City Of The Damned (Darkly Devoted Series, Book 5)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"He's full of it," I snapped as Julian's fleshy body followed me back to my room. With one sweep of my arm, I sent a waterfall of delicate artifacts and finely painted vases shattering on the marble floor. I sat on the chair by the vanity table and tried to catch my breath. Was Grismal right? After all, Allison, Sallen, and Julian had all ended up here. Did I believe I was different? Black Waters had infected me more thoroughly and completely than any of them had ever been.

I was going to belong to Grismal sooner or later. It was a certainty.

"We were all destined to up here," a familiar voice said.

"What?" I glanced up in alarm. Julian was talking to me. He was no longer some mindless ghoul who was blindly following the commands of his master. He was wiping Grismal's boot dust from his cheek now. Strangely the smear of dirt made him more handsome than all the designer outfits ever did. The mangled old cloak with its holes and threadbare edges suited him. Even among Maglania's Princes, Julian was the crown diamond among all her stunningly alluring vampires. Looking at Julian now, it was easy to forget the grievances of the past and be reminded of what it was like to be young again. He had died in his late twenties, but I was now a forty years old woman. Time had stopped for him, but it had brought strands of white into my hair and lines to my face.

Looking into our reflection in a nearby gilded mirror, it was hard to believe we had once danced at the same grand balls. It was even harder to imagine a time when Blake and I had both been young enough to view Julian as the oldest and wisest among the three of us.

Perhaps, that was another reason I didn't want Grismal to drag Sallen and Allison back from the depths. I didn't know when Allison had died, but I knew Sallen died young. In my vanity, I couldn't bear to sit beside them and look old enough to be their mother.

"Isn't it obvious? Surely you didn't think all those riches you enjoyed as Mrs. Thorne were free." Julian asked and paced about the doorway to my room. He looked nervous, crossing his arms over his chest and then uncrossing them. Finally, Julian decided to lean against the doorframe, with half of his torso facing the hallway as though he might sprint away at any second. Was he afraid of me? Or was he on the lookout for his master, Grismal?

Julian was only glancing at me from the corner of his eyes now. He was rubbing his chin with the crook of his index finger like he used to do when he was thinking.

"Except Blake, of course. Orienne won't let her dear son wander like a ghoul around Mearnox at the mercy of her ferociously jealous, much less beloved older child. Grismal might be the Lord of the Damned, but he's not even a speck of dust in his dear mommy's eyes."

"Did you always know Odelia was a goddess?" I asked. We could finally speak to each in peace now. If Grismal had been listening, he would surely have arrived and nailed Julian to the cavern walls by the balls for saying such a thing about Orienne.

"No," Julian replied and chuckled to himself. "No, I should have guessed. It all makes sense now. It was why even Maglania was afraid of him. It was more than just her friendship with his mother. It was because his mother was the leader of Levanti and the creator of the Sarastri, all wrapped in one neat, pretty, blonde package."

"I see," I replied and sighed. I shouldn't have smashed the vases. I didn't want Grismal to think I was completely unhinged. Although, any woman who had been trapped inside the soul of a dragon for twenty years could hardly be expected to be any saner.

"I'm surprised you picked me out of the three of us. I suspect you didn't do it out of the goodness of your black Balan heart."

I scuffed at his words but didn't say anything further. I had my reasons, none of which I wanted t share with the likes of Julian Namura. From now on, he would diverge his secrets, and I would give him none of mine. At least, when he died, I saw him as the snake that he always was.