“Not yet,” Lumi finally replied. “Amal, Amane, and I are working on it. Arwen and the witches are also helping. We’ve yet to identify the exact treatment that Ta’Zan used, but we’ll keep running tests, and, of course, as soon as we know something, we’ll tell you.”
“So, we’re nowhere closer to replicating the day-walker gene yet,” Elonora said, sounding slightly disappointed.
“I’m afraid not,” Amal replied. “We don’t know all the ingredients that Ta’Zan used for the treatment, so we have to dig deep into Derek’s genes and compare them with those of other vampires, like Sofia, Caleb, and Rose. It’ll take a while, I think. None of Ta’Zan’s research on the topic was found. Whether he never kept any hard copies or he simply destroyed them all after administering the pills… well, we’re unlikely to ever know.”
“But Derek’s blood will tell us the full story, once we unravel every gene,” Amane continued. “Whatever Ta’Zan did, I’m sure we’ll be able to replicate it. Eventually.”
I kind of understood Elonora’s mild disappointment. Heck, all of us vampires yearned to feel the sunlight on our faces again. For now, we could cheat a little with smoked glass and filtered diamond ceilings, but it was nothing compared to the real thing.
A treatment to make us all like Derek was still far away. There was no point in getting hung up over it.
“Anyway, back to the main topic,” I cut in, changing the subject. “Come on, Derek, give us that slideshow I know you’ve been dying to put on. I’m ready.”
Derek laughed lightly, before standing up and inserting a small crystal key into the back of the large wall-mounted screen. As expected, the cover image of a slideshow presentation came on. In the middle, displayed with large and solid black characters, was the main title.
Strava. One Year Post-Blackout.
One year since we’d nearly confronted the very end of the universe.
Bring it on, I thought. I looked forward to seeing exactly how far Strava had come since. How far we’d all come, for that matter.
Elonora
Nevis and I headed to Calliope after the Strava council meeting. Everything looked great in that part of the In-Between—better than many of us would’ve hoped for, not that long ago. The Draenir, the Perfects, and the Faulties got along wonderfully. Needless to say, they no longer had Ta’Zan’s mental poison pitting them against each other.
They understood and respected each nation equally. On top of that, the Perfects and the Arch-Perfects were really coming into their own as GASP agents. Sometimes, the Shadians referred to them as “the angels of the In-Between,” and I could totally see where they were coming from. The Perfects and the Arch-Perfects were beautiful and valiant, noble and downright stunning with their gorgeous white wings. And they wore armor, too. I mean, come on…
Our Shadian family was growing bigger every day. It was our generation’s turn to take the helm, to live incredible lives and form families of our own. Caia and Blaze, Jovi and Anjani, Vita and Bijarki, and Fiona and Zane were just some of the couples that had strengthened their bonds over the past year. And they were raising beautiful children, with grandiose futures ahead of them.
Harper and Caspian were, more or less, next in line. Well, Serena and Draven were slightly ahead of them, but they were all moving in the same direction. We were all defined by love, in more than one way. It was our love for life that drove us to beat the odds at every turn. Our love for each other that made each of us want to become a better version of ourselves. And it was our love for the universe itself that made us look out and explore its infinite splendor.
It wasn’t just the fae stars, Eritopia, Neraka, and Strava anymore. No. GASP was looking out farther into the In-Between and discovering new worlds. Of course, they were all somehow interconnected, as we learned from Draven, who had been using the Druid Archives for information. It was an established fact, already, that prior to Azazel’s reign, the Druids had often gone out to visit other worlds. All we were doing in the end was continuing their work and strengthening diplomatic relations.
I’d yet to visit these other planets, but the delegations we’d sent over had come back with some incredible accounts—not to mention photos and videos! I, for one, was looking forward to getting out there myself. Nevis felt the same way, and it made us all the stronger together for it.
