Page 47 of Sacrifice

It was like being hit by a beam of sunshine. Waves radiated from it down into her body to course through her veins. Her heart hammered. Something at her core expanded, jolted to life by the surge from the crown. Like a magnet, it was being drawn out, her essence pulled to the surface.

Eve looked down at herself for a physical sign of the sensations she felt and saw a wash of light flow across her skin like an incoming tide. This time it was golden, not the blue she’d seen in Lucien’s chateau. Without understanding how she’d come by the knowledge; in that moment, she knew that thisgolden energy had another its purpose. It wasn’t for protection like the blue—this held her together.

She closed her eyes to focus on what was happening inside her and visions erupted in her mind. Layer upon layer of previous lives—peeling away like the skins of an onion, each flickering in and out of focus. She was many, and she was one. She was her mother, her gran, Grandma Aliyah, Safiyya, Jamila. Like an out-of-body experience, she felt their memories merge with her own. The confidence of the pendant, the suntrap in the garden, the searing heat of the desert. Always the sun.

The warmth surrounding her shifted and faltered, to be replaced by a liquid cool. She opened her eyes and found Lucien standing in front of her. His eyes were dark, and the skin on his face shimmered to reveal archaic symbols that flickered and faded. Shadows danced at his back.

Eve stared at him, trying to understand what she was seeing. In this already bizarre experience, seeing that another person had multiple layers was a comfort.

“You have added to the crown,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Eve gazed back. Was Lucien’s shifting appearance the result of centuries of rebirth, too? He was undoubtedly otherworldly, and she knew now, without doubt, that there was more to her than the simple shop girl she’d always know. “What can you see?” she asked, “When you look at me, who am I?” The confusion of identities in her mind jostled for supremacy. If anyone would know, it was him.

Lucien assessed her with wide, blinking eyes, examining her from head to toe. “Very few people surprise me,” he eventually said. “I sensed you were special when we met, but this.” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “It seems you are ahead of me.” His gaze drifted up to the crown. “Where did you get that star?”

“Family heirloom,” Eve said with a shrug.

“And you just remembered it?” Lucien let out a small laugh.

“Recent events have been inspiring.”

“Yes.” A flash of greed shone in Lucien’s eyes.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He took a deep breath and straightened his back. “I see the woman I have been waiting for, for an eternity.” He reached forward and lifted the crown from Eve’s head. Immediately, the sharp supernatural focus she’d been experiencing faded. It was both a relief and an imposition. Her instinct was to snatch it out of his hands.

Lucien noticed her flinch. “Let’s put this away for now.” He nodded to the display. “There are things you need to understand.”

Her vision flickered. Perhaps it would be best to step away from the crown for a bit. She took it from him and locked it shakily into its case. The pendant however, she returned to the chain around her neck. Lucien watched the star of Ishtar drop inside her jumper.

“Let’s get some lunch,” he said. “I’ll explain. Then we can have some fun.”

Twenty-Seven

Lunch for Eveusually took the form of a panini from the staff canteen or a salad bowl from Vincenzo’s. Lucien, however, was a regular diner at The Wolsey on Piccadilly.

At least she wasn’t wearing the gross shop polo to work these days. Eve’s work wardrobe had taken a distinct turn for the smart since her trip to Paris. Aside from the embarrassment she’d endured at Christies, she’d decided it was time to dress for the job that she wanted, not the crappy one she’d actually got. Besides, a classy guy like Lucien wasn’t going to stay interested in her for long, if she didn’t up her game.

The Wolsey didn’t disappoint. It was a beautiful restaurant in the style of a Grand Café which sat on the corner of St James’s, opposite The Ritz. She and Lucien were shown to a private room with extravagant art nouveau windows that overlooked Piccadilly by deferential waiters. Life was becoming increasingly unrecognizable.

“Would you like some caviar?” Lucien asked. Of course he did. He ignored the offer of a menu from the waiter.

Eve shrugged. She’d never tried it. Lucien arched an eyebrow. “In that case,” he said to the waiter, “The SturiaOscietra Prestige, and a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée. Preferably before 2014, if you would.”

Their waiter smiled and melted away.

Lucien belonged here. He was an entitled billionaire who knew the menu better than the staff. Confidence oozed from him. Eve didn’t think she’d ever seen him wrong footed, until the moment he’d discovered her wearing the crown that was. Their reason for being here came into focus. Eve fidgeted in her seat.

Her whole world was upside down. Quite the opposite of Lucien, who was so sure of himself she couldn’t imagine him ever not knowing the right thing to do. She didn’t even know who she was anymore.

“So?” she said in a hiss. “Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”

Lucien ran his hands through the dark waves of his hair and his deep eyes glistened with gold for a second. “I think you might have guessed by now that you are very special, Eve,” he said in that Mediterranean purr of his, “Especially to me. It would help me to know what you experienced when you put on the crown just now.” He narrowed his eyes, and Eve felt compelled to respond.

Words tumbled from her. “I saw my ancestors. Generation after generation, one becoming the next. Mum, Gran, her gran, people before I’ve never known. I mean, how did they get in my head if I’ve never met them? It was so clear. So certain. Like layers of the same person. Like they were me and I was them.” She let out a little laugh and shook her head as if that would make the pieces fall into place.

Lucien watched her intently. “And the power?”

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