Asteria was on the wrong continent. She should’ve known better than to let Hines plan all of this on his own. While it made sense to her that she should know as little as possible for fear that the stupid girl would somehow discover what they were up to, if they could shield their location, she could shield her thoughts. Now, out of precaution, she’d miss out on Cadence Findley’s capture. The thought sickened her.
“Listen, it’s not all that bad,” Hines assured her. “We’ll simply have them bring her to us.”
“Do you not recall what happened the last time she was taken prisoner?” Asteria hadn’t been around for that, but she’d heard the stories. Instead of destroying her when he had the chance, Giovani had been foolish enough to try to move her. Of course, she’d escaped, and he’d ended up dead. “No, I am not going to order them to take her hostage when they can end her. I’ll just have to watch through their thoughts.” She folded her arms, her bottom lip protruding.
“Your Majesty,” Hines began with a sigh, sounding more like his old self, “again, I apologize for insisting you stay here until the Guardians were securely removed from the equation, but it is better this way. Are you certain you don’t want to wait? It isn’t as if they’ll be back anytime soon. By the time Aaron McReynolds emerges from the portal, Cadence will likely be dead from old age.” Asteria glared at him, and he began to back pedal. “I mean... if she somehow manages to thwart us again.”
It wasn’t good enough. She hissed in his direction. It was obvious what he was trying to say. Those particular Guardians were gone, and since they were the ones who meant the most to Cadence, the ones most familiar with protecting the Hunter Leader, she would be off balance right now. That was why Asteria wanted to strike at her first opportunity. While what Hines said was true, there was no pressing reason to rush to end her due to the fact that the Guardian may be back shortly, given the opportunity to regroup, Cadence and her sister would find a way. No, they needed to disappear—sooner rather than later.
“How many?”
His bushy eyebrows raised in confusion before understood what she was asking. He said, “Oh, uh, forty-five, I believe, at last count. Your call was answered by nearly every Vampire that stuck around after the Eidolon Festival. Some had already left, afraid they may also be captured like the prisoners LIGHTS still holds. Many lingered or already lived in the vicinity. It should be adequate. I doubt she’ll be expecting it as she’d likely still trying to figure out what’s transpired.”
Asteria couldn’t help the guffaw that escaped her throat. “You can’t be serious. You honestly think she doesn’t know exactly what happened? She may be a baby, but she has others working for her. They’ll know.” Asteria longed to push into the thoughts of the Guardians she’d accessed before to help Hines with his failed concoction, the plan meant to change Guardians into humans so they could be killed. But invading their thoughts now could be a double-edged sword. It could potentially open herself up to detection by Cassidy, and she was certain the teen would be searching overtime for her now. If only there was a way she could take one of those Guardians away with her so she could interrogate him the way that Cadence’s team had likely spent their day questioning Dr. Stewart, who knew nothing of significance. She’d love to know if LIGHTS had even deciphered where their friends had disappeared to. Hines assumed they had not, but Asteria thought otherwise.
“And you’re sure there’s no way this portal can be opened again until the next Blood Moon, correct?” she asked for the thousandth time. “And that’s next year?”
“Yes, I’m certain,” Hines replied with a nod. “Stewart studied the book thoroughly. His knowledge of the portal and ability to read the ancient manuscript were precisely my reasons for bringing him aboard.”
“Your reasons for bringing him aboard were because he happened to be in possession of one of the only three copies of the book, Hines. I’m no fool. If it had been in a library in Siberia, you wouldn’t have called in Hamish Stewart to help us.”
He made a slow jerking motion with his head as he tried to decide whether or not to tell her she was right. He didn’t have to. She already knew.
“We need to assume that LIGHTS has the other copy,” she continued. “And we need to assume they have someone who can read it.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true,” Hines acquiesced sinking into a chair across from hers. The curtains were pulled tight, only letting in a sliver of light which left a line of pale yellow down his otherwise sallow face. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s called the Blood Moon Portal for a reason, Highness. If it could be opened at will, I’m certain it would be called something different.”
His reasoning made sense—to a degree. She wasn’t convinced. “It has no other names?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
She went back over everything he’d told her about the history of the portal. Something wasn’t adding up. “I thought you told me the Vampires used it as a shortcut, to travel from one area to another quickly.”
“Yes, that was its purpose before they were forbidden from using it anymore.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense.” She flicked her long red hair back over her shoulder with her talon-like nails. “How can waiting a year be quick?”
Hines began to stammer. “Well... compared to traveling back then. By boat, of course... there were certain places the portal would open that would be quicker....”
“How did they direct the portal where to open from the inside? Were there Vampires waiting with hand mirrors and buckets of water all over the world, just in case other Vampires meant to come through?”
Again, Hines had no answer. “No, I suppose not.”
Asteria sat up straight. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through completely, Hines. Are you certain it will not open again until next year—or not?”
“Yes, I’m certain.” His voice betrayed him, though. He wasn’t exactly sure of himself. “I asked Stewart those specific questions. Perhaps the book details an account of what privileges were taken from the Vampires. Maybe the rules changed. It’s possible... I guess... that earlier, they were allowed to open it somehow. But he said....”
“I don’t care what he said!” Asteria shrieked. “You find out! You get your copy of the book, and you find someone who can interpret it. To you. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Hines’s voice was trembling as he ducked his head and got out of the chair.
“In the meantime, you tell those minions they need to get rid of the Findley sisters. If this is another one of your shenanigans, Hines, and McReynolds and his bastard friends are about to reappear in a night or two, you can be certain they will be coming for us. And if that’s the case, you can kiss your ass goodbye! I’m no longer going to be using my powers to protect you if you fail me one more time!” If she had any blood in her body, it would be boiling. He stood, quaking, staring at her, before ducking out of the room to do as she’d ordered.
Asteria turned her attention back to the shaded window, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. It was moments like this when she wished she could go back to when she’d first stepped through the Blue Moon Portal and make different choices. She and Perses should be on an island somewhere, enjoying the tourists. Instead, she was trapped in this hovel, her lover gone, their demonic baby separated from his mother, and her queendom crumbled around her.
All of this was coming to a head now. She could feel it. Either the Findley sisters would die that night, or Asteria was coming for them. If she wanted it done right, she’d do it herself—before they had a chance to rescue their beloved Guardians or even realize what had hit them. A surge of power electrified her body as she thought of all the wicked ways she could end them, and despite the fact that she was quite certain Hines had messed up again, Asteria smiled, picturing the Findley girls’ battered, broken bodies.
