Page 196 of Eternal Surrender

“Over centuries,” Fabian said, “Jacob feigned inheriting the title of Stone Lord from his father, and his father before him. We remained one step ahead. In doing so, we prevented much of their persecution of our kind.”

“Lord Artimas,” Jacob continued, “was informed that we’d chosen one who would govern with an uncompromising hand over vampires. Jointly Lording alongside the Stone Master himself.”

Fabian raised his chin. “And his name was⁠—”

“Dominion,” I said, my focus finding the tomb again, exploring the ornate carvings.

Fabian broke the silence, saying, “Lord Artimas conceded that a vampire ruler would best reign over his own kind. He agreed with us and took our proposition back to the other Stone Lords.” Fabian looked grave. “His men voted against Lord Artimas. They hunted Dominion, intending to kill him. Carnage ensued.”

“Lord Artimas and his men refused your offer of peace,” I said.

“This tomb was a ruse,” Fabian acknowledge.

“A diversion,” said Jacob.

“With Jacob securely ensconced within the Stone Lords, he set about building this sarcophagus.” Fabian gestured to the standing stone. “She’d been here for one thousand years, carefully hidden. It was the perfect place for a tomb, ensconced within the very heart of the Stone Masters.”

“Once this sarcophagus was built,” Jacob said, “and secured, we set about choosing the men who would guard it.”

“You feigned Dominion had been captured?” I realized. “You asserted he was actually in there.” I studied the empty coffin. “Didn’t Lord Artimas insist on seeing the body?”

“We waited for a distraction,” Jacob said. “We chose the night your mother died in childbirth. Lord Artimas was so riddled with grief that he gave over the power to entomb Dominion,” Fabian turned toward Jacob, “to Father Jacob Roch.”

“We ordered all vampires to leave Cornwall,” Jacob added. “Though they knew not why. And when vampire attacks ceased⁠—”

“The Stone Masters were convinced they really did have Dominion,” I said.

Jacob shared a look with Fabian and said, “I chose the men who would guard the tomb. I named them Sovereign. Monks were considered to be unquestioning. They were regularly rewarded with sips of blood offered up in a ceremony.”

“For eight years, there was peace again,” Fabian said. “Harmony.”

“Vampires were tempered,” Jacob said. “Stayed in the shadows.”

Fabian grimaced. “We hadn’t accounted for man’s greed.”

I understood what he was intimating. “Until a member of Sovereign became obsessed with actually drinking from the fountain of bliss, Dominion himself.”

Jacob pursed his lips with tension. “One of the monks pried open the tomb. Sovereign believed it was the Stone Masters who’d stolen him. Their allegiance became strained. Sovereign broke away with their own agenda.”

My focus fell on the empty sarcophagus again. “Did Dominion ever really exist?”

Fabian raised his chin high. “He does. When we chose him, he was merely a boy. Bright, well educated. His temperament gentle, like his mother’s. He was, of course, mortal. We needed him to grow, flourish and see the world anew. Believe in the possibilities of peace.”

“We placed servants around him,” Jacob said, “to protect him.”

“And great teachers to educate him,” Fabian added. “To enlighten him.”

“We hoped he would one day join us,” Jacob said. “Give his own life over to become a vampire.”

“And he did,” I murmured.

“But not by our hand,” Fabian whispered.

“Orpheus transformed him,” Jacob said. “Removing Dominion’s free will.”

“Orpheus had no idea what he’d done,” I whispered, taking in the way the walls threw off a delicate blue hue caressing the marble, the magnificently rising granite stone representing divinity; the way Jacob and Fabian gazed upon me.

“We were waiting for the chosen one to be enlightened,” Fabian said. “Illuminated by time.”