Part One: The Escape

CHAPTER I

The sound of dancing and violins reverberated up the stairs and through my bedroom door as Catherine carefully combed my hair away from my face. She was gentle as she grabbed the brown strands, and she hummed a soft tune under her breath.

"All of the nobles of Luxtera are here," she murmured. I tensed and sucked a breath in through my nose. They were here, for me, to watch me transition into an eternal and join the royal family of Luxtera. In under an hour, I would become a Stuart. I gulped. It was the price I had to pay for what I wanted.

When she finished with the final strand, she placed her hands on my shoulders and squeezed gently. Her breath was cold against my ear. "You will do wonderfully. You have been preparing for this your entire life."

For as long as I could I remember, I wanted to become an eternal, a being with an extended life and magical gifts aided by their necessity to drink blood. I nodded. "I know, mother."

If it wasn't enough that I had been peculiarly adopted by the Luxterian royal family, it was even weirder that I was human and adopted by the family. Not as a pet, but as a young, human orphan. To me Catherine Stuart and the rest of her family were my own. The Stuarts had raised me as one of their own. Most humans would say I was living a life of luxury and was blessed.

Despite all this, it didn't stop the nagging in the back of my mind that I was about to walk into a slaughter. A party for me, where I was the closest thing to a meal.

She walked in front of me and handed me a mirror to inspect the work she had done. I lifted it and tilted my head to the side before sitting the mirror down on the table beside me. Looking at my reflection terrified me. I didn't want to think of my irises lining with white after the change or how my skin would smooth over. Instead, I offered her a sheepish smile. "Thanks."

She picked up her mask from the table and tied it over her face. White feathers covered her cheeks and forehead, blending into her white-blond hair. Red lipstick coated her lips, one of the few colors that graced her. A long, white dress with lace covered her frame. She truly did look like an eternal queen.

"I'll see you outside," she said as she left the room.

I stood from my seat and smoothed my hands over the front of my dress. It was an off shade of white, closer to a pale pink, with little red beads covering the entire dress at random intervals. It felt tight around my center, so I moved carefully to the vanity mirror in the corner of my room as I picked up my own mask. It was red an intricate red lace that covered my eyes and brows.

"You ready?" A feminine voice spoke from behind me. I startled at the sudden appearance. After living with eternals my entire life, I would have thought I'd become accustomed to their silent footsteps.

Gripping my ornate mask in my hand, I turned to face Morgan. Her blond hair was slicked back, and she had her own mask pushed to the top of her head, revealing her soft features. She wore a striking red dress, which clung to her figure and exposed her legs in two long slits up the side. Though I considered all of the Stuarts family, Morgan was the closest I had ever gotten to any of them.

"I think so," I said.

She opened her lips to speak, but before words came from her lips, her eyes widened and became distant. I gritted my teeth and peered around her, making sure no one walked the hall outside. I had seen that look on her face many times, and as the edges of her irises began to turn white, I knew for certain she was having a vision.

The white spread across her blue eyes until it completely engulfed her iris. Her lids fluttered, casting dark shadows across her cheeks as her long lashes moved. The bottom of her eyes rimmed red where blood mixed with her tears. I knew better than to touch her or move her. Having a vision was a delicate thing.

She stood taller than me, and when her head snapped toward mine, I gulped. Her lips parted as she began to murmur. "The battle begins. The Shadow breaks through, and Light will bend. Moon breaks through, shattering. Binding. Binding. Blood for blood, blood in blood. Blood is power. Truth will reign. Run, run."

Blinking twice, the white seeped away from her gaze and color returned. She lifted her hand and wiped away the bloody tears. "Shit," she cursed under her breath. "It wasn't supposed to happen tonight."

I faltered. "Tonight?" I had no idea what her broken words meant. It was rare any of her visions made any sense. She was visibly shaken as she looked frantically behind her.

