Chapter 5
The Guild's archive wing was underground.
The deeper we went, the colder the air became.
Silver lanterns lined the walls, their wicks infused with holy oil that repelled vampire presence.
Elias hadn't wanted to let me in.
Probationary hunters could only access the first level of records.
But I'd passed all three tests and provided a classification of the Black Rose Court sample, so the Guild's senior officers granted me a one-time access pass.
The man escorting me down was named Cedric Cross.
He was the Guild's youngest silver-badge hunter and, in my previous life, the man who'd hunted me.
After I sealed the Blood Bond with Lucien, the Guild branded me a traitor.
Cedric led the team that came after me.
He'd pressed a silver gun to my forehead and asked coldly, "Vera, do you even know who you're risking your life for?"
Back then I hated him.
I thought him heartless, unfeeling, incapable of understanding love.
Now, seeing him again, all I felt was something close to warmth.
At least he'd never lied to me.
Cedric walked ahead, his long grey coat trailing over the stone steps.
Without looking back, he asked, "What are you looking for?"
"The Silverthorn files," I replied.
His step faltered.
Then he kept walking. "Those records are sealed."
"I know."
"Probationary hunters don't have clearance."
"Then who does?"
Cedric stopped before a black iron door. "The Silverthorn heir."
He turned to face me. Those pale grey eyes were as cold as the frozen surface of a winter lake. "Or the Guild's Chief Adjudicator."
I met his gaze calmly. "What if I told you I am the Silverthorn heir?"
Cedric didn't answer right away.
He took a silver needle from his pocket. "Silverthorn blood can't be proven with words."
I held out my hand.
The silver needle pierced my fingertip.
A drop of blood fell onto the Silverthorn crest on the black iron door.
The crest, dormant for years, flared to life.
A silver thorn grew slowly from the door's surface, blooming at last into a white rose.
Cedric's expression finally changed. "You really are a Silverthorn."
"Yes," I said.
The black iron door swung open.
Stale, dust-thick air rushed out.
Rows of filing cabinets stretched deep into the darkness.
I stepped inside, my heartbeat quickening.
I had never set foot in here before.
In my previous life, I only found Clara's badge after Moren died. When I came to the Guild seeking answers, they told me the Silverthorn files had been lost.
Lucien told me, "Vera, the past can't be changed. Stop tormenting yourself."
So I gave up.
Of course he wanted me to give up.
The truth was right here.
Cedric lit a silver lamp. "You have one hour."
I walked to the cabinet at the very back. "One hour is enough."
The front of the cabinet was labeled.
Silverthorn Massacre.
Clearance Level: Black.
I opened the cabinet with my blood.
Inside were three files, a damaged hunter's badge, and an unsigned letter.
I opened the files first.
Sixteen years ago, the Silverthorn family received classified orders to investigate anomalies at the former site of the Black Rose Court.
Three days later, Silverthorn Manor was attacked by vampires.
Seventy-three hunters present. None survived.
Sole survivor: Vera Silverthorn, aged one.
Rescuer: Moren.
Case conclusion: vampire retaliation.
I scoffed.
Vampire retaliation?
Now I knew better. That was nothing more than a convenient lie.
I kept reading.
Page three had been torn out.
Page five showed signs of alteration.
Half the witness list on page seven was blank.
Someone had tampered with this file.
They'd done it in a hurry.
Cedric stood behind me, clearly seeing the same thing. "These records have been altered."
"Yes," I said.
"Someone inside the Guild was involved."
"I know."
He glanced at me. "You know a great deal."
I didn't answer. I picked up the letter instead.
The paper had yellowed with age, bearing a single sentence. [The Blood Crown is not in the Court. It lives in Silverthorn blood.]
My fingers clenched around the paper.
It was the Blood Crown.
The Blood Crown Lucien wore at his coronation in my previous life was no ordinary crown.
Legend held it was a vessel of power left by the first Vampire King.
Whoever awakened the Blood Crown could command all thirteen clans.
Lucien needed my blood because the Silverthorn bloodline had sealed the Blood Crown.
And someone had known this sixteen years ago.
Cedric asked, "What's the Blood Crown?"
"Something that would drive a lot of people mad," I replied.
At the bottom of the cabinet sat a wooden box.
I opened it. Inside was a silver ring.
Its face was engraved with a white rose wrapped in thorns.
I recognized it.
This was Clara's ring.
In my previous life, Lucien gave me a ring nearly identical to this one.
He said he found it at a flea market.
He said the moment he saw it, he knew it was meant for me.
I was so moved at the time.
Only now did I understand. It was never a coincidence.
He'd known everything about the Silverthorn family all along.
I slid the ring onto my finger.
The instant it touched my skin, a sharp sting shot through my fingertip.
Then a vision flooded my mind.
I saw a raging fire.
It engulfed Silverthorn Manor.
Clara held me in her arms, drenched in blood, pressing the ring into Moren's hand. "Take her and go."
Moren shouted, "What about you?"
Clara turned toward the heart of the flames.
A silver-haired boy stood there.
He was dressed in black, his face pale and beautiful, crimson eyes reflecting the fire.
It was Lucien.
No.
Lucien from sixteen years ago.
He looked even younger than he did now.
Clara's voice trembled as she said, "He led them here.
"That child from Black Rose."
The vision shattered.
I gripped the cabinet for support, chest heaving.
Cedric caught my arm. "What happened?"
I looked up, throat tight. "Sixteen years ago, Lucien was at Silverthorn Manor."
Cedric's gaze darkened instantly. "Are you certain?"
I gripped Clara's ring. "Certain."