Page 91 of Xantera
All five heads crank so quickly in my direction that I don’t know if they saw me as a blur diving for cover or if they saw me at all.
I throw myself back into the grand hallway and push my legs even faster than before.
But before I can make it back behind a statue, a hand grabs me from behind.
And yanks me away.
Istorm in circles around my father’s office, my eyes hooked on all the journal entries that don’t make any fucking sense the further I read.
April 29, 52 AX
They must have kept Father’s blood like a goddamn trophy, because one of the parasites spoke to me today. I heard his voice in my skull, just like I hear the rest of the pack when they shift. He asked me what my name was, so I told him to fuck right off.
I frown, assuming my father was talking about the Third Guardian. But he never mentioned that Arad taunted himthe same way he used to taunt me, so my eyebrows furrow in confusion as I flip the page to the next entry.
May 16, 52 AX
He wants to repent, the parasite does. To change the ways of what he and his fellow vampires are doing to my people. I don’t know why yet, and I’m not sure I believe him, but he told me how he’s communicating with me: a vase. They put Father’s blood in a fucking vase. They don’t even like the taste of our blood, so it’s more like a decoration they can laugh over.
I swear, I can feel my own blood boiling at the thought. But somehow, the parasite in my head discovered that if he dips his abomination of a hand into the vase, he can connect to my thoughts.
I told him to steal a few drops and put it in a vial that he can wear around his neck. It will make communication easier.
If he’s trying to trick me, at least now I can spy on him.
I gape at the page, at the realization that my ownfathercame up with the idea of the necklace that brought me to Saskia. And whoever actually made the necklace… he doesn’t sound like Arad.
June 02, 52 AX
I told the parasite my name, and he told me his.
Graham. The ThirteenthGuardian.
He claims he’s fallen in love with one of the humans, and that’s why he wants to change things. I’m still not sure if I believe him or not—it might all be one elaborate ruse—but he says the rest of the Guardians won’t budge anyway. He can’t convince them to stop. And he’s afraid they’ll kill his lover if they find out.
If we want to free my people, he’s going to need to let me in.
I reread that particular entry over and over again, trying to make sense of it. As far as I’ve always known, the Thirteenth Guardian perished in the war between the vampires and my grandfather. But according to my father, he was still alive fifty-two years later, apparently in love with some human within the Wall and betraying his fellow vampires by trying to help my father reclaim his kingdom.
What I don’t understand is where it all went wrong.
Because they obviously failed. Both my father and the Thirteenth Guardian are dead, the Wall is still closed, and the necklace somehow fell into Arad’s hand before Saskia found it.
Saskia. I squeeze my eyes shut, resisting a sudden urge to shift right here and now and make sure she’s okay. For the last few nights, I’ve been doing exactly that, and every time I’ve breathed a sigh of relief to find her as safe as she can possibly be, taking dinner in her private room.
The sun has barely dipped below the windowsill of my father’s office, which means she hasn’t gone to sleep yet. A few more journal entries can’t hurt.
Pacing in circles again, I flip the page…
If eyes could kill, I’d be dead on the spot, courtesy of the look spewing from Eleni’s glare.
All that nervous tension subsides for a split second when I realize the hand gripping my forearm belongs to her. Then she drags me back through the grand Guardian hallway, in the direction I just ran away from, and it all comes roaring back.
Is she going to turn me in? We’ve never actually established that she thinks of me as a friend, too. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, and she’s about to march me straight to the Third Guardian himself.
I stumble after her without much choice. If I resist, the ruckus will attract the Guardians anyway. Her hand only tightens around my arm with every step she takes until she stops abruptly in front of a particularly wide door, the nearest one in our vicinity, and pressesher key into… something. I still haven’t figured out how the doors work.
But nonetheless, the lock clicks, and Eleni pushes the door open to expose a massive kitchen.
