We walked to the innermost building in the castle.
“Welcome to the White Tower,” he said.
I tried to recall the importance of the White Tower. In more recent human history, it housed special collections. It made sense that a treasured stone would be here.
We climbed a flight of uneven stone steps until we reached a corridor. The prince flipped a switch on the wall and a row of lights illuminated our path.
“Thought you might require a little assistance,” he said.
Without the lighting, it would’ve been too dark to see the way ahead. I was acutely aware of the Highland Reckoning’s broad shoulder brushing against mine as we walked. A sensation pulsed through me and quickly began to throb. At first I thought it was the close proximity of a vampire—until I spotted the room ahead.
Power.
I detected immense power straight ahead. I couldn’t decide the nature of it, but it frightened me nonetheless. Power of any kind was terrifying in the wrong hands.
“Is the royal armory still in this building?”
His mouth split in a mild grin. “Would you like to see that as well? I’m not sure I trust you in a room full of weapons. I saw what you can do with a blade on a stick.”
I shot him an indignant look. “That blade on a stick is called Babe and she’s the finest axe in the realm.”
He strangled a laugh. “I’ll take your word for it.”
My face hardened. “You don’t have to. I can demonstrate if you like.” Threatening the Demon of House Duncan in the Tower. Smart, London.
We reached a room lined with display cases. Each one was highlighted by a small spotlight affixed to the wall above the case.
“This level was where the former royals once housed their jewels.”
“Are the jewels still in the possession of House Lewis?” Power thrummed inside me. If one of the jewels was enchanted and still within range, that might explain my reaction.
“I believe they were moved to storage to make room for the family’s own acquisitions.”
“Acquisitions like the stone of unknown origin.”
“Precisely.” He stopped in front of a case. “And here it is.”
I moved closer to examine the stone. It was fairly nondescript, only the size of a basic brick and the color of sand. A symbol was etched into the face—a trefoil knot.
“What does the symbol represent?” I asked, feigning ignorance. I knew exactly what it meant, but I was curious to test the prince’s knowledge on the subject.
“Immortality.”
Okay, so he was more than a pretty face. “And the stone the dealer described sounded like another one of these?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. To our knowledge, there is only one of these in existence in the entire world. According to legend, this stone is the reason House Lewis managed to fight its way to the top of the food chain.”
And he was choosing to share this information with me? Was it because he, too, underestimated me? Whatever the reason, the disclosure was useful.
I inclined my head. “Tell me about this stone.”
“Do you always speak to people like that?”
“You’re not people.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You really have a thing about vampires.”
I offered an exaggerated huff. “You’re not people because you’re royal.”
“In that case, do you always speak to your superiors like that?”
I bit my tongue to keep myself from spewing venom. I was standing in a vampire stronghold with the Highland Horror himself. Pissing him off would not be a wise strategy.
“If you please, Your Highness, I would very much like you to share everything you know about this stone so that I may rescue your beloved sister.”
“I don’t typically like to share…”
“Shocker.”
“But I’ll make an exception for you.” He turned toward the display case. “No one knows its origin, but it’s said to be the source of all vampires’ immortality and the one who controls the stone holds power over the species.”
“Seems pretty accurate from where I’m standing.”
“The stone has been housed here ever since House Lewis took control of the city.”
“Do other vampires know about it? And if so, why have they not banded together and raided the Tower?”
“Good question. I’ve heard varying accounts. Some say Queen Britannia fought every vampire who was a potential threat for possession of the stone.”
“Including your father?”
He flinched. It was quick but I caught it. “I would say he was her greatest threat of all, so yes.”
“You’ve never spoken to your father about the stone?”
“By the time I learned of it, I was already a hostage here, so no.”
“Who told you about it?”
“Maeron and I discovered it together during one of our more adventurous outings. We snuck out of the palace together and took down the guards.” He glanced at the ceiling. “We played in the armory upstairs for an hour before Father appeared to deal with the situation. We asked him about the stone after he doled out our punishment and he told us what he knew.”
I didn’t ask about the punishment. I had a feeling vampires were cruel even to their own kin.
I looked back at the stone. “And how did the second stone compare to this one?”
“Quite similar. Very plain, basic in size, but with a different symbol. The dealer drew a picture of it on a napkin.”
“At the palace, no one remembered the symbol.”
His smirk was non-apologetic. “What can I say? We lied.”
My jaw tightened. “Did you recognize it?”
“No. Would you like to see it?”
“Gee, it might help given that you expect me to find it.” I would die if I tried to throttle him, but I really, really wanted to.
His fangs elongated and he bit through the skin of his arm until blood bubbled to the surface. He dipped his index finger in the beads and drew the symbol on his arm in blood. Charming.
Five triangles around a circle. Not quite a pentagram. Not the Star of David. More like a star and a flower combined.
“You’re just trying to show off your muscular forearms, aren’t you?” I said.
He grinned. “You find them muscular?”
“It’s an objective assessment, not a compliment.” I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of the stone, as well as his arm. “You don’t mind, do you? It’ll help with the investigation.”
“That’s why I brought you here. As far as I’m concerned, if we find the stone, we find Davina.”
“At least we can rule out the wizards. If they had her, they would have said so.”
“They clearly didn’t have the stone.”
No, but the fact that we had competition for the stone was a problem. If the Green Wizard located it first, we might never find Davina.
“Allow me to show you something else.” We emerged from the White Tower and descended the steps. Once on solid ground, he pointed to the wall ahead. “Do you see there?”
I squinted in the darkness to see a silhouette. No, three silhouettes. “Yes.”
“I could sense the question in your mind when we were talking about the Immortality Stone. You met the vampire guards at the entrance, but there are also vampires and magic users positioned on the wall around the clock. The perimeter is warded too.”