Page 49 of The Vampire King's Victory

Daemon lifted a shoulder. He urged Julian up the stairs.

“Wait, if the Ever Dark isn’t physically vacuuming itself, why does everything lookpristine” Julian’s eyebrows rose then drew together. “In Moonfall, time was flowing really fast. You could feel it, see it, of course, too. Here… here, I have no sense of time at all.”

“In a way, time does not exist here,” Daemon explained, knowing this would cause Julian to wonder greatly.

Julian blinked rapidly. “Is that why it’s always night, but there are still trees? I assume the trees here need daylight to grow, but if time stopped…”

“Time exists, but is not the same here as you know it on Earth. For things to be as they are here, things must be as they are in Moonfall,” Daemon slowly stated.

Julian chewed on his inner cheek, clearly considering what he was saying before blasting off a million questions. And Daemon was certain he had a million or more. He liked that Julian though tried to understand what he was saying before he asked for more explanation. His fledgling knew that some answers Daemon would not--could not--give even to him. But Julian would understand much of it on his own. In time.

“Sit.” Daemon gestured towards the slightly smaller throne that was placed beside his.

Julian stared at the two thrones as if he was afraid they would bite him. Or more like, he thought they wouldtransformhim the moment he sat down upon one. And, in a way, Julian was right.

The thrones were made of stone. The infinity symbol was carved into the curving tops of both. There were purple pillows on the scooped stone seats with silver tassels. The stone was smooth on both thrones as if they had been sat in for decades, centuries, millennia. In his case, that was the truth, but in the matter of Julian’s throne it just showed that his Childe should have always been by his side.

Julian drew in a deep breath, rocked back and forth on his feet as if preparing for some particularly taxing physical feat, before he turned his back on the throne and slowly lowered himself into it. Julian’s hands were like restless birds as they rose and fell from the arms of the throne. Finally, they settled down and his fingers lightly curved over the ornate end pieces. Julian then slowly leaned back instead of simply perching on the throne’s edge as if he intended to leap up at any moment. The seat perfectly fit him. Julian shifted a moment, and then made a slight nod as if confirming for himself that this was his spot.

Daemon tilted his head to the side as he observed his fledgling seated upon the throne. He could not hide his smile as he gazed upon Julian. Even in his Childe’s modern, casual clothes he had a royal air. A young Vampire princeling surveying his domain with a cool, yet incisive gaze.

Julian didn’t say anything at first. He simply stared down the rectangular throne room as if he saw their subjects approaching. There would be so very many, especially in the early days of their reign, who would come here. They would arrive with the belief that they would not bow, that they would get their way, but, in reality, it would behisway.

“You look like you belong there. How does it feel?” Daemon asked, eager to hear something from Julian.

Daemon could have looked into Julian’s mind, but Julian was figuring out his own emotions and he needed to articulate them to truly know them.

Julian drew in another steadying breath before he looked up at Daemon. “There’s a weight to sitting here. It feels sacred. Momentous. Not just sitting in an ornate chair.”

Julian gave him an uncertain smile at that. Daemon nodded.

“You are not wrong. But you’ve always taken responsibility in your life for yourself and others,” Daemon reminded him gently.

He wanted Julian to see that this role as prince wasn’t all that different from what he had already been doing for those who followed him in life and online. Julian was, as he had realized from the first, a natural born leader. People followed him because he exuded a kind of paladin-like quality. His parents’ deaths hadn’t really tarnished that need to do what was right. Julian had even put away his revenge as he saw all sides of what had happened to cause his parents’ deaths in the first place.

“But it’s more than that.” Julian’s fingers curled tighter over the arms of the throne. He grimaced, the words not cooperating with him.

“Yes,” Daemon agreed without elaborating.

Some things were beyond words. Like the Ever Dark itself, some things had to be discovered over time. Julian would learn exactly what the throne meant as he ruled Vampires and humans.

“I’m afraid of this responsibility,” Julian admitted with a rueful smile. “It’s so much easier to have a goal that’s simple: reveal Vampires exist than to have something like: support Vampires and keep humans safe, but our food source and our future selves.”

Daemon laughed. “That it is.”

“We’re going to make mistakes, aren’t we? Even with Seeyr’s ability?” Julian asked. “And Eyros’, too? And all the rest? No matter what we see, it won’t be enough.”

Daemon could not deny that mistakes would be made. He had made his own, but without making them, he would not be here with Julian. He said as much.

“There is never a time when everything goes right for everyone,” Daemon told him carefully. “There will never be perfect balance. Things will sway one way then the other. They are not mistakes,per se. It is how life is.”

Daemon turned and gracefully swept down onto his own throne. The two of them faced the empty throne room together, except, for a moment, it was not empty. He heard Julian draw in a sharp breath as they both glimpsed the future here. Ghostly figures filled the room. The murmur of many voices crashed over them both. The throne room was not dark either, but well lit and glorious.

“Is this…” Julian stopped.

“The future? Yes. Let us see what the Ever Dark wishes to show us,” Daemon suggested.

“But I thought you couldn’t see your own future!” Julian cried.

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