Chapter 4

"He's full of it," I snapped as Julian's fleshy body followed me back to my room. With one sweep of my arm, I sent a waterfall of delicate artifacts and finely painted vases shattering on the marble floor. I sat on the chair by the vanity table and tried to catch my breath. Was Grismal right? After all, Allison, Sallen, and Julian had all ended up here. Did I believe I was different? Black Waters had infected me more thoroughly and completely than any of them had ever been.

I was going to belong to Grismal sooner or later. It was a certainty.

"We were all destined to up here," a familiar voice said.

"What?" I glanced up in alarm. Julian was talking to me. He was no longer some mindless ghoul who was blindly following the commands of his master. He was wiping Grismal's boot dust from his cheek now. Strangely the smear of dirt made him more handsome than all the designer outfits ever did. The mangled old cloak with its holes and threadbare edges suited him. Even among Maglania's Princes, Julian was the crown diamond among all her stunningly alluring vampires. Looking at Julian now, it was easy to forget the grievances of the past and be reminded of what it was like to be young again. He had died in his late twenties, but I was now a forty years old woman. Time had stopped for him, but it had brought strands of white into my hair and lines to my face.

Looking into our reflection in a nearby gilded mirror, it was hard to believe we had once danced at the same grand balls. It was even harder to imagine a time when Blake and I had both been young enough to view Julian as the oldest and wisest among the three of us.

Perhaps, that was another reason I didn't want Grismal to drag Sallen and Allison back from the depths. I didn't know when Allison had died, but I knew Sallen died young. In my vanity, I couldn't bear to sit beside them and look old enough to be their mother.

"Isn't it obvious? Surely you didn't think all those riches you enjoyed as Mrs. Thorne were free." Julian asked and paced about the doorway to my room. He looked nervous, crossing his arms over his chest and then uncrossing them. Finally, Julian decided to lean against the doorframe, with half of his torso facing the hallway as though he might sprint away at any second. Was he afraid of me? Or was he on the lookout for his master, Grismal?

Julian was only glancing at me from the corner of his eyes now. He was rubbing his chin with the crook of his index finger like he used to do when he was thinking.

"Except Blake, of course. Orienne won't let her dear son wander like a ghoul around Mearnox at the mercy of her ferociously jealous, much less beloved older child. Grismal might be the Lord of the Damned, but he's not even a speck of dust in his dear mommy's eyes."

"Did you always know Odelia was a goddess?" I asked. We could finally speak to each in peace now. If Grismal had been listening, he would surely have arrived and nailed Julian to the cavern walls by the balls for saying such a thing about Orienne.

"No," Julian replied and chuckled to himself. "No, I should have guessed. It all makes sense now. It was why even Maglania was afraid of him. It was more than just her friendship with his mother. It was because his mother was the leader of Levanti and the creator of the Sarastri, all wrapped in one neat, pretty, blonde package."

"I see," I replied and sighed. I shouldn't have smashed the vases. I didn't want Grismal to think I was completely unhinged. Although, any woman who had been trapped inside the soul of a dragon for twenty years could hardly be expected to be any saner.

"I'm surprised you picked me out of the three of us. I suspect you didn't do it out of the goodness of your black Balan heart."

I scuffed at his words but didn't say anything further. I had my reasons, none of which I wanted t share with the likes of Julian Namura. From now on, he would diverge his secrets, and I would give him none of mine. At least, when he died, I saw him as the snake that he always was.

"You're probably wondering why I seem different from the other see-through mannequins here."

"Not really. I didn't notice a difference, but I suspect you're dying to tell me," I replied sarcastically.

Death hadn't made Julian any less chatty. I noticed he had a funny habit of nodding when I spoke. I recalled he did the same thing to Maglania, lowered his head a little in deference as though he was listening to his elders. It made me want to strangle him. I wasn't his elder. He was at least half a decade older than Blake, who was always a whole three years older than me. Julian was looking at me like he was addressing an aunt or mother figure.

"I met an interesting young man a while back," Julian wasn't looking out the doorway anymore. Now he was staring into my eyes as though he was carefully scanning me for any hint of a reaction. "First of all, Melody, before I go any further, I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I had nothing to do with my meeting with that man. He was the one who found me, who spoke to me. Am I allowed to continue?"

