resources beyond imagining. Training from someone who'd lived for centuries.
"I need time to think," she said.
"Of course. But don't take too long. Your uncle Marcus won't stay away forever."
"He's not my uncle."
"Asha's brother makes him family, whether you like it or not." Veyric stood gracefully. Even in the dim cave, he moved like water.
"There's something else," he said.
"What?"
"Your mother gave me something before she died. A letter. She made me promise to give it to her daughter if anything happened." Serenity's breath caught.
"A letter? From her?" Veyric reached inside his dark coat and pulled out a sealed letter. The paper was yellowed with age, but her name was clearly written on the front in flowing writing.
"She wrote it the night before the attack. Like she knew..." Serenity took the letter with shaking hands. Her mother's handwriting. Her mother's words, waiting twenty-one years to be read.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Read it when you're alone. Some words are meant for one person only." Veyric started toward the cave entrance, then stopped.
"Serenity?"
"Yes?"
"Whatever that letter says, know this: you're not doomed to repeat your parents' mistakes. You can write your own finish." He vanished into the darkness, silent as shadow. Serenity stared at the letter.
Part of her wanted to tear it open instantly. Part of her was afraid of what it might say.
"Who was that?" a groggy voice asked. She looked up. Kael was awake, his gray eyes alert despite his sleepy voice.
"Prince Veyric. We were just talking."
"About what?" Kael sat up, suddenly more awake.
"Things." "What kind of things?" Serenity heard the edge in his words. The suspicion.
"Family things. He knew my mother."
"I'm sure he did." Kael's tone was flat.
"What did he want?" "To help."
"Help how?"
"Training. Protection. A safe place to stay." Kael was fully awake now. He moved closer, his eyes fixed on her face.
"And what did you tell him?"
"That I'd think about it."
"Think about what, exactly?"
"Going to his home. Learning from him."
"With him." It wasn't a question.
"With all of us," Serenity corrected.
"Right. All of us. In his land. Under his care. Owing him favors."
"It's not like that—" "Isn't it?" Kael's voice rose slightly.
"A vampire prince offers you everything you need, and you're actually considering it?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because vampires don't give gifts without expecting payment."
"Maybe he's different."
"They're never different. They're hunters, Serenity. Beautiful, charming killers who make you think you're special right up until they sink their fangs in."
"You don't know him—"
"I know his name. Veyric the Manipulator. The Prince of Pretty Lies. He's ruined more lives than Marcus ever dreamed of." "That's not fair—"
"Fair?" Kael stood suddenly.
"Fair is you realizing that I'm the one who's been protecting you. I'm the one who offered you refuge first. I'm the one whose curse brought us together."
"Your curse that was designed to trap me," Serenity reminded him coldly. Kael flinched like she'd slapped him.
"That wasn't my fault." "No, but it's still true."
"So now you trust the vampire more than me?"
"I don't trust anyone completely."
"Not even Riven?" Serenity looked at her sleeping mate. The tie between them pulsed with warmth and love. "Riven is different."
"Because he died for you?"
"Because he picked me before he knew what I was. Before he knew about my power or my family. He loved me when I was just a scared little girl."
"And what am I? Someone who only wants to use you?" Serenity met his gray eyes steadily.
"I don't know. Are you?" The question hung in the air like smoke. Kael's face went through a dozen feelings before settling on hurt.
"I thought we were friends," he said softly.
"We are. But friendship doesn't mean I have to choose you over everyone else."
"Even when everyone else might get you killed?"
"Even then. It's my life, Kael. My choice."
"Fine." Kael turned away.
"Choose the vampire. See how that works out for you." He stalked to the far side of the cave and lay down with his back to her. Serenity sighed.
Another relationship damaged by impossible conditions. She looked at the letter again.
Whatever her mother had written, it might hold solutions to questions she didn't even know to ask. Moving carefully to avoid waking Riven, she slipped outside the cave.
The night air was cold and clean. Stars spread across the sky like spilled diamonds. She found a flat rock and sat down, the letter shaking in her hands. Taking a big breath, she broke the wax seal.
