4

POV Balthazar

"Caliban is not going."

My father's low, cold voice as he entered the room brought no surprises. We had seen how my brother arrived earlier, nearly fainting from exhaustion, in terrible shape. He would need to sleep for over twenty-four hours just to recover from the binge that kept him missing for two days.

Antares showed no signs of losing control, but his eyes burned with restrained fury.

"Ridiculous! He just made us wait!" Calíope, my 205-year-old sister, moved away from the window, her long black hair contrasting with her pale skin and red lips that day. "We're going to that damned party because of him, and the groom disappears?"

"He knew about the commitment, about its importance!" My father stared at me. "He only embarrasses me. I secured three invitations for nothing!"

"We will go." I didn’t raise my voice, adjusting my long black cape as I turned to my friend Thorn, who was visiting from North America. "Do you want to meet some wolves?"

"Isn't that risky?"

"And since when do you fear risks?"

"Almost never. Yeah, I can’t miss this for anything." He got up almost instantly, a faint smile forming. "Do I need to pretend to be your brother?"

"Don’t even joke about that! What if the little wolf falls for you?" Calíope joined in the banter, relaxing. "That would ruin your plans, wouldn’t it, Father?"

The eldest vampire pressed his lips tightly, irritated. Then he studied us, more composed.

"You need to make a good impression."

"That we know how to do." Calíope smiled. "Come to think of it, it’s better if Caliban doesn’t go after all. He’d mess something up."

That was likely.

My father approached me as he saw we were ready to leave. He stopped in front of me, very serious.

"Lioara and her father must like you. Pay attention to the conversations and gather information. I trust you know what to do, Balthazar, to keep them open to our proposal afterward."

"It will be so," I assured without hesitation. He nodded, trusting.

We left silently, and Calíope, who always perked up when Thorn was around, darted ahead of him like a flash, challenging, "Bet I get there before you!"

He didn’t even bother to retort. Using astonishing speed, he disappeared after her, heading down the village. At least they were having fun.

Calmly, I walked along the palace’s side to a kind of deck that turned into a wooden bridge adorned with lamps. Each bridge extended in a direction, and I took the one leading to the forest, climbing through the trees and passing between them.

My mother had these built initially as decoration, their illuminated paths mysterious. But they became useful over time.

I quickened my pace, my cape billowing behind me as I crossed the bridge in seconds, jumping from one to another, gliding through the air as if flying. I leaped high, slipping through corridors of light, a speed unmatched by any other creature in the world.

The purer a vampire, the greater their abilities. Many thought we could fly, but that was exceedingly rare—almost a legend. Very few could still do it.

Knowing every path in the mountains made it easy to take shortcuts. I got so far ahead, already deep in the valleys, that when I felt Calíope and Thorn approaching, I stopped near a tree, pushing my hair back without a drop of sweat.

"Damn! How did you get here so fast?" My friend halted abruptly, and my sister almost bumped into his back. "Do you have wings?"

"Maybe." I gave a small smile. "We can go together, or are you going to keep playing?"

"For you to show off again? Do you have to be perfect all the time, the best at everything?" Calíope teased, pushing my shoulder as she passed.

"I am perfect and the best. Haven’t you noticed?"

She rolled her eyes, and Thorn chuckled softly. Without waiting any longer, we sped off, practically turning into flashes of light across the cold mountain ranges.

I loved it: jumping high enough to feel the leaves on my fingertips, gliding from one peak to a lower level, dodging obstacles in the dark without losing my breath. It was so effortless it didn’t even tire me. As a child, I dreamed of roaming the forest without anyone telling me what to do.

I kept a moderate pace to stay with them. Some abilities I kept to myself.

Even though we were in different parts of the Carpathians, it wasn’t difficult to reach the eastern area where the wolves had settled. As we neared the site of the party, we slowed our pace, walking through the forest.

"It’s beautiful here. The vegetation is so different from Oregon." Thorn looked around.

"You can stay as long as you want. We need more vampires like you around here."

I spoke sincerely. We had been friends since childhood, which wasn’t common among our kind. Vampires were inherently individualistic, rarely tied to emotions like friendship. But ever since I visited his family for an important meeting in North America, we had gotten along. Our friendship grew naturally.

"Yeah. Sometimes, I get this strange urge to drop everything and disappear for a while."

His tone suddenly became serious, heavy. I understood his reasons well and offered, "When you’re ready, do it. We have properties in the Transylvanian Alps."

"It would be fun having you around." My sister smiled at him.

If she weren’t already promised in marriage, I might believe she liked Thorn more than she should. That wouldn’t stop them from indulging in pleasure if they wished. Vampires didn’t care for fidelity.

"But tell me, why are we heading to a wolves' party? I agreed without fully understanding. Aren’t they still enemies in your territory?"

"It’s a long story."

"I have time, Balthazar. From what I gather, your brother was supposed to meet his bride?"

"She doesn’t know yet, but yes, she’s meant to marry and give Caliban children," Calíope explained, tossing her long hair back with a grimace. "Oh, and the bride is a wolf!"

"Shit. Now you have all my attention. Spill it. How? From what I remember, Antares and your father have always been the strongest advocates against interspecies unions! They despise vampires who’ve had children with humans, witches, or wolves!"

"Lioara is different," I said quietly. It felt strange to say her name aloud.