Mark of Betrayal

Arthur nodded, looking upon the scene as if the children might be running there once more, then sat down carefully beside me. “Jason loved Loslilian. When he became a vampire and was forced to move to the castle, it nearly broke his heart.”



“Forced?”



“Yes. That was where our Set resided.”



“How come Drake lived there then? Didn't he have his own Set?”



“No. Drake lived wherever he wanted. The castle was merely where he chose to be for the last decade or so.”



“Why? I mean, was there a reason?”



He shrugged. “I was not privy to such information.”



“So, you never talked as friends?”



“We did.” He nodded. “I just never asked him what reasons he had for coming or going. He was always a wanderer.”



“But he made everyone else stay in one place?”



“No. We moved on—had opportunity to see the world.”



“By moving each winter?”



“Yes.”



I thought about poor Emily—how she lost Jason to that tradition. “Why did you move all the time?”



“Well—” Arthur folded his hands in his lap, crossing his legs at the ankles. “It began as a tradition—one we started in a time where food became scarce as the days grew colder.”



“Scarce? Why?”



“Farmers would have no crops to tend, markets would close when it snowed and travellers would lodge until spring broke. And since it is our strong belief it’s bad form to kill a man in his own bed, we travelled to warmer parts of the world, returning to our original homes when the snow melted.”



“But, not if you were a Set leader—then you could stay?”



“If on your two years’ leave, yes. But we were required to check in weekly, meet with other Set leaders on occasion to keep updated.”



I nodded. “Eric told me once that he had to ‘check-in’ daily. What’s with that?”



Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “Why so many questions, my dear?”



I shrugged. “Guess I'm just trying to get an idea of how the Sets worked—you know, since I’ll be disbanding them soon.”



He grinned at my teasing tone. “The check-ins were vital to keep tabs on all vampires. Each person had a different time, and would be hunted down by the Warriors if they failed to check-in on time.”



“Hunted?”



“Yes. And brought to trial.”



“Punished?”



“Yes.”



I nodded. “So, the Warriors were like vampire cops?”



“Yes.” Arthur laughed lightly. “Exactly.”



“And that’s what Jason was?”



“Yes.” His voice became small.



I exhaled and looked around the field then; it felt strange to be sitting here, knowing I was awake. “So, why did Jason love this place so much?”



“He always felt safe here, like he belonged.” He slid down a little, leaning on his elbow, his face in line with my shoulder. “After their aunt died, the boys lived here until they became vampires. This was home.”



“And Drake let you live away from the Set while you raised them?”



“No, we simply moved the Set here.”



“Oh, yeah. Mike told me you were Lord of Loslilian. So, that was when the boys were human?”



“Yes.”



“Wow. And…you just up and moved the entire Set here?”



“Yes.”



“How did everyone else feel about that—about moving just so you could raise the boys?”



“We had some resistance.” He looked up at me, his brilliant blue eyes shocking me for a second. “Drake quickly put a stop to it.”



I toyed with the hem of my dress. “Why was he so accommodating?”



“I was an old friend of his.” Arthur sat up a little more and dusted the grass off his palms. “I had always given the best of myself to the throne—not to mention, one of my conditions of becoming a vampire was that I always watch over my brother’s bloodline. I couldn’t let the boys end up in an orphanage, possibly never to know what became of them, so Drake and I came to an arrangement.”



“Arrangement? The way you say that makes it sound like there was crux.”



He nodded. “Smart girl.”



“So, what was it—the catch?”



He reached across and picked a yellow daisy from beside my knee. “Drake let us live here on the condition that, when the boys came of age, I would turn them both.”



“Really?”



“Yes.”



“Wow, David never told me that part.”



“He never knew that.”



I sat back against the tree, feeling superior for knowing more than David did—for once. “So, if Drake was such a good friend, so good he changed laws and moved an entire Set just because he knew what the boys meant to you, why did he order David killed?”



Arthur let out a long breath, his chest sinking. “There are laws, my dear, even I cannot protect someone from. That is why I told Jason to warn you—and to run.”



“But he gave David up instead.”



“Yes,” he said, his tone deep. “I know he thought it would give you time to escape. After all, it was you they were truly after. Without you, they could never have killed David.”



“Right.” I nodded, pressing my tongue to my fang. “Guess that makes sense.”



“I fought for him, though.” He touched my hand until I looked at him. “I fought for David's life to be spared. But Drake overruled it—said he had to make an example of David.”



I sunk back a little. “Sorry, Arthur.”



“Don't be sorry.” He patted my hand. “None of this was in your control.”



I looked down at his fingers, then wound mine softly through his, as if he was the boy I missed so much. And it was just as easy as it was touching Jason, but this time, was merely a gesture of friendship. Something it had never been with Jason. “I am sorry he’s dead, you know?”



“Who?”



“Jason.”



He squeezed my hand. “Are you?”



“He was always more human than David. He never even had to try.”



“And you always liked human, didn't you?”



I nodded.



“It was the first thing I noticed in his eyes, after I changed him,” Arthur said.



“What was?”



“The glimmer of compassion—something vampires commonly lose.”



“But he lost it later, didn't he? When David took Rochelle.”



Arthur looked down. “Yes, but not completely.”



I thought about Rochelle for a second. “He described it once, the way he felt to fall in love with a human. If he never lost his compassion, how come falling for a human changed so much in him?”