"Did anyone hear?" She quickly asked. At her side, one of her hands balled into a fist. I shook my head in confirmation. She grabbed my mask from my hands and spun me around as she began strapping it over my head in a rush. Her voice was hushed. "Do not go through with the transition tonight. We'll get you out."

With the mask tied securely around my head, I faced her again. "What?" I had been training for this night for as long as I could remember. She had been helping me train for this night! Now all of a sudden she didn't want it to happen?

She opened her mouth to explain, but three raps at the doorframe stopped her.

My brother, Zachariah, stood waiting. "It's time." His own black lace mask was already fastened around his head. His suit was black and had a tailcoat outlined with delicate golden thread.

I stared at Morgan and waited for her to say something more. She gave me a look, and I knew not to ask anything else. She stared at me a moment longer before she passed through the doorway and into the hall. She pulled her red velvet mask over her eyes. She left me shaken and confused. I tried to piece together her words, but none of it made sense. I knew in old terms the Stuarts were known as the coven of Light, but the Shadow and Grey covens had been destroyed centuries ago.

I didn't want to know what her words meant, but the way her voice had snapped through my mind, I knew I couldn't ignore her.

Zachariah held his arm out to me, and I tucked my hand under his elbow as he lead me from my room. The velvet on his jacket was soft against my hand, and I tried to focus on that instead of the hammering in my chest. He lead me toward the large staircase where the rest of the Stuarts stood and waited to make a grand entrance.

Morgan was visibly shaken. Her hand remained in a fist at her side. But for what? What is going on?

Catherine and Jonathan smiled at me as I reached them. Morgan kept her head toward the stairs. Jonathan's hair was a vibrant red, a striking difference from his wife and children. A mask of black feathers covered his face.

We wore many masks, but I wondered if they wore more masks than just the delicate ones that covered their eyes. Had they been hiding something else? Morgan's words echoed in my mind, and it took everything in me to stop myself from demanding answers.

Before I could protest further, Catherine and Jonathan started down the stairs. Morgan stole one look at me before she followed behind them. She rolled her shoulders back, but the muscles on her exposed back still appeared just as tense. Zachariah paused at the top of the staircase, waiting for the three of them to reach the midpoint before he started leading me downward.

I didn't realize how hard I had been holding onto him. "You'll be fine," he whispered. He nudged me once with his elbow, and a smile cracked at the corner of his lips.

I wanted to believe him, yet as the crowd grew louder and my heart hammered harder in my chest, I couldn't shake how I was feeling. I was a lamb in the lions den. Beneath us, the manor's main hall stretched out into a large ballroom. Huge windows covered one wall, revealing the long, green lawn outside. The domed ceiling had a large skylight, which was outlined with intricate stained glass. Beyond the glass, stars glittered above.

Jonathan clapped his hands together, and the room grew eerily quiet. The violins stopped abruptly and everyone who had been dancing turned to face their king. I rolled my shoulders back as I became aware of the eyes turning toward me.

"Tonight is a celebration," Jonathan started. "A hundred years ago, Luxtera ended the war with Myrkria. Light overcame Shadow! Just as we have overcome such a feat, my daughter will overcome the transition when the moon eclipses." He raised his hand toward the ceiling, where a large, circular skylight allowed stars to illuminate the room.

I couldn't help but freeze at his words. His mention of the old war was oddly timed with Morgan's vision.

A woman walked toward him with glasses of red wine sitting atop a plate. She bowed her head as she handed one to him. He lifted it in the air and toasted. "So celebrate!" He took a long drink of the liquid and sat it back on the woman's tray. He clapped his hands again, and the room returned to the reverie.

A labored breath escaped my lips. A breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Zachariah escorted me down the remaining steps and gave me a sarcastic bow as he wagged his eyebrows. "Be good, Siggi."

