Daniel

Three months.

She'd been gone for three months and I was barely hanging on. I barely slept, couldn't run the day-to-day of the company, let alone handle the damn kingdom. All I did was obsess about her. I slammed the book shut, then threw my bourbon glass against the wall. Garen came rushing in. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Not a damn thing is happening and I can't take it anymore!" I screamed. His shoulders dropped, his grief apparent.

"You know, you two look like death."

I froze, then slowly lifted my eyes. I heard Garen's strangled cry behind me as I fell to my knees, glass biting into my skin. "Ren?"

"Sort of. Oh, Daniel, please, get off your knees. By the looks of you, neither of you has any blood to spare. I'm so sorry," she said. It was then I realized her image was wavering as she seemed to hover before us. "We need to talk, and I don't have long."

"Tell us where you are, we can be there in moments," I demanded.

Her expression fell. "Love, not even you can break the barrier to Faire. You already know where I am and more importantly, you know what I am."

"Are...are you leaving us?" Garen choked out. His question voiced my fears.

She sighed, "Now isn't the time for that conversation. There is too much to learn. Too much to do. Please listen to me. I can't stay long. This is a lot harder than it looks, you know. Now, Daniel, you need to investigate any members of the Council who were serving when your father reigned. Apparently, he learned about a prophecy here and ordered my mother and I to be killed." I felt all the breath leave my lungs. Even from the grave, that bastard was meddling in my life. "If I'm not mistaken, your mother and Drake were trying to finish the plan from what I've learned."

"Are you safe where you're at?" I asked. "How else can we help?"

She scanned the room, her eyes landing on the original tome Susan had shown us. With a flick of her fingers, the pages began to fly open, finally settling on a section that told of her visions. "You start here. Figure out what has happened, and what is still to come. That includes the ones that will be appearing."

"Will be appearing? What is happening, Serenity?" Garen growled. "What are they doing to you?"

She laughed, "They aren't doing anything to me yet. For now, Danu is lifting the veil so that I can regain my powers and learn. Once that ends, I don't know. She claims she will allow me to make my declaration, but I'm not sure how much I trust her. Then again, my Father is another matter altogether."

"I thought your father was dead?" I asked.

"No, that was a false memory as I'm sure you know. He was my mother's servant. My loves, I'm sorry to drop a bombshell and run, but you should know I'm not just elven - I'm the Princess. My brother, Asher currently holds the throne, but my Father is still playing the long game and is not to be underestimated or ignored. He hates vampires and would see me dead or turned into a magical conduit to prevent our bond. I know Ash doesn't want that, but I'm not sure he can stand up to Father if push comes to shove."

She took a step closer, her hand ghosting across my cheek. "I love you, Daniel. I do not blame you for the actions of your parents. Please try to get some sleep soon." Her lips pressed against mine a mixture of cold and electricity filling me. As if I'd drank a gallon of blood, my energy renewed. She gave me a sly wink, then turned to Garen. "You, my love, need to take care of yourself too. He's a big boy and can deal with his own matters. I need you to sleep too. Oh, and do me a favor, write down what happened the day you rescued me from Drake and place it in the tome. I need to find something out and you, love, are the key." Serenity then kissed him as she had me and I could see his energy renewed as well. "Be safe," she whispered, then vanished.

A choked sob wracked my chest as I touched my lips. "She's alive."

"She loves us," Garen added. We sat in stunned silence for a few moments longer before he laughed, his fingers tracing along his lips, "Guess that answers the question of how powerful too."

Taking a moment to evaluate my own body, I realized just how correct he was. I could still feel her lips on mine, her hand on my face. But the energy humming through my body was beyond anything I'd ever experienced. In all my four hundred years, not even the beast within me had tasted that level of power. "Why do you think she asked about the day we found her with my mother?"

"I don't know. It was a mess. It was also the day I realized I couldn't walk away from her. If you hadn't started that fire, I would have stayed until I killed myself along with them," he answered.

"Huh, I thought you started the fire? I don't even have that kind of power," I muttered.

"I've never been able to control fire," he gaped. "Do you think she did it without even knowing?"

"I'm beginning to think so. Maybe she's thinking the same thing and that's why she wants you to write it down. Matter of fact, I think we both need to start working on those prophecies and the Council. Should we tell Matt and Susan?"

He mused for a moment, "Yeah, we can trust them. Matt has better contacts in the ranks. They might talk to him whereas they might think we are trying to set a trap." He was right. For us to ask questions, could be perceived as interrogations. That might cause traitors to alert their superiors and cause even more chaos. Matt could make inroads we couldn't. For him, it would just be a casual conversation.

****

Turns out Garen was more than right to have Matt take the lead on the Council investigations. Apparently, the soldiers were complete gossips, and in a matter of days, we had a clear division on who was completely untrustworthy. Additionally, Susan with her organization skills had created walls of timelines within our offices where we placed the various visions Serenity had seen. Susan had also broken down the fates' prophecy along the timeline. So far there are about a dozen that have yet to come true. It's crazy the things she'd seen about us. It was also heartbreaking. She foretold of the demon that would seek out my father and of the madness that would overtake him. We learned that Drake was a direct descendant of that same demon clan. While it's unclear if he fully realized who she was, we all agree it was part of his need to corrupt her.

"Daniel!" Susan yelled as I came running into the room. "Look!" she pointed to the open book. We stood spellbound as words began magically appearing on the page another page appeared almost instantly filling up, and then another. I knew Serenity said there would be more to come, but this was crazy.