A Shade of Vampire 70: A Breed of Elements
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
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Main Cast List
Family tree
1. Raphael
2. Lumi
3. Inalia
4. Taeral
5. Riza
6. Lumi
7. Amelia
8. Taeral
9. Inalia
10. Amelia
11. Lumi
12. Sofia
13. Eva
14. Inalia
15. Taeral
16. Inalia
17. Amelia
18. Taeral
19. Lumi
20. Taeral
21. Vesta
22. Zeriel
23. Vesta
24. Bijarki
25. Derek
26. Taeral
27. Taeral
28. Inalia
29. Amelia
30. Inalia
31. Taeral
32. Lumi
33. Taeral
Read more by Bella Forrest
Also by Bella Forrest
HARLEY MERLIN
(New fantasy/romance/adventure series!)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)
Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)
Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)
Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance. Completed series.)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
THE CHILD THIEF
(Action-adventure/romance.)
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
Little Lies (Book 4)
Ghost Towns (Book 5)
Zero Hour (Book 6)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Season 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Season 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Season 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Season 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Season 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Season 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Season 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A Battle of Souls (Book 59)
Season 8: A Voyage of Founders
A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)
A Land of Perfects (Book 61)
A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)
A Jungle of Rogues (Book 63)
A Camp of Savages (Book 64)
A Plague of Deceit (Book 65)
An Edge of Malice (Book 66)
A Dome of Blood (Book 67)
A Purge of Nature (Book 68)
Season 9: A Birth of Fire
A Birth of Fire (Book 69)
A Breed of Elements (Book 70)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
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Copyright © 2019
Bella Forrest
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
All rights reserved.
No part o
f this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Main Cast List
Amelia (daughter of Erik and Abby Novalik – vampire)
Eva (daughter of Azazel and Tamara – druid/lamia/vampire)
Herakles (creation of Ta’Zan – Faulty)
Raphael (creation of Ta’Zan – Perfect)
Riza (daughter of Horatio and Aisha Drizan– jinni)
Taeral (son of Sherus and Nuriya – fae-jinni)
Varga (son of Ashbik and Ruby Goode – vampire-sentry)
Family tree
If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree
Raphael
Dealing with Cerix’s shady government wasn’t at the top of my priority list, but we had to do something about it.
Nalyon Martell had taken Inalia, and we had no clue as to where she could be. Chances were that Nalyon had hidden her somewhere else in Silvergate. I couldn’t help but groan with frustration.
We had a rogue Hermessi on our hands, most likely responsible for the deaths of dozens of fire fae, along with other supernaturals who had been close at the times of the fae’s explosions. Tension ran high enough as it was, since we didn’t know much about the Hermessi to begin with. In addition, we were certain that Cerix was home to at least two hybrid Hermessi children—Inalia and Eira. The former was of fiery descent. Her father had to be Brann, the planet’s known Fire Hermessi. We’d yet to figure out which of the elements was responsible for Eira, and we couldn’t locate her either.
The safe place Taeral had taken us to after our escape from jail turned out to be a fluke. An earthquake, possibly Hermessi induced, had forced us back to the Landing Bed in the heart of Silvergate, since we didn’t want to stick around and find ourselves on the receiving end of the Hermessi death cults’ inexplicable wrath. We’d gone through a couple more hiding spots since, but the bastards kept finding us on the outskirts of the city. We soon realized that there were more cultists operating on the edges of Silvergate and that they were beyond driven to get to us. We’d yet to figure out the “why,” though.
Still on the Landing Bed and with no intention of going back to the Cerixian jail, my crew and I were immensely stressed out. We’d been chased around by murderous Hermessi cults on two fae planets, as well as here—of all places. Here, on the edge of the observable universe. The skin-carved symbols, the black silks, and the porcelain masks had made it all the way to Cerix.
None of us were truly afraid of them. In all fairness, they were nothing compared to the enemies we’d dealt with before. Sure, they had some crazy firepower on their side, but we could take them down. The problem was that we couldn’t identify them, and we had to get to their ringleaders before other innocent people got hurt. GASP, with seven active agents currently present on Cerix, couldn’t do much to protect the Cerixians against these silent but deadly fanatics.
“At the risk of repeating myself, we need to find another place to crash,” I said, glancing around. The park surrounding the Landing Bed was dark and quiet, but there were guards patrolling the grounds. Soon enough, some alarm would sound to signal our escape. This place wasn’t safe for us to clear our heads and draw up an action plan.
“No, you’re right,” Taeral replied, then looked at Varga. “See anywhere nice for us to chill for a bit, then? Maybe where we won’t get greeted by those cult maniacs? We told GASP we’ve found a safe place about three safe places ago, so we should really settle somewhere so we can breathe and regroup for once.”
