Mark of Betrayal (Dark Secrets #3)(137)
Author: A.M. Hudson

“So—” I tried to piece things together in my head. “What does he want my child for if she can’t kill him?”

“I never said she cannot kill him, or that she will not have the power to mortalise vampires, but his true interest in your child is not known to me.”

“You know what?” I stood up, shoving my chair back with my legs. “No more lies. I already know, Arthur. Jason told me you’re here to steal my child and give it to Drake.”

He looked down, rubbing a hand across his mouth. “Jason knows?”

“Yes.”

He nodded, calm. “What else has he told you?”

“That he doesn’t believe you’re a traitor.”

“I’m not a traitor.”

“How do I know that? You came here on Drake’s request.”

He appeared beside me, taking my trembling hand. “I was already planning my stay here when I was called to Drake’s bedside.”

“His bedside?”

“He was dying,” Arthur said. “He had consumed the entire box of blood stores Jason took from you in order to survive that venom-tipped sword, and even then, he was struggling.”

“So, he knows about immunity—that’s how you found out?”

“Yes.”

“And, he called you to him for what—to come get more blood from me?”

“No. My king addressed me as his friend, not his council leader. He thanked me for all that I had done and asked that I go to Loslilian on one last mission before I took my leave.”

“To impregnate me and kidnap our baby?”

“Yes, but…there was something else.”

Arthur wandered across the room, then opened his drawer. “Loslilian is also home to this.”

“What is that?” I asked, eyeing a box very similar to the one Nhym came in.

“It’s the Dagger of Yahanna.”

“Of death?”

“Correct.” He flipped the lid and spun the box around on the table so I could see inside; above the bone blade, the hilt was twisted silver, rising up around a red stone, like snakes on a Celtic Knot. “This dagger is said to be spelled; that if Drake uses this on the Stone of Truth, forces it through the heart of your infant child, he will gain all power the child holds. Including the rumoured power to reverse immortality.”

Bingo! The truth. I tried not to grin. “But…if my child can do that anyway, why would he want to take that from her? Why not just—”

“Because it’s power. Why would anyone follow a dark entity when they can follow the light?”

“If he holds all power, he reigns supreme.” I nodded to myself, feeling numb. “And, what…he promised you mortality if you gave up my baby?”

“Yes.”

“And you agreed?”

“Yes.”

I felt my fingertips twitch, a stroke across his face their destination.

“But it was a lie.” He grabbed my hand.

“Then why are you really here?” I yanked away from him.

“Because this goes deeper than any of us can possibly imagine. I am here to protect you—protect the world from what may come.”

“Like what?”

“Think about it—what does Drake know? What kind of power will that child have that he’s willing to wait six centuries for it?”

I swallowed my own words, dropping back on my heels.

“This is not just about the reversal of immortality, Amara, because, quite frankly, Drake does not give a damn whether a vampire wants to live or die.”

“Then…” I unclenched my fists. “What does he want her for?”

“You tell me,” he said, then sighed, pinching his brow. “Look, after Drake let you escape, I—”

“Let me escape?”

Arthur half laughed. “Yes. My dear, if he truly wanted you dead that day, you would have been.”

“But I thought he thought I was dead all that time—before I was crowned.”

“No. He knows all that goes on in that castle.”

“Then he must know Jason’s alive.” And David.

“Possibly. But many other people also knew you were still alive. No one knew about Jason. He was taken away with the rest of the dead.”

I pictured that in my mind; a pile of bloodied bodies, and Jason beneath them.

“The castle was unattended for a long period of time preceding that,” Arthur continued. “Your escape happened before Drake was stabbed. Anything after might have slipped his attention.”

“So, if he let me escape because he wanted me to have this kid, then he’s not really going to attack us, is he?”

“No,” he said calmly.

“How long will he give us to deliver what he wants?”

“I’m not sure.”

I chuckled nervously, numb and confused, sitting on the chair again. “I bet he was pissed when the council arrested me in the first place, then.”

“Yes. He was muttering something about changing tactic when I first entered his chamber.” He knelt down in front of me. “I promised him I would come to Loslilian, father a child with you, and bring it to him. But that was never my intention.”

“Then what is your intention, Arthur?”

He sighed heavily, standing up. “At first, I was going to help you flee the country, change your identity—make you safe. But, after Drake told me of the dagger, I went to the library to research the location and legend surrounding it. All I found was Drake’s Book of Shadows, which had a half a page of information, a spell Drake had placed on it long ago, and ripped away and stuffed in the back of the book, I found a note.”

“What did it say?”

“I don’t remember the exact words, because when I returned to the library after getting the Dictionary of Translation, the note was gone.”

“Who took it?”

“I have no way of knowing. All I know is that the runes I remembered on the note gave indication that the dagger had another use.”

“Chopping up steak?”

“No.” He laughed and gently lifted the dagger from the box, squatting before me again. “That, if wielded by one deemed ruler by the mother of the Earth, one who is sworn in on the Stone of Truth, it could pierce the heart of any vampire, and send its soul to the other side.”

“Kill it?”

“Not just kill.” He rested his elbow over one knee, loosely holding the dagger. “Do you remember being told that it is near impossible to sever the connection of a Lilithian soul from the realm of life?”