Chapter 266

Charles

"Eva?" Astarte's shocked whisper hung in the air.

My own gaze darted between Astarte and her daughter then to Lucian. His face was etched with a mixture of concern and apprehension. Eva hesitantly stepped into the room with Ryon by her side.

“Eva?” Astarte rasped again. "That's... That's not possible."

She narrowed her eyes. "Who are you, imposter?"

Eva snarled, flashing her fangs. Her eyes glinted.

"Who the hell are you calling an imposter, lady?"

"How dare you bring this--"

"Astarte," Lucian said, holding up a hand. "Just calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Astarte shrieked, stepping between Eva and the pod. I pulled Grace back behind me as darkness started to gather around her.

Eva darted forward, putting herself between Ryon and Astarte.

"You'd better calm down, lady, or--"

She never finished the sentence. Astarte lunged forward, but before she could reach Eva, a shimmering barrier materialized in the air, stopping her dead in her tracks. Astarte broke through it and conjured a spear of darkness.

I pulled Grace out of the way. Lucian grabbed Ryon as Eva lunged forward, conjuring a set of sword and shield of darkness and blocked Astarte. A gasp escaped Eva’s lips as the weapons cut through one another, completely harmless.

Astarte stumbled back, her breath coming out in panicked breaths. Eva was on the defensive.

"What the-- Who the hell are you?"

"Evania," Astarte said, her eyes filled with tears as she stared at Eva.

Eva flinched, frowning. "What... What did you--How did you do that?"

Astarte's lips trembled and she stepped closer, holding out her hand. Darkness gathered around it. Eva drew up her hand, covered in its own flickering darkness and Astarte caught her hand as Eva tried to strike her. For a moment, the room held its breath. Then, a slow realization dawned on Eva’s face. Her eyes widened in disbelief, a tremor running through her.

“Evania?” Astarte breathed again, this time a whisper tinged with something like awe? "Evania, tell me you know who you are..."

Eva's eyes narrowed. "I know who I am... You're the prolem." She looked at the darkness around their hands. "How... are you doing that?"

Her lips twitched. "Blood of my blood shall never come to harm by my hand, nor do harm."

Eva swooned and Astarte caught her, wrapping her arms around her as tears streamed down her face. She stroked her hair.

“I had... Set was so sure that you wouldn't inherit, but I knew..." Astarte finally stammered, her voice barely a whisper. “I knew you would. You… you learned a-all on your own…”

Eva said nothing, but she relaxed, taking deep breaths.

"Dark lilies," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm your mother, dear," Astarte breathed. "Welcome home."

I glanced at Grace. Her eyes were glossy with tears. I drew her closer.

Astarte pulled back and looked over her shoulder.

"And the young lycan?"

"He's mine," Eva said quickly.

Ryon turned bright red.

Astarte grinned and held her hand out.

"So handsome, a good heart... He looks familiar..." Astarte looked at me. "Young... Ryon, right?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"A timid alpha. Precious." She smirked at me. "I do hope you plan to teach him the way? He'll... need it to stand at Eva's side."

I chuckled. "Just as soon as he's recovered."

"Compulsions," Astarte said distastefully. "Let me string him up for a few days before you execute him."

I nodded at her. "If it would please you."

"It would."

She crossed the space and cupped Ryon's face. He seemed startled. His eyes bulged and his face turned bright red as she kissed his cheek.

"Welcome to the family." She looked over at Eva. "A little overdressed, aren't you?"

She grimaced. "I am not galavanting around mostly naked."

Astarte scoffed. "You've been away from your culture too long."

I chuckled. Grace looked bewildered. Astarte turned to Lucian, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You've been affected, too."

Lucian nodded.

"Start from the beginning."

Lucian sighed. "It came on suddenly. I'm not sure how much more time I have."

"Then... we should talk and devise a path forward." She narrowed her eyes at him then looked at me. "I trust I can still borrow a portion of your forces?"

"Of course."

She led us to a sitting area. Grace seemed spooked by staying in the room, but Astarte sent the guards out of the door and we all sat together. Lucian started with the details and rolled up his sleeves to show Astarte.

