Page 43 of Ever Dark Academy: Volume 6

It was very possible. But why wasn’t Charlie admitting who he was now? The Mirryr Palace–a structure made of shifting reflective glass–was dark and unoccupied. Charlie had not announced himself as an Immortal and, as he’d noted before, his best friend, Darcie, ran the House he was a part of. But maybe he was misunderstanding what he was seeing. Or was it all a deliberate trick to make Charlie seem like a good time partier but nothing else?

Considering the terror of the War and how awful the other Immortals had been to one another, maybe Charlie–or Mirryr–had decided he wasn’t quite sure of things yet. He didn’t trust them to remain civilized this time around either and he might not want to draw attention to himself or put a target on his back. A wave of sadness–and understanding–passed through Ryder. Charlie had admitted to them that the Mirryr weren’t terribly martial. Hiding, maybe in plain sight, was probably all they had.

He clapped Charlie’s shoulder. “No worries, Charlie. I trust you to get this done.”

Charlie blinked up at him, but then tentatively smiled. “Yes, well, yes. You, too, Ryder.”

“Khos tells me that there is a clearing big enough for me to shift. Let’s head there now and then we can fly over this army of the dead,” he suggested.

The other two nodded and the four of them loped off with Khos leading the way. Ryder would have loved running with a Dire Wolf and his fellow Immortals in the Ever Dark. He tried to imagine doing this when they weren’t facing off against a horde of undead and an angry, insane Kaly. Maybe he could convince them to do this again and next time he’d include Grayson, Balthazar and maybe even Seeyr. He was pretty sure he could convince Julian to join so maybe Daemon would be game, too. Being with their king in the wilderness was always an experience. It had been too long. But those happy thoughts could not survive the concern he felt about Grayson. If he allowed his mind to wander even a little bit, he felt that welling of love and the desire to protect Grayson build up inside of him.

Grayson is strong. The only way to get to him is to get into Lasting and find a gate to get back to Nightvallen. And then cross oceans of time to reach him.

This Time

Being marched into a city full of Kaly Vampires was not something that Grayson had ever put on his bucket list. And now, experiencing it, he had a feeling he would not want to repeat it. Not with these versions of Kaly in charge. He doubted that Caemorn would be comfortable here either.

If only Caemorn were here.

Silver eyes observed him coolly on every side. There were as many dead things walking about as Vampires. Skeletal warriors with bows and swords tracked his every move. Cadaverous beasts with claws and fangs sniffed the air and turned their heads towards him, eye sockets full of fire. The only reason he was not attacked was because their Kaly Masters held their invisible chains.

But some of the chains could be seen. For example, there were humans also in the crowd. All wore white toga-like apparel and had slender silver chains around their throats, wrists and ankles. They scurried while the Kaly Vampires were still. They kept their eyes cast down while the Kaly Vampires stared. Grayson lifted his chin and met each gaze evenly and without fear. He would not be cowed. Human or not, he was an Immortal. He would never scurry.

You’re wishing that I would have chosen to remember the past right about now, aren’t you? I don’t even need to read your mind to know that, Eyros said.

It would have been useful. But it shouldn’t matter. Caemorn absorbed all his other slices. He should remember this himself.

But he did not mention it? That he saw you in Lasting being herded like a particularly tasty prey?

No, clearly if he had I would have been more prepared.

And you call him “friend,” Eyros scoffed, that unattractive bitterness rising up.

He is my friend. My brother. If he remembered any of this, he would have told me, Grayson argued.

Fine. He didn’t lie to you. He didn’t hide the truth. He was simply… mistaken, Eyros laughed sourly.

Caemorn doesn’t lie, Grayson said.

Everyone lies, Ashyr.

He didn’t lie about this. He didn’t hide this from me, Grayson said, certain of it. He didn’t know this happened.

Then how could he have absorbed all the slices of himself like he claimed to?

Perhaps he didn’t and only thought he did. Or perhaps the memories don’t separate out as cleanly. I can’t imagine trying to parse all of this. Hundreds of lives over tens of thousands of years. It would be impossible to do, Grayson pointed out.

Eyros was silent then. Grayson wondered if the other Immortal agreed with him or thought it pointless to argue if he was so intent on being foolish. But he wasn’t being foolish. He understood Eyros’ disbelief. They had fallen so far from one another in this time. But in the future they were united.

Have you ever been to Lasting? I don’t think I have, Eyros suddenly said. Unsurprisingly, the place looks like a giant graveyard.

Eyros was not wrong about that. Lasting was made of the same pale, white stone as all the Ever Dark cities, but it had its unique aspects just like they all did. While Solace had the single Spire with lower buildings all around it and Nightvallen had the sumptuous palaces and Foresworn was built practically in the forest, Lasting was a city of pyramids, obelisks and ziggurats. It was, indeed, a city of tombs. A graveyard.

Tell me you have a plan to get out of this, Ashyr, Eyros said for the umpteenth time.

I do not have a plan. Yet, Grayson said.

Still holding onto that blind faith you have in Seeyr?