Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Aeron

"Start talking," I say as soon as Vladimir is in my apartment.

Isla quietly walks around the bar, and while humming softly to herself starts to mix drinks. "A goddess came into our realm," she says as she takes out a martini shaker.

Amused, I watch her as she shakes blood mixed with vodka. Her own concoction. A blood-tini, as she calls it. A variety of bloods shaken up until it's frothy. If she wasn't the queen, she would have a been a great vampire bartender.

"That is not unusual," I say as I sit on one of the of the bar stools and point Vladimir to his seat.

I ignore his bride. She is, like everything else in Vladimir's life, way over the top and creepy just for the sake of it. She's a blood whore who got exactly what she wanted, by playing a weaker vampire and manipulating him until he turned her.

"That is what I felt," Isla says and starts to pour drinks. "Back at the pits. Remember, I told you I felt a shift in the air."

"Are you sure that's what it was?" I ask and take my drink. I sip it - ice cold and fruity, like the smoothies humans like. My bride outdid herself. "You are you and sensitive. A lot of things could feel-"

"I'm sure," Isla interrupts and nods in Vladimir's direction. "And he knows it too, don't you?"

My brother nods. "Yes. It is why I wanted to come here. I had a feeling they came for me."

"You can feel the presence of gods?" I ask Vlad. "Their physical-"

"Hmm," Lauren squeals in a high-pitched voice that makes my teeth rattle. "This is delicious."

She dropped her facade for a hot second, and it's fucking annoying. "Yes," I agree. "Isla is a master with blood and a martini shaker. Please shut the fuck up while the adults are talking."

"She's my bride," Vladimir says, as if I need reminding.

"She's a pain in my ass. And a fucking child."

He doesn't respond to my cruel remark, but gets back to business. "This goddess, she's a fae goddess. I am sure of it."

I look at Isla who is staring at her frothed up blood drink. It's gone a light pink and looks almost like a strawberry daiquiri. I take one of them and I'm not surprised to find out the drink tastes like one too, with a heavy handed helping of vodka.

One of these days, my bride is going to figure out that as long as there's a little blood in the booze, she can drink it and be okay. When I found out I could still get drunk with only a little blood added to my ale, I went off the reservation. I spent several years flat on ass, drunk out of my skull.

"She came through before the fae realm collapsed all the way," Vladimir says and sips his drink. I can tell he likes it, but he just nods approvingly and smacks his lips. "She's been following your bride, using her as a conduit to enter this realm."

"How?" Isla asks.

"You are part goddess."

"So?" My bride shrugs and sips her drink. She's pretending that she doesn't care, but I can feel her churning emotions. It's eating her alive. This thought that another entity used her to enter this realm. "Can every god or goddess use me as a... gate?"

"She made you," Vlad says. "Blood follows blood."

That makes sense.

"Calliope made me," Isla says.

"She asked the gods to make you," I contradict her. "The destinies heard her prayer and answered."

"So they might help the fae to right a wrong," Vladimir picks up the tale of woe. "A curse can't be cast if it can't be broken too. Fiona sought to destroy the Stoneheart bloodline, even the innocents."

I snort softly. "Like you're such an innocent, Vladimir."

"I was in this matter. I did not take one that wasn't of my kind and make them vampire."

"All we do is take those that aren't of our kind and make them vampires," I shoot back.

"Humans are our kin," Vladimir answers, almost calmly, "they are of this realm and of our blood."

"Zael was of my blood," I growl. "Einar and Idun had every right to change him."

"Which is why the destinies granted the creation of a curse breaker," Vlad says and sips his drink. "God damn this is good. Who taught you this?" he asks.

Isla smiles, shrugs, and sips her drink.

"What goddess hear Calliope's prayer?" I ask.

"How the fuck should I know?" Vladimir asks right back.

"Did you not sense her enter this realm using Isla? I thought you could sense gods and goddesses."

"I can sense them. I don't always know who they are."

"Persephone," Isla says out of the blue. "She came to me in a dream. She says she created a... scaffold for you to rescue her realm, and you failed."

My insides tumble over. "What?"

"The child. You were supposed to make a child with Calliope?"

"Next time you see Persephone, tell her I have free will, and just because she created some kind of-"

Isla holds her hand up to silence me. "I think she knows. It doesn't make her any less righteous. Isn't that the problem with gods and angels?" my bride asks, her voice dead serious. "They think they are righteous?"

I deflate a little and turn to Vladimir. "Is that why you are here then? So you could tell me that I have a brand new goddess threat on my ass."

"No. I do," Vladimir says. "She plans to use me and my blood to create her new fae realm."

For a moment, I'm genuinely surprised. As a human, Vladimir was remarkable. A fierce commander, a terrifying enemy, but as a vampire he's kind of... ordinary.

"To build a new fae realm," Vladimir says, "Persephone needs to blood of a thousand new creations. Creatures she can turn into fae."

"She can use Rhema," Isla says.

"To make a thousand new children?" Vladimir asks. "That many blood bonds will kill her?"

"But her children can make children," my bride hits back.

I shake my head. "It will dilute the blood." I turn back to my brother. "What is her plan."

"New creatures. New creations that she can make fae," Vladimir says. "Werewolf-vampire hybrids. If she strips out the wolf and vampire part from these creatures, she'll have a rudimentary fae."

"Except that it's impossible to turn wolves," I remark dryly.

"Not anymore," my brother says and holds his glass out to Isla. "Can I have another?"