"Yes," I replied slowly, carefully. I hadn't completely put together the pieces yet of whom Julian was speaking of. I could tell by his defense posture that I wasn't going to like what he was about to say. I motioned with my hand for him to continue speaking. Whatever it was that he was revealing, it had happened already, and I would rather know about it than stop him from speaking.

"The young man who spoke to me was your son Sebastian. He goes by Ian these days, doesn't he?"

"What!? I yelled and slammed my palm down on the table. The last remaining candle holder sitting at the edge of it fell off with a loud clang. I waved my hand over it to put out the flames. At least with my power over fire elements, it only took a minimal effort to keep this palace from burning down. What a rude guest I would be if I immediately set fire to my room. "How dare you!"

Julian raised his hands as though to ward off the fireballs I was prepared to throw at him,

"You drew a piece of my soul into that dagger when you killed me. There was a vacuum in it when Vilaris was drawn into your body. Ian found the dagger and returned Vilaris to his rightful home. But, when he did so, he also freed me from its depths."

"What happened then?" I asked, as calmly as I could pretend to be. How dare Julian speak to my son, Sebastian? Especially when I had never spoken to my son. My son had avoided me all these years. I had barely seen a clear picture of him, yet this murderer and betrayer had become friends with my son.

"He restored my soul to its whole form. He's a healer, that one, but you know that already. You're his mother. Then, he asked me to look after you and Blake. We had a deal. I help you, and I would pay back a favor."

I scoffed.

"I won't allow it. Pretend to help us if you must, but you will not become friends with my son."

"Have it your way. This is a deal I made with your son. Perhaps, if you want to reconcile with him, you must be less of a frigid vengeful bitch."

"You were the reason I was trapped inside a dragon for twenty years, why my husband lost his mind. YOU were the reason Sebastian was taken from us. How dare you suggest that I owe you forgiveness?" I stormed up to Julian and glared. My palms were burning with rage now. With one flick, I could light him up like a human torch. But that would send him back to the forest outside of the palace with the rest of the spirits. No, that was to kind of a fate for the likes of him.

"I could scream and send Grismal running. I could tell him about the deals you've been dabbling in behind his back. Maybe he'll feed you to the serpents in his lake slowly, piece by piece, and let me watch."

I could tell my threat was worming its way under Julian's skin. His face turned paper white at the thought of Grismal learning about his deal with Sebastian. Yes, Julian was afraid. I didn't even know what my threat meant. Perhaps, I needed to see this lake for myself to find out if it was as awful as Julian's terrified eyes told me it was.

"If you do, perhaps, Ian would know that his parents truly are as awful as Alesandra always told him," Julian hissed out from his clenched teeth. "It's funny that your first impulse is always to kill the bearer of bad news. Any other mother would have asked how her son was doing."

"Don't ever question my love for my children!" I snapped. "I'm here because I was forced to sell my soul to heal my other son. And do you know how Orion ended up in Blake's care? Because you practically handed Orion to Blake on Diremore."

"I see age has made your memory fuzzy, Melody. May I remind you that I was dead when Zuria decided to stab you in the back with that dagger? I was ashes in the wind when Blake showed up and decided to give up his mind to save you instead of going after his children." Julian sighed and threw up his hands. "I wasn't the only one plotting against you. I wasn't even the one most responsible for Ian being raised in Lewisville."

"Don't say his name," I spat and folded my arms over my chest.

"You need me," Julian implored softly. "I'm your only connection to your son now. If the Chairman of Tercel can be allowed an opportunity to clean his hands of Black Waters and to redeem himself, then why can't I be allowed the chance to make things right?"

I laughed again—this time, I did so nervously. Julian knew too much about both Blake and me. He knew how we thought, planned, and, most of all — what we were willing to sacrifice. That made him far too dangerous to have fallen into Grismal's hands. But he was right about one thing. He had the information that I needed. If trusting him meant I could communicate with my son, then perhaps it was a risk I would have to take.

"What's Ian like?"

"He's good," Julian answered without hesitation. "He only wants to do what is right. He is so very unlike either of his parents."

"He needs to stay away, far away from here."

"I know," Julian replied. "You know as well as I that Ian and Grismal can never meet. Not if you want to save your son."