Varga smirked, his eyes glimmering gold as he checked the surrounding areas. “Any preferences? Do we prefer modest but cozy, or bright and luxurious? Antique lavishness or modern comfort?”
“Are you serious?” Eva asked.
“No, gorgeous. I’m kidding,” he said and pointed somewhere east. “There’s a residential area there. It seems pretty peaceful, off the main city roads. Little to no movement in terms of those black silken hoods and white porcelain masks, I should add. We might have more luck there than on the city borders.”
Eva blushed, then crossed her arms. Clearly, Varga stirred her in ways that, as of recently, felt familiar to me. I could hear her heartbeat spiking whenever he looked at her—much like mine when Amelia’s eyes found mine. It seemed as though the Lamia princess and I were stricken by a similar affliction.
“I suggest an attic or a basement, ideally in an abandoned or unoccupied residence,” Amelia said. Her ears twitched. We all heard the boots on the ground. “Ugh, this was bound to happen, sooner or later.” We’d been spotted from below. Within minutes, Armed Forces soldiers would have us surrounded—not that we couldn’t escape them. It just felt tedious to face the drones all the time.
“Found it,” Varga replied.
“Good. Link hands,” Taeral said.
We did, and a second later we were in a spacious attic. Hopefully, this place would hold us for longer than the others. Not that I didn’t mind incinerating one or two Hermessi death cultists, but it was a massive waste of energy without some government assistance on a wider scale, and that wasn’t possible until we sorted out the Nalyon Martell issue.
Dust had settled over wooden boxes and old furniture—the kind of stuff that previous owners had not dared throw away. I found this love of objects, in general, to be quite endearing. They’d worked hard to afford these things, and even when the time came to replace them, they couldn’t bring themselves to throw anything away.
That worked to our advantage, in the end. There were a couple of soft mattresses and plenty of blankets rolled up in one corner. We found lamps covered in soot and dust. At least two of them were functional, with some oil left in the bottom to burn. Taeral lit them up, casting a warm light across the attic. We could rest here for a while, easily.
Taeral and I pulled the mattresses out and positioned them on the creaky floorboards, around one of the oil lamps. We settled down and took a few minutes to simply relax. We couldn’t let anger and frustration get the better of us.
“Tae, we will find Inalia,” Riza said, trying to reassure him.
“I know. I’m just worried we won’t get to her before her abilities get out of control. She’s volatile when under duress,” Taeral replied.
“What about Eira?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“I managed to do a quick scan before you zapped us out of there,” Varga said. “I didn’t see Inalia or Eira anywhere. Granted, I didn’t have time for a full search, but I don’t think they were there anymore, anyway.”
“Do you think Eira’s with Inalia?” Amelia asked, then checked her tablet for new messages. From the way she pouted, I could tell there was no more news from Calliope for the time being. My gaze lingered on her lower lip. I wondered what it would feel like if I nibbled on it. What would she taste like?
I was quick to snap out of it and shook my head. “I doubt it. Eira protested against Inalia’s imprisonment from the very beginning.”
“But she did obey the orders.” Herakles sighed.
“What would you expect?” I asked. “This is everything they’ve known for their entire lives. Soldiers obey orders, no matter how strange or difficult they sound. It’s the same everywhere, on all planets, because that’s what warriors do.”
“We’re going around in circles here,” Taeral interjected. “We’ve got to figure out a way to find Inalia. We can’t have Varga perch on a roof and scan the city block by block. It’ll take forever.”
“Plus it’ll m
ake my eyes hurt,” Varga said, the shadow of a smile crossing his face. “It’s an ability like all others. Using my True Sight excessively might get uncomfortable, and it would require some additional syphoning. I don’t want to consume any of the crew’s energy so early in the game.”
Eva’s eyebrows went up. “Huh. I had no idea. I’ve read up on your species but that wasn’t mentioned anywhere.”
Riza giggled. “You read up on Varga?”
“I read up on everyone,” Eva retorted. “I figured I’d need to know more about my team before I went on a mission with them.”
“That’s actually very smart,” Varga muttered. “But no, you won’t find that detail in many books on sentries. Maybe in a footnote somewhere at best. It does take an excessive amount of usage to get the eyes tired. Scanning an entire city the size of Silvergate qualifies. I’d need at least a day or two.”
“Okay. That’s out of the question. We can start our search from the prison, working outward in circles,” Taeral said. “If we can’t find Inalia or Eira anywhere in that place, we can reach out to someone close to one or both of them, who might be able to tell us more.”
“Trap Mellon,” Amelia gasped. “Yes. He’d be useful.”
I liked that glimmer in her eyes. It amplified the vibrant blues twirling around her pupils, which dilated to pitch black whenever she looked at me. I remembered this about most humans—and vampires. Their pupils dilated when they saw something… or someone they wanted. I didn’t dare draw any conclusions from this discreet observation, but I was tempted to smile.
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