Revelation (The Forever Series Book Three) (10 page)

“Restructure,” he says again as if that helps me. “Aefre,
nice to see you again.”

I incline my head and smile at Corinne. She moves forward
and takes me by the arm, “Come,” she says, and we blink out and back to my
bedroom. Not two seconds later the boys have all followed concerned about my
well being, and I’m more surprised that CK bothered to bring Cole and Devon
with him, than anything else.

Corinne tuts at them. “Leave us,” she commands and they obey
without a word.

“They all love you, you know. You are very lucky,” she says.

“I know,” I say simply and she smiles and waves her hand
over me and suddenly I am standing in a long black crushed velvet gown that
falls to the floor with long flowing sleeves with a plunging neckline and high
collar. Glancing down at myself I look like Elvira and sigh, “Really? Nothing
more original?”

She smiles again. “It is only befitting of your new
standing, My Queen,” she says as she curtsies.

My mouth drops open in shock. Queen? Queen? What the
fuuuuck?

“This is your destiny, Aefre,” she says. “A thousand years
later than we would have liked but here you are now.”

Queen? Queen? My mind hasn’t quite caught up yet. I sink to
the bed and breathe in deeply. “This is what The Power wants of me.”

“You may ask Her when you see Her,” she says vaguely.

“See Her? When will that be?” I ask urgently, standing up
again.

She ignores me and walks back out to where the four men are
standing, so I follow. Ahmed is looking very pleased with himself and claps his
hands together, “Ah Aefre. You look marvelous.” He bows and the other three
look at him strangely.

“Aefre, what is going on?” Constantine asks suspiciously.

Ahmed speaks for me, “Constantine, Devon, Cole. Meet the new
Queen of the Underworld. A new beginning, for all our kinds united under one
ruler.”

My eyes are getting wider as he speaks, as are the others.

“So not only Queen of the Vampires but Queen of the
Underworld?” I squeak in horror. That is some fucking promotion from lowly
Master Vampire to the ruler of a nation.

“Yes,” Ahmed says, oblivious to my growing terror.

CK is looking at me as if he has never seen me before
whereas Devon, ever my darling boy, is grinning like a fool at me and Cole just
looks like he is going to pass out. Not that I blame him, not feeling too
steady in my Louboutins myself. (I note gratefully that Corinne has at least
some sense of style and allowed me to keep my shoes.)

“Queen?” CK asks. “Queen of the…” he expands his hands in a
large circle around him, “…Underworld?”

“Yes,” Ahmed says again as if we are all a bit dense. “One
ruler.”

“The Power of One?” I ask suddenly.

“You are no longer the Power of One, my dear. That was a way
station, a tool to help you get where you needed to be. You are now…”

“Queen,” I interrupt. “Yes I get it.”

“Holy fuck, Aefre. I always knew you were special, but this.
This is just unbelievable,” CK says in wonder.

I smile at him and he crosses to me to hug me tightly.

“You are now the most Powerful creature in all the realms,”
Corinne speaks again. “You must act quickly to gain control. This news will
spread quickly once it is out and you will have everyone clamoring for your
council. Appoint your proxy and a select group from each of the species to
speak for the others.”

“I need to create a new Council?” I ask.

“You don’t have to call it that. Call it whatever you want
to but yes, you need a board. As soon as possible,” she impresses.
“Constantine, go with her now.”

“Go where?” I ask.

“She wants you, go now. Don’t be afraid.”

Looking as bewildered as I feel, CK takes my hand and with a
quick glance at Devon and Cole who are still both silent through all this, we
shimmer off out of the room and end up in the massive canyon with the orange
sky and black rolling clouds.

“This is it, from my dream,” I say quietly, looking around.
The shadows are there, the far away screeching, and the rush of Power that I
feel is all too real now.

We both turn around as a wind rushes up behind us and we
step back together in utter disbelief at what our eyes are looking at. I blink
and look at CK, “Do you see…?”

“Yes,” he breathes and I am comforted only by the fact that
I am not delusional and that we are in fact staring into the massive green eyes
of an enormous black Dragon.

Whoa mama!

