The Immortal Circus: Final Act (Cirque des Immortels) by Kahler A. R

Author:Kahler, A. R. [Kahler, A. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2014-01-13T17:00:00+00:00

Episode Four

Chapter Eleven: To Have and Not to Hold

“What are you saying?” I ask. “Kingston’s still alive? How is that possible? I saw him die. I drank his fucking blood!”

She dismisses it all with a wave of her hand.

“Immortal doesn’t mean always alive,” she says coolly. “It simply means we cannot die. There is a distinct difference.”

But I don’t hear anything she’s saying. The world around me goes dark; my knees slam on the stone floor, but I don’t really feel it—I’m not even there. I’m back in the cell in Oberon’s dungeons, watching Oberon slit Kingston’s throat. I’m there, feeling Kingston’s warm blood spill across my hands. Feeling Melody tip the vial of his blood down my throat. There are tears in my eyes, and I don’t know if they’re memory or immediate, but the ache in my heart is all too real. I saw him die. I saw him die because of me.

But it’s not just that; it’s all the rest—everything he said before he was killed, the admission that he had magically manipulated my feelings at first, the promise that his love for me was never an illusion. Death is merely an illusion. Was anything in this show for real?

“When you’re quite finished,” Mab says. Her words clear the memory from my mind, but reality doesn’t sink back in—my world is tinged the color of blood and rage.

“You knew,” I say. My hands are trembling with hatred and power. Stars form at the corners of my vision. “You knew he was alive. All this time you knew he was alive, and you didn’t fucking tell me?” The last part comes out as a scream and oh God, Austin. I press my palms over my eyes and try to block it out, all of it—the love for Austin, the love for Kingston. Austin, who at any time could be killed. Kingston, who is apparently still alive.

“To be fair,” Mab says, “you never asked. I’m surprised it never occurred to you. Immortality is, after all, written into all of your contracts. It’s the biggest perk of the job.”

And she’s right, she’s right—I’m so stupid—but I can’t focus on that, not through the rage that’s pouring through my veins. Not through the light trying to shatter from my palms.

I take a deep, shuddering breath. I want to kill her. I want to rip her apart.

But I can’t. And she knows it. My contract forbids it.

She steps up beside me and places a hand on my shoulder. Her grip is ice and iron, as binding as the words I signed my name to.

“You must pull yourself together, Vivienne,” she says. “It’s time for you to step up to the plate.”

Another deep breath. Another vain attempt at calming the screams ricocheting through my brain.

“What are you talking about?”

She kneels in front of me, then, and whispers in my ear.

“In the beginning, I thought we could use your gifts to manipulate Kassia into overthrowing Oberon. But he has changed the game, and now your powers alone are not enough.

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