As we walked, Lucien told me that the red flowers had no official name but were referred to as crimson life. “They used to be everywhere when this world was filled with plasma lakes,” he said. “They would span the banks of the waters, acting as a red beacon so we knew where to look for sustenance. But when the lakes dried up, the flowers died off.”
“The lakes dried up? You used to have lakes filled with plasma?”
He nodded. “Yep, this world provided everything vampire cells need for survival, the same way your world provides water. But previous generations were greedy and took too much. Everyone was trying to hoard it, but if they’d just consumed what was needed and allowed natural regeneration, no one would have missed out.”
“There was a river in that obstacle course,” I reminded him. “Two actually.”
“Yes, but they’re just water—no plasma remains now. We create our own lakes as a poor imitation of what we used to have, importing water from other worlds including Earth.”
It broke my heart to know I’d never see those ancient bodies of plasma, and I wondered how any red flowers were left if the plasma was gone. Lucien must know of a secret stash somewhere.
We ended up sprinting across the golden field, running for what was probably a hundred miles at least—it was hard to tell when we were going so fast. Lucien finally brought us to a stop on the edge of a forest.
“Wow,” I said, tilting my head back to follow the height of the trees. “I thought the ones in the obstacle course were huge, but these are… wow.”
They had to be near twice the height and width of the trees in the other forest, the tops almost too high for me to see. Stepping into their shade, there was an ancient feel to the energy, and the spot in my chest that was bonded to Lucien heated as he also reacted to their energy.
“This is the last of the early lands,” he told me, voice hushed. “It’s been forgotten by most, as they stay in the cities, but this is where I come when I need to escape. It’s the only place I’ve seen the flowers still bloom, in sections of the trees.”
It took some time before I witnessed what that meant. There was a huge trunk, about six feet wide and bulbous, looking like you could carve a house from its base. Right there, growing out of the side of the wood, was a perfect circle of the flowers.
My flowers.
“That’s them,” I whispered, pressing my hand to my mouth as overwhelming emotions crushed me. “My exact flowers.”
I ran my hand over them, gently brushing the velvety carpet, as a hundred memories assaulted me. I’d gone to the flowers any time my father hurt me or my mother ignored me. I’d curled up on their red blooms and let them comfort me.
“The fact that they grow from the trees here,” I said softly, also feeling the need to talk in hushed tones, “means that plasma runs in the trees, right?”
Lucien nodded. “Yes. I believe it does, but I’ve never mentioned it to the masters or enclaves. We don’t need to steal the land’s plasma any longer, and if it resides in plants and under the ground, then it can stay there.”
Turning toward him, I held out the hand not stroking my flowers—which sounded dirtier than it was. As he grasped on, I pulled him to my side. “Thank you for bringing me here, and I totally agree, no one can know the truth of what treasures are held in this ancient pocket.”
We stayed like that for a long time, standing in silence with the flowers of my childhood. In my old life, I’d never truly understood what peace felt like… but I was sure I knew it now. My entire body was still and calm… and content.
Eventually it was time to return to Crimson City.
“I need to stop in at the Master Chambers,” Lucien told me as we walked out, hand in hand. “Then we can head over to the Library of Knowledge.”
I nodded, more than ready to be with our pack and celebrate our new babies.
It was hard to believe I was finally free to do both.
When we returned to the city, we reached the chamber’s security gates quickly.
All of the original guards were back in place.
“Galco!” I called, hurrying forward with the intention of hugging him, only to have my mate cut me off with a low growl. Oh, right… No touching other males yet.
I should have known because the thought of another female being anywhere near him had my possessive wolf sharpening her claws.
“Master Simone,” Galco said with a wink. “I’m so sorry to hear of what happened to you. I should have known something was up when they asked all of the regular guards to take some time off during the final selection blessing.”
