Evan huffed. “That sounds like my brother. He will definitely try to upstage me at my own wedding.”
“He was smiling when he did it, and I think I was supposed to figure out he’s a latent vampire from that.” Dreams are never plain old here’s-what’s-going-to-happen things. There’s a lot of metaphor involved, and I’m not particularly good with those. “At one point Lee turned into my dad and he said something about how it was written in his DNA. I probably should have figured that out. I wonder if he’s a king. I wonder if that’s what Gray meant when he said don’t believe the myth there can be only one.”
Evan’s eyes rolled. “I hope not. He would be insufferable.”
But it kind of made sense. I would have to run that by the royals when we got back. “The crown being twofold seemed to talk about Fenrir and Lee. Gray warned me to not leave the king behind. At that moment I thought he was talking about your dad, but now I think it was Fenrir. Our world has never seen both a vampire king and a wolf king.”
“Well, they have now since my dad is a king,” Evan pointed out.
“But a vampire king and a wolf king who grew up as best friends could change the world.” Vampires and wolves were often at each other’s throats. What if their kings were as close as brothers? The simple fact that Fenrir was marrying Daniel Donovan’s daughter would bring about a change in how the two groups worked together.
I could still remember how somber Jacob had been as he’d stared and told me to let the new world begin.
Evan pulled the book out of the backpack. “You’ve said this book contains a prophecy about the two beings who can kill Myrddin. Is it possible we’ve gotten it wrong and Fenrir is one of the two?”
I could at least put that worry aside. “No. It’s clearly talking about Dean Malone. That book of prophecy is specifically about the outer planes where Dean grew up. Otherwise I doubt there would be anything about the situation at all.”
Evan put the book down, her hand stroking across it as if she couldn’t quite help herself. “So let me see if I understand. Myrddin spent time with the demon Nemcox after he healed my father’s heart. During that time, he was given a vision of two creatures in all the planes who could kill him. One was your father, Lee Owens. One was a baby.”
“Who wasn’t born at the time. It’s precisely why Myrddin chose to roam the earth for years. From what I understand, in the past the wizard had spent time with the king of the sword, mentoring him. Immediately after waking, he took his place at the king’s side. But this time, he chose to leave the king to his own devices.”
“Because he’d already planted the thrall stones in my dads, and he needed to find that child,” Evan surmised. “So he finds Dean and instead of killing him, he sends his mother off plane where he grows up on a vampire plane and learns magic. Is he any good?”
“Dean?” From what I could tell he was still a baby witch. “He’s very strong, but he needs to learn more. Are the words back yet?”
Evan unfolded the book, and I heard her sigh as though the act of opening The Path had brought her some sense of satisfaction. “They’re here. Is it weird that it’s in English?”
“I don’t think it is,” I replied. “I think it’s in whatever language the reader recognizes.”
“That’s some cool magic. This one sounds like someone shouldn’t drink her morning coffee.” Evan’s fingers moved on the page as she read. “Beware the darkest brew. Waves of sickness may overcome the unwary.”
“Yeah, there’s some pretty simple ones in there. The witches of Arete found a way to track every single prophecy that has ever come to one of their witches, not just the important ones. I was lucky I was able to find the one about Dean,” I explained. “Or maybe not. I also think the book wants to be helpful. Go on. She knows which one we want to see. You can read it.”
The pages turned immediately, without any help from Evan, and she was suddenly staring down at the prophecy I’d found, the one I’d lost years for.
The one that might save us all.
“The spawn will rule, using all his power to open one gate while closing another, locking the lower away. But one munition remains, one hidden from view. The two shall rise, saved from the schemes of the spawn by their mothers’ touch. Two shall rise despite time turning. It is in the turn, in the wave he set off himself, that the hope of all the planes lay. Prime the light. The magic cannot flow without the two. Without the magic, the two are merely strong. With the magic, the two shall topple the wizard. One crown. One wand. One light. Seek her in the light. She left a map behind, the true gem saved by another mother’s love. Only a combination of three can save three. The darkness, the earth, the light together or all will end.” Evan was quiet for a moment. “Well, now I understand where the crown comes from.” She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t tell him until he needs to know. Like I said, he’ll be insufferable.”
I fully intended to tell Donovan I thought Lee might be a king when we returned to Frelsi. I certainly didn’t want to get Lee’s hopes up. “The light is a weapon.”
“Do you think it refers to a companion? I don’t know many companions who would be considered a weapon. Though my mom is often referred to as bringer of chaos. That’s kind of a weapon. And I’m handy with a bow. I could shoot Myrddin.”
“I don’t think it’s about you, but I am interested in the word light. It can mean a lot of things though,” I mused. “And the word her. What I get is that this is a magical weapon that requires priming. Dean’s the one with magic. I’m not sure what Lee’s supposed to do. Probably bleed on something since he’s a vampire.”
“How does three save three? You should understand that Lee will view this prophecy as a way to have a threesome, probably more than one,” Evan explained. “He’ll try to convince Dean to have as much sex with as many women in between them as possible.”
It was so hard to think of that big, charming man as little Lee, the boy who claimed girls were gross. Now he was apparently the stud of choice to a whole lot of the supernatural world. While Fenrir and Rhys were saving themselves for the women they loved, Lee loved everyone. Lee’s affections went past gender and species. Which might be a good thing because I’d seen the way Dean had looked at Lee, and it appeared he was very fluid as well, and totally interested in Lee.
“Dean told me he dreams about Lee. Has Lee ever mentioned dreaming about a man with silver hair?”
Evan snorted. “Lee mostly drinks himself to sleep these days. He wouldn’t remember a dream if he had one. It’s a good thing he’s a vampire because he’ll need a new liver soon.” She sobered as she looked back down to the page. “I wish Alvis could have seen this. He was the best when it came to deciphering prophecy.”
“Yes, so I’ve heard. What if someone doesn’t want this prophecy deciphered?” I asked the question that had been running around my brain for hours.
“How would they know?” Evan asked. “You’ve barely been back for a day, and Sasha keeps things tight in Frelsi. So how would Myrddin know you have the book and that there’s a prophecy?”
It was a good point.