“Love does that. It opens your world.” Arthur laughed, letting go of my hand to unfold his in front of him, like wiping paint across the sky. “Once you’ve felt love, you notice light in the day you never saw before.”



I smiled. “Yeah. I guess that’s true. It was like that for me when I fell for David.”



“And for Jason?”



I shuffled uncomfortably. “That can't be classed as real love, Arthur.”



“Why?”



“Because he bound me. I was compelled to love him.”



“But you still cared for him—love aside.”



“I…I don't know.”



“What does your heart tell you?”



I asked it, in my mind, and the answer was always the same. “I hate the way David treated him. I hate that David killed Rochelle. I just feel so empty for Jason, and I know that's wrong, I know I should hate him for what he did to me, but, honestly, Arthur, if he were here right now, I’d thank him. And the next time I saw David, I’d punch him in the arm for being such a butt-wipe brother.”



Arthur laughed loudly. “Oh, my dear, if Jason could only have heard you speak those words, I know it would have washed away so much of the agony for what he was made to do to you.” His smile simmered away to thought. “I'm sure he is resting peacefully in his grave now.”



“You buried him?”



“Of course. What else would I have done?”



“Cremated him—like—” I didn't need to say it. Arthur knew who I was talking about.



“I know that is the preferred method after a venom death, but Drake was not there to enforce that law, and I could not bring myself to betray Jason’s wishes.”



“His wishes?”



“Yes. When he was a boy, on his deathbed, we asked him if he would rather cremation or burial.” His voice softened. “He asked that he be buried beside his mother.”



“Is that where he is?”



“No. He’s next to his brother’s empty grave, and that of his aunt.”



“In his old grave?” I nearly shot forward.



“Yes.”



“How could you? He should have had a proper burial.”



“Amara, imagine the paperwork I would have to file in order to commission a new grave for a member of society who was nineteen years of age and died suddenly of unknown causes.”



“But—that’s what your Set does. You forge things, don't you, you have doctors on your side?”



“Yes. But Jason was, by all legal rights, supposed to be cremated. Those who die of venom must be burned. That is the law. Who would I ask to help me write the orders up to bury him, when I was breaking the law by doing that?”



“Didn't you have friends that would lie for you?”



“My girl, if they were my friends, I would not ask them to risk punishment by lying for me.”



“But it’s so wrong. He shouldn't be buried in his old grave—marked as dying in nineteen-sixteen. People should know who he is and what his life meant to those who loved him!”



Arthur softened. “And his memory will live on in those people, for eternity. You're immortal now, Amara, and sometimes you have to act unfavourably in order to survive.”



“I don't like it.”



“I'm sorry. It’s the way things are.”



“No.” I shook my head, sitting straight. “As soon as we have control of the vampires, I'm having him exhumed and buried properly.”



“This bothers you deeply, doesn't it?”



“Yes.” I folded my arms.



“Does it not bother you that the ashes of your husband remain in the cindering base of the fireplace in the room where he died?”



I looked away. “I try not to think about it.”



“Then you will do the same when it comes to Jason’s final resting place.”



“Fine.” I bit my teeth together.



“I must tell you—” Arthur said, breaking the calm song of nature that filled the silence, “—how it warms my heart to know Jason was loved once, before he died.”



“Loved once?” I felt the muscles in my brow fold in. “Rochelle loved him, too.”



Arthur exhaled. “Not when she learned what he was.”



“What do you mean?”



“She came to him, told him she was pregnant. Concerned for hers and the child’s well-being, Jason brought her to me, asked that I deliver news to this girl that her boyfriend and child were vampires.”



“What did she say?”



“She told him to burn in Hell, then tried to kill him with the crucifix she wore around her neck.”



I covered my mouth. “He never told me that.”



“He never told a soul. I only knew because I was there.”



“Did David know?”



Arthur scratched his cheek. “Yes.”



“Before or after he killed her?”



“I suspect…before.”



So many questions simmered through me, like an alternately cold then hot pulse. I wondered if that was the real reason David killed her—because she meant to kill Jason, because she thought of his child—their child—as an abomination. “Poor Jason.”



Arthur looked down; his long lashes hiding his blue eyes. “The world cannot hurt him any longer, my dear.”



But that wasn’t enough for me. My chest shook and my face crumpled; I barely had time to cover my mouth before it all came out in a torrent of tears. “Oh, Arthur. It’s not fair. It’s just not fair.”



“I know, my dear. I know.” He gently wrapped his arms around me, letting me sob, my whole body shaking in his arms.



“I don't want to feel anything for him. But he was so real. He was real and he got hurt, and no one made it all okay for him. And I keep telling myself it’s the spirit bind that makes me care, but it should be gone by now. I'm strong. I'm a vampire. The bind should be dissipating by now.”



“Has—” He sat me up a little and looked into my face. “Have your feelings toward Mike eased?”



I nodded, my tears stopping for wide eyes. “Like, heaps. I feel normal around him now.”



Arthur’s brow furrowed. “Then you must grieve Jason, Princess. Grieve him and the pain will ease.”



I shook my head against his jaw, covering my whole face with my hands. “It doesn't help. I’ve cried for him. I’ve cried for everyone I’ve lost, and it doesn't change how much I love them.”



“And it probably never will. But it will do you no good to deny your broken heart, either.”



I hiccupped a few times, sniffling. “Arthur?”