We stand stock still unable to move out of the sheer
awesomeness of Her. She must be at least fifty feet tall and probably twice
that wide with Her wingspan. She has ducked Her head to peer at us from her
gigantic green eyes that are the sideways cat eyes Devon and I saw in mine.
Snorting in a breath She transforms suddenly and we step back again.

I draw in a breath as we are now staring at… me!

She steps closer and peers at us curiously and inclines Her
head.

We follow suit and She smiles then. “Welcome, Aefre. It is
nice to finally meet you in person. I am Tiamat, Empress of the Dragon Realms
and Underworld.”

Empress? That’s impressive. No wonder She wields such Power.

We are both speechless and staring so She continues, “I have
waited a long time for you to take your rightful place, my daughter.
Constantine, I was most disappointed that you weren’t the one to fulfil her
destiny. I had such high hopes for you.”

Daughter? Huh.

Recovering first not unexpectedly CK says, “Yes, I have to
say I am most disappointed myself.” And She laughs. A beautiful sound and
probably nothing like my own. “It is nice to finally meet you, Your Imperial
Majesty, The Power behind Aefre has been quite the mystery,” he says smoothly.

“Please call me Tiamat,” She tinkles at him, clearly
smitten, and he inclines his head.

“Tiamat. Babylonian in origin? Yes?”

She simpers, “Why yes it is.”

“Mother of Life if I’m not mistaken.”

“Indeed!” She says. She is delighted with him.

Okay smarty pants, you can stop showing off now I think, but
there again at least he is talking. I am still in shock.

“Aefre,” Tiamat addresses me and I snap my attention back to
Her, me, Her.

“Yes,” I croak.

She raises her eyebrow at me but says kindly, “I understand
you must be in shock. This has all been a bit sudden.”

Pulling myself together finally I answer, “Just a bit. There
is a lot I still don’t understand.”

She relaxes somewhat now that I am talking. “I’m sure.
Corinne and Ahmed will be there to help you when you need them. All you need to
know now, Daughter, is that you have been chosen to unite the Underworld. We
have all lived as strangers for too long. It is time to bring all the
supernatural creatures together.”

“How do I do that?” I ask in panic at the mounting pressure.

“They will come to you. Choose who you trust very carefully
to make your council. The rest is up to you.”

“You call me Daughter. Am I?” I ask boldly.

She smiles gently at me, “Yes Aefre. You are mine.”

“So does that mean I am part Dragon?” I ask further. Even CK
leans in now intrigued to learn the answer to that.

“Yes, my child. You have always had the ability to Shift, it
probably never occurred to you to change your species,” She says and laughs.

My eyes bugging out, I look at CK, “That’s why I am the only
one!” The realization finally hitting me, “It’s not a Vampire Power, it’s a
Dragon Power.”

Tiamat nods, “Yes. All of your new abilities are Dragon
Powers, my dear. You have mastered the basics of, I believe you call it
Astralling and being able to bring things to you. You have been given a special
gift with the armory. Use it wisely. And you will become even more Powerful as
you find those you can trust.”

Now burning with curiosity I ask the question that I have
been dying to know for nine hundred years. “Is the Shifting passed on to my
Vampire charges?”

CK raises his eyebrows at me.

“Sadly, no. Vampires are not able to harness that kind of
Power.” She smiles apologetically to CK for the implied insult.

“So no ordinary Vampire at all,” he says with pride.
Although the dynamic of our relationship has changed dramatically, he still
takes responsibility for me.

“You now have access to your true Powers, Aefre. Be careful
with them. Do not allow them to corrupt you,” Tiamat warns me.

“Why now? Why all this prophecy and Power of One business?
Why not just, you know…” I falter not really knowing where I am going with
this. “Why was I born human and turned into a Vampire?” I carry on as the thoughts
start to organize themselves.

She sighs and sits, lowering her Herself gracefully to the
stony ground. We sit as well still holding hands.