The paper unfolded to show several pages of her mother's elegant handwriting.
At the top, a date from twenty-one years ago.
My dearest daughter, If you are reading this, then I am gone and you have grown up without me. I am so sorry. There was so much I wanted to teach you, so many things I wanted to share. By now you know the truth about what you are. Wolf and Fae, power and prophesy. But there are things even Asha doesn't know. Secrets I kept to protect you.
The first secret: you are not the only mix. There are others, hidden across the world.
The Syndicate has been hunting them for ages, but a few always survive. Find them. Unite them. Together, you are strong enough to change everything.
The second secret: your power is not just harmful. It can heal, build, transform. The silver light you carry is the light of creation itself. Do not fear it.
The third secret: the curse linking the supernatural world can be broken, but only by someone who belongs to all races. Someone like you.
The final secret: I loved your father, but my heart belonged to another first. A vampire prince who showed me kindness when no one else would. He will find you one day. When he does, know that love comes in many forms.
Some love protects. Some love owns. Learn the difference. My darling girl, do not let anyone else choose your fate. Not prophecies, not kings, not even the family who loves you.
Your path is yours alone. All my love, Mother Serenity read the letter twice, her heart rushing. Other mixes. Creation magic. A curse that could be broken. And a warning about Veyric that felt more like a gift.
"Interesting reading?" Serenity spun around. Asha stood behind her, wrapped in a thick coat.
"How long have you been there?" "Long enough. What does it say?" Serenity paused, then handed over the letter. Asha read it quickly, her expression getting more troubled with each line.
"Other hybrids," she muttered. "I should have known."
"Did you really not know?" "I suspected. But your parents never told me for certain."
"What about the curse?
The one that can be broken?" "That's new information." Asha folded the letter carefully.
"And dangerous. If the Syndicate hears you might be able to free everyone from the old binding spells..."
"They'll kill me faster." "Or try to control you more desperately." "What old binding spells?"
"The power that keeps supernatural races separated.
That makes us fight each other instead of working together. It's old, woven into the very fabric of our world."
"And I can break it?" "According to your mother, yes."
"How?" "That's what we need to figure out." Asha looked toward the cave opening.
"But first, we need to decide what to do about Prince Veyric's offer."
"What do you think?"
"I think your mother was right to warn you about different kinds of love."
"You think he wants to possess me?" "I think he wants to save you. But his idea of saving might not match yours."
"And Kael?" "Kael wants to save himself. There's nothing wrong with that, but don't confuse his wants with love."
"What about Riven?" Asha smiled.
"Riven just wants you to be happy. That's the greatest kind of love there is." "So I should stay with him?"
"You should do what your heart tells you. But remember what your mother said about choosing your own fate." They walked back toward the cave together. At the entry, Asha paused.
"There's something else
you should know." "What now?" "Prince Veyric isn't the only one who's been watching you. I've had reports of other spiritual leaders taking interest.
The Dragon King of the East.
The Siren Queen of the Western Seas. The Phoenix Lord of the Southern Deserts."
"Why?"
"Because word is spreading that the hybrid child has awoken. The one who might change everything."
"Great. More people who want to use me."
"Or more allies who could help you save your sister." Serenity looked up at the stars.
Somewhere out there, Sable was being turned into a weapon.
Other mutants were hiding in fear. Ancient curses held the magical world in chains. And somewhere in the darkness, powerful beings were choosing whether she was a threat to be destroyed or a tool to be claimed.
"I'm tired of running," she said quietly.
"Good. Because I have a feeling running time is over." They entered the cave.
Everyone else was still asleep, including Kael, who had turned back toward the fire.
But as Serenity settled beside Riven, she noticed something that made her blood freeze. Prince Veyric's scent still stayed in the cave.
But there was another smell too. Something darker.
Something that smelled like dark and hate. Someone else had been here while she was reading her mother's letter.
Someone who now knew every secret the letter held.
The real question was: who?