by Lili Zander
“Code received,” a voice replies at once. “Putting you in priority sequence, Albatross.”
A timer flashes on the display. I read it, and my heart sinks. Five minutes. That’s how long we have before we leave Banrilia. My vampires are still in Club Tranche. I’ll be gone before they even know I’m in trouble.
Marya leans back in the pilot’s chair. She throws her knife in the air and catches it, and then throws it again, the movement restless.
She’s not as calm as she appears.
“Are you jealous of me? Is that what this is about? You’re angry that Saber’s in love with me instead of you?”
She makes a scoffing sound. “That’s such a cliché. What is this, Forbidden Love? Saber and I were involved a very long time ago. I assure you, I haven’t spent the last decade pining for him. Our paths have diverged.”
“No, you haven’t, have you? Did you ever care for him? Saber loved you, and you betrayed him. He wanted to blood bond with you, and instead, you drank from Levitan.”
An unreadable expression flashes over her face, and she freezes. She almost drops the knife, only to pluck it out of the air inches from the floor.
I’ve struck a nerve.
“Love is a fool’s game, Raven,” she says finally, her voice flat. “Power is the only thing that matters.”
“Is that why you work for Harek Levitan? Because power is the only thing he cares about? Or are you in love with him? Do you imagine that he’s in love with you?”
She laughs at that. “I’ve been accused of many things,” she says. “I’m a stone cold killer. I leave death and destruction in my wake. But I’ve never yet been accused of being delusional.” Her teeth flash in a grin. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Wrong line of questioning, but strangely, she hasn’t shut me down. Why not? “Why did you kill Hiram Gratvar?”
Her body goes still. “Isn’t it obvious? Harek Levitan wants you alive.”
“No.” I’ve got her. That split-second hesitation is all I need. “That’s not why. You might not still be in love with Saber, but you couldn’t watch him die. That’s why you fired on Hiram Gratvar’s ship.” I stare into her eyes. “You’re conflicted about this mission, aren’t you? You know why Levitan wants me. If you take me to Starra, Harek Levitan will put me in a cage. He'll get what he needs from my blood, and then he'll kill me. You’ll be delivering me to near-certain death.”
The timer’s down to two minutes and thirty-five seconds. This really needs to work. “Saber saw good in you. He saw the person you could be. The person you still can be. You don’t have to do this. You can just walk away.”
For an instant, regret flashes on Marya’s face, and then her expression hardens. “People die every day,” she says, no emotion in her voice. “Death comes to all of us in the end. If it makes you feel better, Harek won’t torture you. Physical torture isn’t his thing; he specializes in mental anguish.”
The timer’s at a minute and fifty-five seconds. “I’m going to have to tie you up now,” Marya continues. “I can’t have you trying something when my attention is focused on flying this ship.”
Fear saturates me. I’ve run out of options. I make a break for the door, operating on pure instinct. I can’t let her take me to Levitan.
She moves, so fast that she’s a blur. She grabs my neck and slams me against the wall. “I told you not to move,” she snarls.
The countdown clock freezes. The comm beeps. “Albatross, this is Ground Control. We’ve been shut down. Your departure has been canceled.”
Yes! How did I forget? Ragnar told Egon Dalsgaard to shut down the spaceports. No one can land in Banrilia, and no one can take off either.
“What the fuck?” Marya swears. She transfers her attention to the comm. “That’s impossible. I gave you a priority code.”
“I’m sorry, Albatross.” The man sounds sincere but helpless. “Your priority code is no longer valid. Banrilia is being placed under Imperial Seal, and the order has been countersigned by Empress Astrid herself. There are no exceptions.”
My bones ache. Something sharp and pointed is digging unpleasantly into my butt. None of it matters right now. I start to laugh. “I really hope you have a Plan B.”
Hang on. Is that…?
Marya snarls something at Ground Control. For a second, she’s not looking at me. My right hand is only inches from my back pocket. I reach into it slowly, and my fingers close on a syringe.
A syringe containing my blood.
I have a weapon. No. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this. I am the weapon.
Marya’s human. I’m not going to kill her. I’m about to do something far worse.
She turns off the comm. “Get up,” she snaps. “We need to go.”
“No.” I keep my right hand behind my back. “Your orders are to bring me in alive, but I'm not coming quietly. I will fight you to the death if that's what it takes.”
She rolls her eyes. “That is very brave of you, but also very foolish. I can fight you and win with one hand tied behind my back.” She gestures with the knife. “Walk.”
I back up against the wall. The syringe is warm in my palm. “I don’t think you heard me. I’m not going.”
Her fist drives into my midriff. I swear I hear ribs crack. “Now,” she says, her voice low and dangerous. “I’m not going to ask again.”
I bend over double, coughing in pain. My eyes fill with involuntary tears; my body screams in agony. It hurts to breathe.
I don’t lose my grip on the needle.
She waits for me to straighten. “Walk.”
I shake my head.
She swings at me again. This time, I’m prepared. I pivot to my right. I bring my arm up at the same time, and I stab the needle into her neck, plunging my tainted blood into the assassin.