I loved him more than anything. We were bonded for life, whether we liked it or not. We’d recently moved in together as well. Our souls were permanently intertwined, and Nevis was no longer just a Dhaxanian royal who could live for a very long time. He’d become a sentry, too, which had added a few centuries on top of what he was already looking at, as his future.
Still, there was a part of me that was tempted to think farther than that. I was a vampire-sentry. I was immortal. And I couldn’t, for the life of me, imagine even the most distant future without Nevis in it. It was too early, I thought, to talk to him about it. But I hoped that, once I did, he’d feel the same way. That, someday, Nevis would consider becoming a vampire. If that was even possible… No one had tried it before, after all.
In the meantime, however, I enjoyed every second of every moment we had together. We were greeted with smiles and arms wide open, as soon as we walked through the newly established portal on top of Luceria. It was yet another perk of having two full swamp witches—Kailani and Lumi had established a portal connection from Luceria to Strava and Neraka, making it easier for all of us to travel.
They’d created similar openings in the Mount Zur GASP base, as well. The interplanetary spells had been adjusted and improved, but the portals were even easier to use, since it took mere minutes to get from point A to point B across the In-Between. Personally, I loved it.
Serena and Draven were present to greet us, along with Varga, Dmitri, and Douma. This was probably going to be the last of Serena’s sumptuous dinner parties, at least for a little while, since the baby was almost here. She was throwing this one in honor of Harper and Caspian, in anticipation of their wedding, which was bound to take place a couple of days later, in The Shade.
“Good grief, you look so cool!” Serena yelped, and graciously waddled toward me for a hug.
She was days away from her due date, and, as far as I could tell, fortunate to still be able to walk, given the considerable size of her baby bump. Well, technically speaking, that wasn’t a bump anymore. I was tempted to call it a great big ball of baby—though not out loud. Nevertheless, she was gorgeous and glowing, happiness seeping through her pores.
Serena was crazy about Dhaxanian fashion. She’d liked the silvery and diamond embroidery on silk from the moment Nevis had first set foot on Calliope. Me too, for that matter, which was why I’d had absolutely no trouble adjusting to most Dhaxanian customs. Nevis’s personal tailor had set me up with an entire walk-in closet filled with the most wonderful pieces of clothing. I was a fan of silken tunics—custom made to fit my figure from top to bottom.
For this trip, however, I’d packed a lot of dresses. All the formal occasions involved parties and brunches, so it had seemed like the natural choice. Nevis liked my current outfit enormously. In fact, he’d had trouble keeping his hands off me prior to stepping through the portal.
Serena threw her arms around me and pulled me into a very complicated hug, as I tried my best not to squish her belly. She didn’t seem to care, though.
“Good grief, you’re strong,” I managed, breathless from her tight grip.
She giggled, then lunged at Nevis next. Draven soon joined us, offering a polite bow and a warm smile. “Welcome,” he said.
“You’re looking all shiny-glowy, Dad,” I shot back, grinning.
Serena left Nevis at my side, and proceeded to walk around me a couple of times, admiring my figure. I’d picked a navy-blue silk dress, with diamond butterflies bursting down one shoulder, my chest, and my back. The moonlight cast its reflections upon each wing. I had to admit, Nevis’s tailor was top notch.
“I love this. I absolutely love this!” Serena said.
It was so nice to see her like this. Almost carefree, gleeful and smiling. Sure, her back was probably sore, and her feet hurt like hell, but she could step back and simply admire a dress, stress over what drinks to serve at her sister’s wedding party, wonder what name to give the baby and where to go on vacation this summer…
She’d earned the reprieve, after everything we’d all been through.
“I can hook you up with Nevis’s tailor, if you’d like,” I replied.
“Clearly, he’s phenomenal,” Nevis added, giving me a most flattering and cheek-burning sideways glance.
My brother gave me a brief nod and a playful wink from behind. “You’re late, sis!”
“No, I’m not,” I said, and checked my watch, just to be sure.
“No, you’re not,” he replied, chuckling.
