"That's ridiculous." My statement was half-hearted, as it was clear the necklace had left me at this point. More answers awaited me when I found it.
Rhaelgyr shrugged, facing down the road. "Maybe it didn't physically leave. Maybe it was recalled by whomever gave it to you."
I narrowed my eyes as I approached. "There could only be one person."
The dragon began following the trail. "You suspect your father?"
"You don't?"
His tone was light, as if we were walking in the park. "It could have been the Gray Lords."
"That was a cover story. Implanted memories." I sped up, moving ahead of Rhaelgyr.
"Are you sure?"
my shoulders stiffened, but I kept walking. I wasn't sure, and that was the rub. Steven knew my father had erased my memories to punish me, and my subconscious confirmed it. But the time between the erasing and me showing up in the vampire realm was unaccounted for. Any number of years could have passed.
I could very well have been working for the Gray Lords.
Rhaelgyr drew abreast of me. I didn't answer him, and he didn't expect one. My silence was answer enough. So we followed the trail, and I told myself the past was behind me. Digging into the missing parts was still making forward progress.
Or so I kept telling myself.
"The trail ends," Rhaelgyr said.
We stopped at the end of the road, facing a massive building. It was featureless, looming, and the trail disappeared into its side.
"There's another dimension." The border radiated heat, made my skin prickle. "Something's waiting for me."
Rhaelgyr laid his hand in the middle of my back. "You can tell?"
I snorted, covering a sudden wave of fear. "Yeah. I'm not feeling just the dimensional wall." Sweat beaded on my forehead. "Something knew I was coming. It's..." I paused, stepping back as the membrane began to thin. "It's coming for me."
Rhaelgyr growled, going on the defensive. The building shimmered, and the dragon pushed me back, growling louder as a figure stepped out.
"Hello, Daughter."