“What the…?” she swears. For a split-second, she has no idea what just happened, and then she touches her neck and feels the syringe.
Her face pales.
“You’re not stupid,” I tell her, forcing myself to ignore the pain in my ribs. “You know what I just did. My blood is in your veins now. Harek Levitan’s virus is making its way through your system. It won’t harm you, as you well know. Humans are immune to it.” I give her a vicious smile. “But it will make you one hell of a target.”
She looks shocked.
“It’s time for you to recalculate your options. Time for you to figure out who you can really trust. Yes, you can take me to Starra. But how long would it be before Levitan found out that you carry the virus, and what do you think he’ll do to you once he knows?” I cock my head to one side and regard her. “Do you think he’ll let somebody with as much talent as you walk free with that virus in your blood? Or do you think he’ll lock you in a cage?”
She stares at me for a really long time. Then her face contorts in a snarl of rage. She punches the button for the ramp, spins on her heel, and sprints to the exit. Soldiers appear at the foot of the ramp to stop her, but she knifes her way through them, her blade moving in a blur, and then she's gone.
For the moment, it’s over.
32
Raven
Nehal and Stefan want to shoulder all the blame for the incident. I refuse to let them. “It’s my fault,” I tell Ragnar firmly. “I’m the one that insisted on being alone. If you’re going to punish anyone, punish me.”
Needless to say, that does not go down well.
There’s yelling. Lots of it. Underneath, there’s overwhelming relief. We’re all here. We’re all alive. Gerra Clay is dead. Marya Revit is not an immediate threat. When Saber finally calms down, he even agrees that I did a good job defending myself.
In the background, my promise to Ragnar lingers. I do my best not to think of it.
Later that night, Ragnar disappears on some mysterious errand. The rest of us stay in the Valiant and raid the bar. We drink slenti and make love, and it is so good. We’ve been through hell together, and we’ve come ou
t the other side, and if that isn’t worth celebration, then I don’t know what is.
Nero and Zeke fall asleep, but I can’t drift off. Saber’s awake too. “Are you concerned?” I ask him quietly. “She’s walking around with a virus that can cause genocide. Do you think she’ll use it? Is that why you can’t sleep?”
“I can’t sleep because we almost lost you,” he says severely. “Never wander off on your own again.”
Ouch. Poor guy. At least he’s not threatening to lock me up somewhere. “Yes, Saber.”
He puts his arm around my waist. “I don’t know what she’ll do,” he says. “Maybe she’ll go on a killing spree. Or maybe the virus will let her disappear.”
“I’ll be okay never seeing your crazy ex-girlfriend again,” I tell him frankly.
He brushes a kiss over my temple. “You won’t be the only one.”
Three days later, we touch down once again in Merin, and I finally find myself alone with the prince.
I’m still nervous. Ragnar still intimidates me. But I understand him a little better. I understand what it must be to be him. The constant pressure he’s under. The crushing responsibility he bears. He carries the weight of the entire Empire on his shoulders, and he bears the burden without complaint because he loves his sister and will protect her at all costs.
“Come here,” Ragnar says.
I cross the room on shaky feet.
“I almost forgot to show you this.” He hands me his screen. “Hayden, one of my hackers, worked on tracing the children in the Ruby Rose. She was able to find their families. Watch.”
A ship touches down on the screen. There’s a crowd of people waiting just outside the hanger. On their faces, I can see hope mingled with resignation.
I recognize this look. These are people desperately trying not to hope, because they know that more often than not, their dreams will get crushed.
Then the ramp extends down, and the children slowly emerge, and when they take in the waiting crowd, joy fills their faces.
“Mama,” one little girl shouts, barreling straight into the arms of a waiting woman.
Tears roll down my cheeks. “Their families were alive?”
“Yes.” He brushes a teardrop away with his thumb. “They were. Everyone is home again. Happy endings all around.”
My heart beats faster at his nearness. “Thank you, Ragnar.”
He gives me a small smile. “There’s no need to thank me, Raven. Anyone would have done the same thing.”
I somehow doubt that.
I swallow back my nerves and confront the topic I’ve been avoiding. “You killed Gerra. It's only fair that I keep my end of the bargain.”
He surveys me, his expression inscrutable. Then he shakes his head and takes a half-step back. “I didn’t kill her,” he murmurs. “You did.”
“That’s a technicality.”
He spreads his hands. “I’m not going to make you honor that agreement, Raven. There's no pressure. You don't have to sleep with me because I did the right thing. I don't need to be rewarded for cleaning up a mess I should have dealt with many years ago.”
I don’t understand.
“If you sleep with me,” he continues, his voice gentler. “I want it to be because you want to. Not because you're holding up your end of the deal.”
I stare into Ragnar’s eyes. I’ve never been surer that there’s so much more to the prince than appears on the surface. I’m attracted to him. The nerves haven’t disappeared completely, but fear isn’t the dominant emotion anymore.
“How about a meal?” I whisper. “Is the offer of dinner still open?”
He studies me for a long time, and then he smiles and holds out his hand. “I think we can make that work.”
