Page 80 of Midnight Crown (Marked by Blood 2)

He nodded. “The waters are infused with the power of Laveniuess, still holding residual energy from the god’s birthplace in this world.”

The rest of the map was filled with ghost towns, abandoned cemeteries, and wide-open space. Especially the south. I pointed at one, which appeared to be a desolate city south to the City of Nightmares. “Is that where the aniccipere are?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “It was left behind from when the mortals used to run Sanmorte, before vampires ran them out of their kingdom centuries ago. Some new buildings have been built, but most are crumbling foundations. This whole territory—” He circled a finger around the buildings, over to the shipwreck in the bottom southeast, to the cemetery and open space in the west. “—is run by the aniccipere.”

A shiver tingled down my back. That was a lot of land they had. My stomach churned as I recalled their beady, devouring eyes and needle-like teeth. “They’re after me. Apparently, a lot of them were Hamza’s followers.”

“Yes.” He took his hand off the map and sipped his tea. “They hate the whole idea of a monarchy. Hamza played both sides for a long time. He stayed close to the king and prince Kalon, making friends at court. He also built followers in the south, sending them supplies, riches, going down there and making speeches all in the name of peace.” He tutted under his breath. “Really, he was ensuring the aniccipere’s loyalty to him, in case anything went wrong here. He could use them. Unfortunately, they believed he hated the monarchy, too, but I don’t believe that was true.”

I understood. “He just wanted power, wherever he could get it.”

“Yes.” He finished his tea and placed the empty cup back on the saucer. “Also ensuring his own survival. It is why the king was reluctant to execute him, even after his crimes against you.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll guess we’ll never know who really killed him.”

He arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure at least one person in this room knows.” Suspicion crowned his earthy irises. “Regardless of who did it, I am grateful he is gone.”

My eyebrows raised. It was the first time I’d really heard him express his feelings about anything political. “Do you think the soul vampires will be able to get into the castle?”

His expression darkened. “Yes, but it’s unlikely. There are few here who would want to help them. They’ve been outcasts of society for a long time. Your father also has guards monitoring the situation in the south. You’re safe here.”

I remembered when we’d flown out to the forest to bury Draven. I had my mom and Sebastian with me, but we’d strayed so far from the castle. Suddenly, this fortress didn’t feel so suffocating.

He continued. “We will delve into the history of the mortal kingdom before Sanmorte in another lesson. But, for now— ” He placed a paperweight against a curling corner of the parchment. “—lets go over your bloodline.”

“Sebastian told me the basics when I found out about my real identity.” I pressed a finger against the dimple in my chin. “He said the gods instilled a king to rule over the vampires. One who they dubbed the Chosen One, and had brought order to vampires before.”

“Yes. His name was Edlor. The gods felt responsible for their sister unleashing such an awful curse onto the world and making the underworld. It created an unbalance, and this was their way of tipping the scales back. Eldor was promised an afterlife, with the ability for him and his children to become mortal again when they chose to retire the throne. The crown passed down to his son and his sorceress wife. They had two sons, one of them is your father.”

“So Edlor is my great grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“What would happen if the bloodline wasn’t continued?” I asked. “Like, what if I can’t have children? I am an immortal.”

He leaned back in his chair, the orange from the fire shining on his bald head. “The gods were able to have children. It is how we are here. If they could have children, I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t be able to.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed thickly. “What if I don’t want to?”

“You can choose a successor. It hasn’t needed to happen yet, as most monarchs rule for centuries unlike the mortal monarchs. Still, if you really do not wish to continue your bloodline, then that is an option.”

I looked back at the map, feeling the responsibility weighing on my shoulders. Curiosity spiked as I moved my gaze from each part of the kingdom. These were questions I’d always wanted to know, when I was little, and we learned of a secluded kingdom of vampires. Immortals existed, and yet there was so little information about them. History books were hidden—and for good reason. The guild and royal family in Baldoria didn’t want more of us than there already were seeking out the vampires, like Astor had done.

“What do you know about the underworld?”

“Not much,” he admitted and opened the drawer to his desk. Then, after a moment of rustling through papers, he pulled out a paper covered in symbols like the ones I’d seen on the demon board in my father’s office. “We know there are emperor demons. They control lesser demons and are Salenia’s creation. Their only job is to stop any souls from escaping.”

“Why does she care? She only built that prison for Vener and his lover.”

He shrugged. “She’s also trapped there for an eternity, and either she doesn’t like that she can’t leave, so wants to keep everyone else trapped there, too, or maybe she reflected and felt responsible for the curse and wanted to keep the evil trapped away from the other realms and her siblings.”

“Not all vampires are evil,” I argued, thinking about Sebastian, my mom, Zach and Erianna. “She can’t just do that.”

“She’s a goddess with powers unlike any we’ve experienced. But, unfortunately, she locked herself inside her own magic when she made the underworld. There are cracks, those who have found ways through the weaker areas of her magic and aren’t bound by it. That’s how demons come into our world for a short time.”

A thought crossed my mind. “If souls can’t escape, then there would be no demons. So that means some must have escaped, through those cracks you mentioned.”

Hope rose in me. That meant there was a way to ensure my family wouldn’t end up damned there forever. I stored the information away in my head.

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