My heart fluttered at his use of master with my name, but I didn’t draw attention to it. “It wasn’t your fault,” I told him, ignoring my rumbling mate with a pat to his shoulder. “They had it all planned out with multiple masters and powerful families. It was best you weren’t here to get hurt.”
His smile was broad. “From what I heard, the one to worry about was Lucien. Your mate tore through the corruption without mercy.”
“Should have dragged their deaths out longer,” Lucien grumbled. “Bastards got off easy because I was in a rush to find Bee.”
We all laughed like the straight-up psychopaths we were, celebrating some murders. “We’ll see you again soon,” I told Galco, waving as we passed through the gates. “Hopefully in happier circumstances.”
“It’s nice to see a true blood call bond after so many years of drought,” he called after us.
As I waved my final goodbye, his words brought up a previous thought. “I wonder if more vampires could find their blood call bond with shifters.”
Lucien didn’t look surprised by my musing thought, which meant he’d been thinking it as well. “I believe there’s a decent chance that they could. We’ll explore that avenue later.”
There would be plenty of laters, and that was the most important part.
When we stepped into the Master Chambers, it was quiet. The selection was done, and the master’s ranks had been decimated. It was time to see what had grown from Lucien’s destruction.
At the end of the long hall near their thrones we found a path of blueish stones, embedded into the ground, and leading to where a dozen or so vampires gathered. “The Stone of Katu,” Lucien noted, and I figured out then that this new path was made from the shattered stone of their god.
Leading the way for continued vampire blessings.
Warmth from the power of the stones filled my body as we walked toward the masters, aided by Lucien keeping me firmly against his side with a strong arm around my shoulders.
“I’m here for the meeting,” he said into the silence. “Let’s hear your complaints now and deal with them accordingly.”
One of the females, from a house with a dark purple stone, stepped forward. She looked a bit like Mera: beautiful, with golden-red hair and curves for days. She wore tight black pants, black boots, and a killer red jacket that I’d really like to have in my wardrobe.
“Master Lucien,” she said, and there was no malice in her voice. “There’s nothing to discuss. Someone attacked your blood called mate, and you were within your rights to demand justice. We will not seek any vengeance for this, and new masters have already been appointed to the enclaves.”
She waved a hand, and six master vampires stepped forward, two females and four males. “We have pledged our loyalty to you, Master Lucien,” she continued. “You’re now the grandmaster, as the most powerful with a true mate bond on which to build your strength.”
Lucien sighed. “You know I’ve never wanted to be grandmaster. I have turned it down every time it was offered.”
Ah, now I understood why Donovan had been spokes-vamp so often. He must have been the previous grandmaster, taking point in major events.
The redheaded vampire shot him a broad smile, while her eyes told him too fucking bad, buddy. “You will be fine,” she said. “You don’t have to be in Crimson City all the time. You can come and go as you have, and we’ll ensure you’re given plenty of notice before any meetings and events.”
Lucien looked like he wanted to refuse again, but her expression must have registered with him as well. She was determined he take on the role, whether he wanted it or not. “Fine, but I want my mate added as a tier one master, since she’s as strong as we are.”
She nodded, her expression falling a touch before she recovered. “Done. It’s time for change.”
Yeah, a hybrid master might be a little too much change on top of everything else, but it seemed for now, they were determined to back Lucien all the way. Maybe that was due to the fear of what he’d done to the others, or maybe they truly did want a different future for Crimson City. Only time would tell.
“Now that it’s settled, we’ll be gone from Valdor for a while,” Lucien told them. “So, have your shit sorted out by the time we return. All new masters need to get their enclaves in line, and if I hear of corruption going this deep again, it will be dealt with the same way.”
They all nodded, no one arguing. I did catch sight of a few glares from new and old masters, but even stronger than their annoyance was their resignation. They would not fight him today.
Maybe over time their anger would build and they’d come after us, but we’d deal with that when it happened. For now, they all appeared to agree to this new world order, which gave us the time we needed with each other and our pack.