His comm chimes. He mutters a curse under his breath and looks at the screen.
Empress Astrid's face fills the console, and she looks distraught.
“What happened?” Ragnar asks sharply.
“Harek has the virus.” Her hands are shaking. “He just came to see me. He unleashed the disease on a sparsely populated planet in the Uncharted Reaches.” Her voice wobbles. “There were two thousand, three hundred, and seventy-five vampires living on Ghani. They’re all dead.”
Ragnar grabs the table for support. He grips it so hard that his knuckles turn white. “What does he want?”
“He wants me to be bonded with him,” Astrid replies. Her voice gains steadiness. “A blood bond. Permanent and irrevocable. Once it’s done, I will become a figurehead while Harek does the real work of running the Empire. His way, of course.”
Ragnar’s expression promises murder. “How long do we have?”
“Three weeks.” Astrid takes a deep, shaky breath. “Ragnar, he will commit genocide. I cannot let him do it. If this is the only way, then it is what it is. I know my duty to my people.”
“No.” Ragnar’s voice snaps like a whip. “You are not doing this. We have three weeks. We will find a cure. We will not roll over and play dead. We will fight back.”
The two of them talk. I wander away, numb with fear. Levitan has the virus in his possession. Ivar Karling is nowhere near finding a cure. When the war comes, my vampires will be on the front lines, because that’s who they are.
And they will die.
The vampires find me in the courtyard, staring out into space. I can’t seem to stop shivering. “What’s going to happen now?” I ask through dry lips.
“We head to Starra,” Ragnar says flatly. “And we fight. We have no other choice. Astrid’s reforms will finally create an empire that serves all its citizens. Humans and vampires. We’re not fighting for ourselves, Raven. We’re fighting for something greater. We’re fighting for the soul of the Shayde.”
But will we win? I don’t ask them that question. I’m not ready to hear the answer.
Epilogue
Marya
I walk among the corpses on Ghani.
In the chaos that is my life, there has been one constant. One person I’ve always loved. My foster father, Arun.
I kneel next to his dead body.
He suffered. His death was painful.
There will be consequences.
I know why Ghani was picked. Like I told Raven, Harek Levitan specializes in mental anguish. This demonstration might have been for Astrid, but the real target has always been me.
This is my punishment. This is the cost of my failure to retrieve Raven. This is designed to crush my spirit. There have been a thousand cruel cuts in the past, all to get me to behave. To get me to be his perfect pawn.
I know what I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to take my punishment and go crawling back to the General and take my place at his side like a cowed dog.
I’ve done it before, after all.
This time, Harek miscalculated.
Raven Unnuk thought that along with her blood, she was giving me a death sentence. She was wrong.
Her blood buys my freedom.
Harek Levitan is about to realize something he’s forgotten. The Dagger of the Shayde can cut both ways.
Thank you for reading Blood of the Shayde! The story concludes with Soul of the Shayde. Turn the page to keep reading!
Soul of the Shayde
Soul of the Shayde
The Vampires of Shayde want more than just my blood…
We’ve reached the point of no-return.
Everywhere we look, death surrounds us. Thousands of vampires dead. Billions more at risk.
The Empire is on the brink of a catastrophe.
And only Ragnar, Saber, Zeke, Nero, and I can stop it.
The stakes have never been higher.
But we cannot turn away.
We’re fighting for the soul of the Shayde. In this war, there can only be one victor.
1
Raven
At the risk of sounding dramatic, everything really sucks.
First, I was bitten by a rogue vampire who infected me with a virus that will kill any vampire that
drinks from me.
The virus was a biological weapon created by Harek Levitan, Commander of the Imperial Army, Regent to Empress Astrid. In two months, the Empress comes of age and will assume full power over the Empire of Shayde, and it turns out that General Levitan isn’t too happy to give up power and let Astrid rule. Hence the virus.
Then I was hunted by Overlord Klaus Zimmer’s men, who were ready to murder me or imprison me to keep the existence of the biological weapon a secret. To live, I had to flee Boarus 4. There was only one way out: I had to enter the Night of the Shayde, an annual tournament that came with a tempting prize, a ticket to the Shayde capital Starra. In Starra, I could hide.
So far, not great.
Things got better when I met Saber, Zeke, and Nero. The three dangerous, powerful vampires saved my life and helped me win the Night of the Shayde.
But then things got rocky again when I found out that Saber, Zeke, and Nero had been sent by Harek Levitan for the express purpose of finding me and taking me to him. They hadn’t intended to follow through, but still. A girl likes to know these things.
So, there we were, on the run again. We ended up stealing Prince Ragnar’s spaceship—the prince is Astrid’s half-brother and one of the most powerful people in the galaxy—and fleeing to Merin, where Nero had friends who’d hide us. The plan was simple: go to Merin and find a hospital that could do a blood transfusion, ridding me of this damn virus.
Things got complicated. We were intercepted by slavers who carried a cargo of human children. They were food for a deranged vampire, Gerra Clay, who believed that drinking the blood of children would extend her life.
