Page 46 of The Vampire King's Victory

“I remember planting these,” Balthazar drawled. “I’d found them out in the Ever Dark, on a rare little hillock, and I brought some back with me. They were so lovely. Their scent was so pleasing that I had to have them near me at all times.”

“I think you accomplished that.” Christian gestured to the palace. “Your home is, essentially, a planter.”

Balthazar tipped his head back and laughed. “Yes, I see what you mean. Seeyr did tell me I was taking it to an extreme. That I would have to manage my obsession.”

“They might need a little cutting back, but really they give some privacy. The Eyros Palace looks to be mostly glass,” Christian remarked as he realized that there were floor to ceiling windows in almost every single, outer room of the palace.

Balthazar slung an arm around his shoulders. “It was to represent how nothing is hidden from the Eyros. I might have gone a little overboard there, too. But there’s plenty of curtains.”

“Well, there--oh! Caemorn! What are you… oh…” Christian stopped in mid-sentence.

The Kaly Vampire skidded to a halt. He wasn’t out of breath, but it was clear he had been running full speed to get to them. The lumbering skeleton bear was racing after Caemorn’s lean form. Caemorn’s silver eyes were wild. It took an effort for him to compose himself and then he was all deadly serious. He strodeup to Balthazar and extended his hands as if to be placed in handcuffs.

“You must imprison me,” Caemorn said to Balthazar.

“What? I--we were just--what?!” Balthazar’s eyebrows rose for a moment but then he realized what the matter was and looked sheepishly at Christian. “He figured it out. That’s he’s Kaly.”

“Yes, I suppose that was to be expected. Going back to the Kaly Palace and--oh, you left yourself a note!” Christian read from Caemorn’s mind. “But the note didn’t really explain things. But it did clue you in and you don’t remember much yet.”

“You are not surprised that I am Kaly.” A frown and furrowed brow adorned Caemorn’s face.

“Uhm, no, you… we met you in Moonfall. You explained a little of what was to come. Julian and I wanted to tell you right away, but so much was going on,” Christian said with a lame shrug. “Daemon and Julian were going to talk to you about it tomorrow. But I guess you figured it out. Some of it anyways.”

The skeleton bear let out a mournful sound when Caemorn pushed its head away from his leg. It had been snuffling his pockets as if looking for treats of some sort.

“I do not understand. If you know who I truly am, why did Daemon not imprison me himself like Artemis?” The frown on Caemorn’s face had deepend. “You need to lock me up--”

“Why do we need to lock you up exactly? Your thoughts are not clear on this, and I’m not seeing any reason to,” Balthazar said.

“Caemorn, you’re not like the other Kalys. I mean they aren’t likeyou,” Christian strove to explain. “You’re the original. You’re the main one. Thecore.”

“That is hardly comforting, Christian. I would expect the moment I recall myself to become as mad as all the others. Perhaps more so,” Caemorn remarked and his pale hands shookfor a moment. “While I still have control of myself, you need to imprison me and--”

“You’re not crazy!” Christian cried. “All of this, everything that’s happened, has been a plan between you, Seeyr and Eyros.”

Caemorn was staring, unblinking, at him and his mind was completely unreadable in that moment. His silver eyes flickered to Eyros.

“Christian would not lie to me, but he might misunderstand. He would wish to think well of me. You, however, would not be so kind, Balthazar,” Caemorn stated. “What is the truth of it?”

Balthazar plucked one of the loveliest purple flowers and came over to Caemorn. He put the flower in the top buttonhole of Caemorn’s jacket. He tilted his head to the side, adjusted the flower, straightened Caemorn’s jacket, and then stepped back.

“The truth of it is that you, Seeyr and I put together an insane plan, but it seems to have worked to stop the other Kalys and bring Daemon back,” Balthazar told him. “You aren’t going to go crazy, because you weren’t crazy when you had all your memories. You made a mistake. You needed help fixing it. And we’re doing that.”

“But the others--”

“I would imagine that they are unstable because they are not wholly you,” Balthazar said. “I can feel an innate difference between you, say, and Artemis.”

“Artemis,” Caemorn hissed.

His head had shot back towards one of the avenues that they had come down. Artemis, chained and otherwise restrained, was between Elena, William and Ridley. The pale, blond Vampire froze as he saw Caemorn.

“Caemorn, don’t do anything rash,” Balthazar counseled as he, too, looked at Artemis.

But Christian felt something deep and dark in Caemorn--the Immortal in him--rise up like a phoenix. Rage at beingoppressed. Rage at being at the whims of this creature that was but a shadow of him. Rage at this monster for going against his king.

Artemis, who had turned Caemorn and who had seemingly had no idea who Caemorn was, at least untilnow, actually cowered. He shifted in the chains that were around his wrists, ankles and throat. He tried to stand up and appear unconcerned, but those silver eyes were filled with fear. Elena, Ridley and William exchanged a look between them. Balthazar made a gesture for the three of them to move away from Artemis.

“You,” Caemorn growled.

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