by R. A. Gates
He could still breathe, but talking was
difficult. Thane stood quietly next to his
stepbrother while Sebastian led Ivy the
candles. Taking a deep breath, she
squared her shoulders and then stepped
into the circle. The light from the
candles flickered over the floor.
Sebastian entered and stood in
front of her. “It will all be over soon,”
he promised as he turned her around so
her back was to him.
She fought to stop the tremors
threatening to take possession of her
body. This was wrong on so many
levels, but letting Garren die would be
disastrous. Gritting her teeth, she braced
herself for the pain about to come. He
swept her hair to one side and tilted her
head to expose the long curve of her
neck. A shiver ran down her back.
Suck it up, Ivy. A vampire bite is
supposed to feel good, right?
Madame Rita sat on the floor,
chanting loudly.
Ivy’s magic swelled inside her
rib cage, ebbing and flowing with the
rhythm of the old witch’s words. Like a
breeze, Sebastian’s magic skimmed
across the surface of her skin, pebbling
her flesh.
His nose grazed her temple as he
bent forward to whisper in her ear.
“Each of our magic is reaching out to the
other. Do you feel it? You are much
more powerful than Leviena was.” His
hands gripped her arms as he pulled her
closer.
Bright green light emerged from
her chest and floated around her like
sparkling smoke. She stared in awe at
the beauty of her magic. It merged with a
blue light that came from Sebastian. The
powers swirling within the boundaries
of the candles intensified and wrapped
around them like a cocoon. Anything
outside the circle was blocked from
sight by the bright colors.
Madame
Rita's
voice
crescendoed to a high note, ending with
the clap of her hands.
A heartbeat later, Sebastian's
mouth came down to the base of her
throat. His sharp fangs pierced the soft
tissue and ripped into her artery.
She screamed.
Whoever said vampire bites
were supposed to feel sensual and
intoxicating was full of crap. It hurt like
hell. Moving her head only made the
pain worse. The gulps and moans he
emitted as he fed heaved her stomach.
Suddenly, images of people and places
she didn’t recognize flashed in her mind.
Each scene came and went too quickly to
make out. Then they stopped, along with
the pain.
She sucked in a lungful of air and
exhaled slowly, relieved it was over and
that she lived through it. That wasn’t so
bad. She closed her eyes, trying to clear
the fog that settled into her brain, when
something wet touched her lips.
Sebastian held his bleeding wrist
against her mouth. “You must drink my
blood,” he rasped in her ear.
Oh, gross. She jerked back but
hit his solid body. He pressed his wrist
harder to her lips.
I can’t drink his blood. What if
he’s got hepatitis or something? She
crushed her lips together.
“It is too late to stop,” he
whispered. “If we do not finish the
bonding ritual, we both forfeit our
lives.”
Groaning, she eased her mouth
open. It’s only tomato juice. That’s it,
tomato juice.
She sucked on his wrist until
warm liquid flooded her mouth. She
gagged at first, hating the metallic tang
on her tongue, but Sebastian clamped his
hand over her mouth. Taking a deep
breath through her nose, she swallowed
the blood down in one gulp. As soon as
it hit her stomach, her body wanted to
toss it back up.
“Keep it down,” Sebastian said,
still holding her mouth shut.
Her nostrils flared as she took in
quick, shallow breaths and imagined
herself in the middle of the arctic.
Thinking of cold places always helped
to keep from retching. After a few
moments, her stomach calmed down.
The air around them crackled
with electricity that pricked her skin. All
the magic pulsing and swirling around
them— since Madame Rita first started
chanting— drilled into their chests like
mini tornadoes. Both green and blue
magic came to rest inside her body, her
soul. Her heart felt heavier than it ever
had before.
Sebastian released her. “It is
done.”
As soon as her mouth was free,
she spat the remaining blood on the
floor. I’d kill for some mouthwash right
now. After decorating the floor with red-
tinged saliva, she wiped her mouth
against the sleeve of her upper arm.
“I don’t have to do that again
when we break the bond, do I? Because
I don’t think I can.” She hunched over,
bracing her hands on her knees as her
heart settled back to its normal rhythms.
“No,” Prince Sebastian said with
humor ringing in his voice. “There are
only two ways to break our bond. The
first is to end your mortal life. But now
that we are bound to each other, if one of
us dies, so does the other. That is not an
acceptable solution.”
Ya think? She stared at the
vampire in disbelief. She should’ve
asked more questions before she got
herself in this mess.
Madame Rita shuffled over to
Ivy, holding out a white handkerchief.
The old woman’s eyes were watery as
she spoke. “I… I’m sorry.”
Garren, free from Zoo’s grasp,
snatched the cloth from her hand and
walked over to Ivy. He swiped up the
blood trickling over her collarbone in
one rough motion. His jaw twitched as
he stared at her neck.