"It's just as it started with Set... slower."

Lucian's lips twitched. "He's the elder."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

Astarte frowned. "He always..."

"We agreed to it," Lucian said. "After our brother..."

I frowned. Lucian and Set had a brother? A flicker of realization dawned on Astarte's face. Her gaze darted towards me, a new glint of understanding in her eyes.

"Iwan," she breathed, the name a curse on her lips. "It all makes sense now."

"How did you know his name?" Lucian asked.

Astarte scoffed. "Set let it slip, and I hadn't connected it until now. Iwan... Now called Sean."

My gut plumeted. "Sean Caldwell is Lucian and Set's brother?"

"But he's a werewolf," I said.

"It's not mutually exclusive," Astarte said. "On the bright side, this means you have a clearer path to Senate than you think."

I frowned. "What?"

She smiled. "Werewolves are not like Lycans for a myriad of reasons. Chief among them is in their creation. Werewolves used to be vampires."

She pointed at Lucian. "Specifically, one of three of the vampire brothers born to Dracula."

Lucian set his jaw. "You research too much."

"Nonsense," she said.

"I don't understand," Grace said.

"The originals were all vampires cursed to be werewolves," Astarte explained, her gaze distant, "Lucian could tell you why, but the important part is that they were unlike any others. Powerful, cunning, but forever cursed with an insatiable hunger – a hunger for both flesh and blood and contagious. The more they consume, the more chaos they cause, the longer they'll live."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I hissed.

That meant that Sean wasn't a original. He was the original.

"He probably doesn't believe that bit has been figured out, but he knows it's a ticking clock." She narrowed her gaze. A flicker of a knowing smile played on Astarte's lips, laced with a hint of bitterness. "And that's the best part."

A cold dread coiled in my stomach.

Lucian sighed. "He killed our father and... stole the heart of Dracula himself."

I grimaced, imaging him ripping it out of his chest.

"It's not his actual heart, right?" Grace asked.

"No," Lucian said. "A relic of... creation of sorts."

The weight of history pressed down on me, the truth about werewolves far more twisted and horrifying than I could have ever imagined.

"So... what now?"

"He's going to want to be able to use and break his curse along with his followers," Astarte said. "Werewolves have weaknesses that vampires don't."

"And we'll need to exploit it to catch him," she set her jaw. "If we get the Heart of Dracula back... Set will wake up if I can make the elixir."

Lucian sat back. "Goddes, how much do you know?"

"I am the leader of the Noir coven," Astarte said. "And I've had a lot of time to look." She looked at Grace. "What do you say, Alpha Wolfe? Will you let me help you?"

"Help how?"

"You have no reason to trust me," she said. "I will swear whatever oath you wish, but your best bet, our collective best bet is to work together. Because, Alpha Wolfe, Sean is not just a threat to werewolves. He's a threat to everything you hold dear – peace, stability, the very future of the supernatural. He is not just simply a man with control over the Werewolf States, but old, ancient, and planning to eradicate anyone her perceives as a threat."

She glanced at Lucian. "If the High Vampyr is unable to rule, the vampire world will fall to chaos. Wars will follow... Sean will use the chaos to his advantage. He's arrogant, but he is cunning and old."

A wave of nausea washed over me. Astarte's words painted a horrifying picture. The truth was far too much to swallow, yet something in Astarte's eyes, a flicker of desperation laced with a strange vulnerability, made it feel all the more real. The clock at the back of my mind ticked on.

Hesitantly, Grace met her gaze. "How can I be sure you mean it? Why would you help me after all this?"

Astarte's lips twisted into a humorless smile.

"Simply? I owe you." She met Grace's gaze. "Likely more than I will ever be able to repay, but this is a start."

She hesitated and looked at me. I smiled at her.

"It's your decision."

I thought back to all the things I'd taught her about business, the world, and more. She nodded and looked back at Astarte.

"Enemy of my enemy," she said, the words felt heavy. "I'm in. What do we need to do?"