“I was cursed,” She starts. “Millennia ago. I was cursed to
never bear a daughter. To never have an heir, as the Dragons are only ruled by
females. However, as curses usually go, it is all in the wording. There was a
loophole that, in short, allowed for my heirs to be born as humans. When
Corinne was turned, I enlisted her and Ahmed to be my conduits to the Earth Realm,
and when she had her vision that she came to The Council about, she had come to
me first with it and I knew the time was coming that my heir would be Chosen.
That she would be turned into a Vampire was however unprecedented. When you
came along in 996, I watched you. Watched you grow. Not able to directly
interfere I had to watch your human father pass you off to that monster. I knew
your heartache and I couldn’t help you,” She says sadly. “I did the only thing
I could to give you the life you should have had. I had to wait until you were
deemed an acceptable age to take on this Power. When you turned sixteen, and I
learned of the child, I knew I had to act quickly. That child was not destined,
Aefre.” She purses her lips at me, “I had to send you the strongest would-be
sire so you could take your rightful place.”

“You sent CK and Gregor,” I breathe. “It was you who sent
them.” CK’s hand tightens on mine at this revelation.

“I sent you first,” She says to CK to make that clear.
“Gregor was back up in case you failed.”

“Well for that I am grateful,” CK smiles. “Although I won’t
pretend to be happy about Gregor being there at all.”

“I knew she would fall for you. So handsome,” She pats his
hand in a motherly gesture and it is very weird seeing “me” do that, realizing
now that She must be so much older than even him. Thousands of years old,
probably, and I go a bit awestruck again.

“What I didn’t account for was that awful Gregor to get
jealous and tell that husband of yours what you were up to. Hateful man,” She
spits out. Unclear which one She is talking about I nod anyway in agreement.

“I was horrified and unable to stop him from trying to kill
you. Alas, you were turned in a barn instead of a church and I had to go back
to the drawing board, so to speak.”

“Did you know what the numbers meant back then?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No. After the disappointment in 1012,
I had another look and did manage to figure it out, so when 1506 came around I
was desperate for you to make a Holy Union but again unable to directly
interfere. When it looked like you and Constantine were going to stay together
I was about to give up hope that you would ever return to me when you two
stubborn fools once again managed to destroy your happiness.” She frowns and we
glance at each other, contrite at being reprimanded.

“Anyway, as it turned out you found Devon. Such a lovely
boy. So clever and fun. He was just what you needed but once again you were
foiled by those two vile creatures and again I was left waiting for you,” She
sighs.

“By the time 1745 came around I was anxious again and
watched you. Oh Fraser. He was such a good man but it didn’t surprise me that
he refused your request to turn him.” I inhale sharply and She has the grace to
look ashamed for Her harsh words. “If I could have protected him, I would have.
It’s important you know that,” She says then quietly and I nod.

“Which brings us to this year and Cole. I knew he was
perfect for you,” She gushes and this time CK’s hand crushes mine in protest.
“I made sure that man at The Council got a copy of the prophecy. Knowing it
would finally be cracked and that Constantine would recognize the dates and
come to you. I had Corinne shield you just long enough for you to be able to
follow through. I couldn’t take any chances this time. It was my last chance to
have my daughter. And here you are now.”

“You were protecting her? I did wonder why it took Gregor
and Eloise so long to turn up. No wonder you wanted Aefre to kill them. Seems
they caused quite the problem for you,” CK says wryly.

“Indeed. I am glad they are gone. There is no room for them
in our new world.”

“But I still don’t understand, why all the fuss? Why did I
have to have a Holy Union? Why not just have Ahmed give me my Powers when I was
turned? Or if I had to wait, why not in Monte Carlo?” I press for an answer to
all this.

“The Prophecy was foretold, my dear. Due to the nature of
your conception you had to be powerful enough to handle these responsibilities.
As a human born Dragon with no Powers and nothing to activate your birth right,
the Fates required you to be something more. The only species to be “made” and
not born is a Vampire. Your Union had to be pure and strong.” She shrugs as if
it is obvious. Well maybe it is to Her, seeing as She has had centuries to
figure it all out, but I am a slow on the uptake. I can see CK nodding as if it
all makes sense to him and think, yes of course it does. Clever SOB.

“As for the Power of One rites, you had to be tested, my
dear. I needed to make sure you were capable of wielding the Power, it was like
a trial run you could call it, and of course every ruler has to earn the right
to be respected. You are so strong. You have made this transition easily. Much
more than I could have hoped for. You will be a great leader,” She says proudly
and I blush.