Ivy jerked back, not wanting to
be the outlet for his frustration, even if
she was the source. He grabbed her arm,
stopping her. His whole body visibly
relaxed as concern flickered across his
eyes. Her heart beat faster. She stood
perfectly still as he slowly raised the
cloth and placed it on the bite marks. His
thumb gently rubbed circles over the
bandage as he held her gaze. The flames
from the candles reflected in his pupils,
mesmerizing her.
This is the Garren I wish would
stick around more. The whole world
shrank around her until only the two of
them existed. But that fantasy shattered
when Garren’s eyes shifted to the
vampire standing behind he
r. “So,” he
said glaring at Prince Sebastian.
“What’s the second way?”
Ivy turned her head to face him,
wincing at the sharp pain the movement
caused her neck.
“That is simple,” Sebastian said,
his eyes shining in a way she didn’t find
so appealing anymore. “You are going to
become my vampire queen.”
Disgust twisted her stomach.
“The hell I am!”
Only a queen could turn a living,
warm-blooded Bane into an abomination
of the undead. Although she was
dedicated to helping the magical
community she was now a part of, being
the mother of all vampires was going too
far. Karma could kiss her ass.
“During the next full moon,”
Sebastian continued. “You will become
the most powerful being to walk the
Earth.”
Garren pushed her behind him as
he stepped up to Sebastian. His palms
faced the vampire. “Leave her alone.”
His hands jerked as he sent a shield, but
it dissipated as soon as it touched its
target, falling to the floor like a mist.
Prince Sebastian laughed. “Your
magic is no match for me now.” He
turned to Zoo and said, “Kill him.”
“No!” Ivy screamed as anger,
fear, and magic swelled inside her. Zoo
lunged at Garren. With a strength she
didn’t know she had, she pushed Garren
out of the way before the vampire could
get his claws on him. “Get out of here!”
Zoo stopped short before running
into Ivy. He snarled as he said, “Do not
interfere.”
Her whole body vibrated like a
tuning fork as she fought to hold her
magic in. With the added power she
received from the bonding, it was too
much for her to control for long. Every
cell in her body ached. She struggled to
hold on a little longer as she listened for
her friends’ footsteps to fade away.
When the door slammed behind her, she
focused on the vampires standing smugly
in front of her. They weren’t going to
fool her a second time.
“You just pissed off the wrong
girl . ” Like a scene she’d seen play out in
her nightmare’s night after night, she let
go and her magic exploded from her
body like an atomic bomb, flattening
everything around her. The vampires
were blasted across the room while Ivy
hurled backward, hitting the wall. Her
head bounced against the paneling as she
slumped to the floor. The building shook
and pieces of the ceiling fell to the floor.
Dust filled the room, aggravating her
lungs with every heaving breath.
Pain radiated from the back of
her skull, throbbing in rhythm to her
heartbeat. Tears gathered at the corners
of her eyes as she pried them open. She
squinted through the haze to survey the
damage. Since the old bedroom was
already falling apart when they got there,
it only appeared a little more so.
That went well.
Across the room, an unconscious
Sebastian was half buried under a pile
of rubble. Zoo lay not far from him. The
prince wasn’t dead since she was still
breathing, but she didn’t know how long
he would be out. Loud creaks and
shifting walls warned her to leave
before the building crashed down.
Gritting her teeth to ignore the sharp pain
slicing through her head, she crawled
over the scattered debris to get to the
door. Small pieces of wood and brick
dug into her palms and knees. I have to
get out of here.
Just then, the door flung open
with a bang and a dark angel appeared in
the doorway. Garren took in the room
before locking his gaze on her. “I can’t
take you anywhere. First you break the
plane and now this.” He gestured to the
mess with a wide sweep of his arm, a
small smile tugging at the corner of his
mouth. He swooped down and gathered
her up. “I’ve got you,” he whispered.
“Thane and the old broad are waiting for
us.”
His strong arms cradled her to
his chest and all the tension and buzzing
magic seemed to fade away, leaving her
calm and content. Even her headache
receded to a dull pounding. She dropped
her head down to rest on his shoulder.
“Don’t even think that you’re rescuing
me. I’m no damsel in distress.”
“I would never accuse you of
being a damsel.”
As he carried her out of the
room, a low moan rose from beneath the
fallen bricks and pieces of ceiling. It
reached her ears and clawed down her
spine, settling like poison in her gut.
This isn’t over yet.
Acknowledgements
Writing this book was by no
means a one person effort. I have many
people to thank for helping me along the
way. René, my first writing buddy; Sarah
for the beautiful cover art and beta
reading; Kody, Karen, and Jenny for beta
reading; my Witchy Writers and
Stonehenge pals for all your critiques
and feedback. And of course my family
for putting up with my craziness. Thank
you Cameron, Monica, Paul and Angela.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Acknowledgements
Document Outline
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Acknowledgements
