Page 26 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

“So, you’re bothvampires,” Micah repeated back to me, his use of the v-word clearly uncertain. “But if you’re alivingvampire, does that mean thathe,” he glanced at Gavin, “is adeadvampire?” Micah’s brows bunched together, and he sat bolt upright. “Wait, amIa vampire?”

I shook my head but second-guessed myself and glanced at Gavin sidelong. I didn’t think so, but I didn’t exactly have the sturdiest knowledge base where my people were concerned.

Gavin shifted his head from left to right and back ever so slightly.

I returned my attention to Micah, feeling much more confident in my answer. “No, it doesn’t pass on to male children,” I explained. “And while Gavin technically died when a queen changed him into a vampire,undeadis the more appropriate term.”

“Andyou’rea vampire queen?” Micah clarified.

I nodded. “But not in the sense that I’m in charge of anything,” I added. “It’s just a term for living female vampires because we’re the only ones who can makenewvampires.”

“So, I’m not a vampire,” Micah said, processing out loud, “but you could turn me into one.” His focus flicked to Gavin. “But he couldn’t.”

“Yes, technically that’s correct, but I wouldn’t.” I raised my hands, holding them palm out toward Micah, and shook my head vehemently. “I won’t do that to you. I won’tchangeyou. At least, not until you’re fully grown.”

“But yes,” Gavin added. “Shecouldchange you, and as the child of a queen, you are marked by the goddess—as I was—which means you would be a powerful undead vampire.”

I looked at Gavin, my eyebrows hitching up my forehead. Did that mean his mother was a queen? Had she been killed during the Sun uprising? Or had she already transitioned from living to undead vampire by then?

Gavin clenched and unclenched his jaw, and I wondered if he was frustrated with himself for letting something so personal slip out.

“And becauseyoumight be the last vampire queen in existence,” Micah said, oblivious to this new tension, “the werewolves—”

“Shifters,” I corrected, looking at him once more. “Not just wolves. They can change into all kinds of creatures.”

“Theshifters,” Micah said, adjusting his wording, “want to kill you.” He looked from me to Gavin and back. “Butwhy?”

I shrugged, frowning. I honestly didn’t know.

Gavin exhaled a sigh. “Many thousands of years ago, the earth was under attack by demons from the shadow realm. Three of the gods—Selene, Helios, and Eos—banded together to fight the demon scourge.”

I angled my knees toward Gavin as I eagerly listened to a history I only vaguely recalled from my childhood. Javier had always been more focused on teaching me things that would help me stay alivenow, like how to defend myself and how to integrate into the human world.

“Each of the three deities poured some of their magic into their chosen humans, creating three races of immortal warriors,” Gavin explained. He spoke to Micah, though I had the impression that this little history lesson was just as much for my benefit. “Selene created the vampires who make up the House of the Moon, Helios created the shifters who make up the House of the Sun, and Eos created the elementals—you would consider them witches—who make up the House of the Stars.”

Micah’s mouth fell open. “There arewitches, too?”

Gavin held up a hand, silently telling Micah to save his questions until the end. “Together, the immortal houses beat back the invading demons, sealing them out of this realm, and for a time, peace returned to the earth. But as the millennia passed, the shifters gave in to their baser animal instincts and ravaged the lands. High Queen Mene and High Priestess Circe beseeched Selene and Eos to speak with Helios and rein in his creation. When he refused, Selene and Eos took matters into their own hands, merging their power to curse the House of the Sun, limiting the shifter’s ability to change to the three days surrounding the full moon and making them mortal in their human form.”

Gavin leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Over the next two and a half millennia, the shifter population dwindled and their powers waned, while the House of the Moon and the House of the Stars only grew stronger. Then, twenty-five years ago, King Veris, the leader of the House of the Sun, demanded that High Queen Diana—Sophie’s mother—and High Priestess Cassandra remove the curse. Cassandra was open to the idea. Diana was not.”

I stared down at my hands, my fingers knotted together. My heart tumbled in my chest. This all could have been avoided if my mother had just agreed toattemptto lift the curse. There was no saying whether such a thing was even in her power. But she had refused, and now she was dead and I was alone.

Gavin sat back, resting one hand on my lower back as though he could sense my silent unraveling. “The House of the Sun retaliated with a coordinated attack on all the queens,” he continued. “Including High Queen Diana and her daughters, Amaya and Luna.”

Micah’s eyes flicked to me.

“Almost every queen was killed,” Gavin said. “First deaths and second deaths.” As Gavin spoke, his eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of something in their depths—a longing, a desperation. I could feel his conviction to protect me, no matter the cost. It was gone in an instant, replaced by his usual cool composure, but it left me wondering why he cared so deeply about me. Because ofwhatI was, a vampire queen? Because ofwhoI was, the Athanasiou heir? Or was there something more?

“Oh, gods,” I breathed, covering my mouth with one hand. From what I had learned during mycommunionwith Gavin, I now understood that any immortals who shared a blood bond with the slain queens had perished as well. All our strongest, most powerful people, wiped out in a single day. I hadn’t knownthe true, awful toll the uprising had taken. I marveled at the restraint Gavin had shown with Bastian, the bastard son of the man responsible for the destruction of our people.

“A few of the queens were captured during the attacks, but most were slaughtered, including High Queen Diana’s eldest daughter, Amaya. We’re uncertain of the captured queens’ fates, but we’re not hopeful. And a few escaped, including Diana’s younger daughter, Luna.” Gavin’s focus shifted to me.

I narrowed my eyes, my thoughts lingering on the captured queens. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the true reason Gavin hadn’t killed Bastian outright. Was Gavin hoping to interrogate the shifter for information on the captured queens? Or did I really hold that much sway over this mysterious vampire?

“But, why?” Micah asked. “Why kill all the queens?”

“Because only a queen can make more undead vampires,” Gavin explained, his attention remaining on me. With each word, the weight of my existence quadrupled. “Their numbers were dwindling, and they wanted to even the playing field.”

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