I frowned as he escaped into the crowd, leaving me alone in the room of monsters. I snorted at my own thoughts. Soon enough I'd be a monster, too. The moon was only at the edge of the skylight, so I had awhile until the ritual began. Folding my hands behind my back, I rubbed my thumb over my palm.

Scanning the crowd, I spotted Morgan cross armed near one of the large windows. She was whispering frantically to a man with wild dark hair. It was in a long braid at his back, but a few strands had escaped. His face was covered by a black mask, but I couldn't make out the shape from this far away. Furs covered his shoulders, which was totally out of place, because Luxtera was so warm.

Something didn't feel right in the way his dark eyes looked over the room, before they landed on me. Under the dim lights, the edges of his irises glinted red. Impossible. He stepped through the crowd and walked toward me, and behind him Morgan disappeared into the rest of the crowd. His strides were long but distinct, and when he stopped in front of me, he bowed his head.

His lips quirked into a smirk. "May I have this dance?" His voice was soft, but there was an urgency. I searched for Morgan, but she was no where to be found. Why had she been talking to this peculiar man? He held his hand out toward me, which revealed careful tattoos covering his fingers and crawling up his forearm, before disappearing under the fur on his shoulders.

Being this close to him I could see now that his black mask looked like black petals that had been ripped away from a rose.

I wanted to run, but instead I took his hand into mine and nodded. He lead me to the center of the crowd, directly under the skylight. Above us, the moon was almost fully in the center. Against my skin, his pale white hands were warm. Under closer inspection, I could see I was right about his eyes. Red tinged the edges of his irises, much like white did the Stuarts when they were their strongest. I had only heard of red lines in stories about the Myrkians.

"Morgan warned you?" He whispered against my ear as he pulled me close on the dance floor. The music was so loud and the others dancing around us were so focused, I knew they wouldn't hear his soft voice. "Catherine will attempt to start the ritual early. They've lied to you." His voice had a hint of an accent I couldn't quite figure out.

He leaned back and met my gaze. His words matched up with Morgan's vision, but I had no idea what I had to do with any of it.

"Who are you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"A friend," he said simply. "Names have a lot of power."

I pursed my lips. "Why should I deny the transition?"

"Once you go through with it, you cannot go back." He looked up toward the sky. "And then your power will be gone."

"My power?"

He spun me, and my back was against his chest. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. I was too close, but I couldn't run. Not yet. "All blood has power. Myrkria is not gone, and Luxtera will do whatever it can to destroy everything in it's path, including the humans in its land." He was silent for a moment. "It is an equinox and an eclipse, two of the strongest nights for magic, and yet they've decided to use it on you."

Nothing and everything he said made sense. Why had the Stuarts taken me into their home? His words kept matching up with Morgan's vision and visions never lied. Her nonsense words had been a warning, but I didn't know what to make of them.

"They won't force me to go through with it," I replied. They were my family, and they always had been. The transition was my choice, and tonight had been a lucky occurrence. I wouldn't let this man or his weird words sway me.

He turned me back toward him. "Are you sure they will?"

I didn't like the seeds of doubt taking form in the back of my mind. "Yes."

He didn't say anything else as the song ended. He bowed to me, but did not move from the center of the floor.

He turned his head as Jonathan stepped forward, his red hair bright agains the moonlight. He lifted the blade he'd had hanging at his side. "Get out of here, now." He stepped forward and pressed the tip of his blade against the mysterious man's chin.

Instead of cowering away, his smirk etched the edges of his red eyes.

"I was hoping we wouldn't need to do this, but apparently things never change," he said.

I watched in bewilderment as fangs appeared in his haunting smile. He lifted his wrist toward his face and ripped into his own skin. Black blood welled to the surface and covered the thorny tattoo on his arm. I took two steps away from him as power immediately entered the room. As he snapped his wrist away, his blood transformed into a long, whip-like vine filled with thorns. His smile disappeared behind his mask. Only Myrkrian's could bend blood.

The room fell silent as he snapped the thorny whip against the onyx floor.