Page 3 of The Star's Sword

He turned easily to lead towards a crypt entrance that led to an underground system of tunnels that made up almost another mini society itself.

Simon said he ran a keep, but truly he ran a mini settlement of over 50,000 vampires and humans and thralls, who were beings somewhere on the process to becoming a vampire.

He had countless duchesses and dukes beneath him, to manage diplomacy (and meet with other vampire settlements) and young princesses and princes he was training to become kings and queens, or protectors, of the settlement.

I’d quickly realized his ability to train, delegate and control was legendary, allowing him to be far more effective than anyone seeing him lazing around the cathedral watching me train might imagine.

“I assume you’re going down to donation?” he asked, looking around me. “No Sam this time?”

“You know he doesn’t enjoy vampires.”

“He enjoys you.” Simon cocked his head. “One would think he’d want to spend all the time he could with you, given—”

I swallowed. “Given what?”

Simon shook his head. “Nothing. Just, you know, our impending visit to the most dangerous place in the world. The upcoming battle that we have to convince the vampires to help with so they don’t actually go against us. The general sense of doom in the air.”

“So you feel it too?” I asked.

He nodded. “It’s not real though,” he said. “It’s always darkest before the dawn. Well, that’s a cliché. But when it’s dark somewhere, it’s always light somewhere else. Sometimes the light has to move other places, that’s all.”

“Cryptic,” I muttered, following Simon down a tight, musty catacomb that smelled like old dust. We burst into an old, medieval style room and I took a seat on a literal velvet throne. Vampires in lab coats quickly attended to me, opening a vein as Simon took a quickly-offered chair and sank into it, studying me.

“I don’t think you’re doing enough,” Simon said, eyeing me critically, crossing his booted feet in front of him on the ground. “I sense the vampires from other courts may not be on our side.”

“I just don’t get why I have to deal with this,” I said, sighing, pumping my arm to get the blood to flow more regularly. I was happy to give blood, especially since I knew how much the vampires needed it. But the political side of winning the vampires over? “I’m the Morningstar, right? I just need to fulfill my prophecy.”

“Who says you are?” He frowned. “Who determines who can and can’t take down the celestials?” Simon shook his head. “The celestials won’t take our betrayal, letting you through, lightly. We must make sure we make only one stand.” Simon’s red eyes held my gaze seriously. “I believe you’re the Morningstar, Cleo, the ultimate weapon. Truly I do. But I cannot decide for everyone.”

I looked at the vampires around us, who were busying themselves doing other things.

“If I’m ultimately powerful and can’t be killed, who can stop me?”

“We’ve been over this, Cleo,” Simon said, kicking back. “The Morningstar can fail, and a new Morningstar can be born. The vampires, if allied rather than fighting us, make our chance of success greater. Of course, you can extinguish great corruption. But the celestials have gotten wiser and wiser about installing ways to circumvent the inevitable a little longer while a new Morningstar respawns.”

“Respawns.” I shuddered. “I won’t fail. I’m training hard.”

Simon nodded boredly. “I get that. But you have to play the game. Why don’t you dress up one of these nights, go to one of the balls with Samael?” Simon grinned. “He’d look killer in formal wear.”

My breath caught at the image of Sam; all his masculine perfection caught up in formal, hard lines of clothing. His golden-brown hair over his forehead, his full lips...

“So it’s settled then,” Simon said, grinning. “You’ll go to a ball. You can meet the other Morningstar candidate.”

I flinched. “What am I supposed to say? ‘I know you’re lying? I have a night sword?’” I shook my head. “Could she be the real Morningstar? Do I have it wrong?”

Simon shook his head, looking mildly disgusted. “She doesn’t fool me for a second. But she has some convincing stories.” He sighed. “I’m worried about dissent from some of the less discerning vampires.” He straightened. “I can detect power levels without issue, but most vampires are quite weak to charm and a good story.” He smiled. “And a pretty face.”

I frowned. “I need to be strong. I need every moment I can to train or give blood, which actually helps. Unlike flouncing about trying to help my rep.” I flexed my fist, urging the blood along. “I don’t need to be liked.”

He sighed, resting his chin on his fist and looking at me like I was a child. “Cleo, I really think you will find you are wrong about that.” His gaze darted to where my hand was flexing. “You’re tired anyway. You’ve given more blood than I’ve ever seen or heard of. And you train hard, but your power is innate. When you are ready, if we all get you where you need to go, you will do what you need to do as the Morningstar.” His eyes darted to the side. “Whether you like it or not.”

I tensed at that. No one really understood exactly what I was or what I could do. I had been able to do anything asked of me, and I was gifted with a night sword, which gave me an elder god’s ability to rearrange matter.

But the ultimate weapon inside me, the power born in someone oppressed, to right the scales of justice when they tilted too far to one side, was something I couldn’t fully control.

What I could control was trusting the right people to get me to a place where I could fight.

And I had a good team.

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