A Shade of Vampire 16: An End of Night
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
Copyright
1. Chapter 1: Sofia
2. Chapter 2: Rose
3. Chapter 3: Sofia
4. Chapter 4: Rhys
5. Chapter 5: Rose
6. Chapter 6: Rose
7. Chapter 7: Rose
8. Chapter 8: Sofia
9. Chapter 9: Rose
10. Chapter 10: Rhys
11. Chapter 11: Rhys
12. Chapter 12: Rose
13. Chapter 13: Sofia
14. Chapter 14: Mona
15. Chapter 15: Rhys
16. Chapter 16: Mona
17. Chapter 17: Isolde
18. Chapter 18: Lilith
19. Chapter 19: Rose
20. Chapter 20: Rhys
21. Chapter 21: Mona
22. Chapter 22: Mona
23. Chapter 23: Mona
24. Chapter 24: Mona
25. Chapter 25: Kiev
26. Chapter 26: Mona
27. Chapter 27: Mona
28. Chapter 28: Rose
29. Chapter 29: Rose
30. Chapter 30: Mona
31. Chapter 31: Rose
32. Chapter 32: Rose
33. Chapter 33: Rose
34. Chapter 34: Rose
35. Chapter 35: Rose
36. Chapter 36: Caleb
37. Chapter 37: Rose
38. Chapter 38: Caleb
39. Chapter 39: Rose
40. Chapter 40: Rose
41. Chapter 41: Sofia
42. Epilogue: Ben
An Important Note About Kiev Novalic
Read More by Bella Forrest!
Also by Bella Forrest
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
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)
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)
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
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Copyright © 2015 by Bella Forrest
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
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Chapter 1: Sofia
“We need to break Lilith’s heart.”
After Mona had said the words, we all looked around at each other in confusion.
“Break Lilith’s heart?” I asked. “What do you mean? How?”
“I don’t know,” Mona said. “We need to find Magnus and speak to him, learn more about Lilith and figure out what would hurt her the most.”
“Even if we somehow do manage to find him,” Ashley said, “what makes you think he would want to help us? What if he still loves her?”
“He needs to understand what the black witches are doing now,” Mona said. “Their plan, if successful, will mean that no species, no realm, is safe—except perhaps the dragons. And we need to tell him about the bond Lilith formed between them to keep her alive this long. My guess is that he isn’t even aware of it.”
“If Lilith is as horrifying as Mona makes out,” Kiev muttered, “one look at her should be enough to break whatever attachment remains.”
“So we would have to find Magnus and then take him to Lilith,” Xavier said. “Do we even know where Lilith is?”
“I have some ideas,” Mona replied. “You can leave that to me. The first thing we need to do is find Magnus and persuade him to cooperate.”
“Where would we even start?” I asked. “We know for sure that he is still alive since Lilith is, but in theory couldn’t he be anywhere within the human or supernatural realms?”
Mona nodded. “It’s going to be one hell of a task. I’m going to try taking another memory potion to see if I can glean any more information about Magnus, but in case I can’t…” She turned to her husband, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Kiev, what else do you remember about the man? Please, try to think.”
Kiev furrowed his brows, running a hand across his forehead. “I don’t know,” he said after a long pause. “As I mentioned, I barely knew him. I just remember him stopping by briefly at The Blood Keep many, many centuries ago.”
Eli looked up from the laptop in front of him. His expression was grim.
“There have been several more mass kidnappings already,” he said. “Just shy of one thousand humans have been reported missing now.”
I wondered if the government authorities had bothered to listen to us about closing schools and warning everyone. Whatever the case, our efforts obviously hadn’t deterred the black witches.
Mona drew a breath. “Almost one thousand,” she said. “I can’t imagine much more blood will be needed now until they are ready…We are running out of time. Fast.”
Chapter 2: Rose
I kissed Caleb until the corners of my mouth felt sore. He had been crouched over me as we lay on the jetty, his body pressed against me as he claimed my lips over and over. I ran my hands through his hair while he lifted himself off me and lay down beside me. I raised my right hand, examining the exquisite ring he’d given me.
Engaged. That’s what I am now.
I was still in shock. One minute I had been dancing with Caleb, and the next he had gone down on one knee and pulled out a ring. It all felt so surreal.
He turned on his side and pulled me closer to him until my nose was barely an inch away from his.
“Rose Achilles,” he said softly.
His voice and the way he looked at me made my nerves tingle. My body heated up. I pressed myself closer against him, as close as I could get. I felt his chest tense as I kissed his jawline. I nuzzled my head against him.
“And how long do I have to wait until you make me fully yours?” I asked in a whisper.
He placed his hand over my forehead, tilting my head back so he could look me directly in the eye. He smiled, then sat up abruptly, pulling me up with him. My heart raced as he held me in his arms and stood up. Expecting him to start running toward our cabin, I reached for his shirt and began unbuttoning it.
To my disappointment, he headed in the opposit
e direction, toward the beach.
Once we had exited the Port and arrived just a few feet away from the beginning of the waves, he put me down. He held my hands in his, bending his head down to face me. I looked up at him, my eyes wide with expectation—even though I’d already guessed the words he was about to speak.
“We have waited this long already… I think we should wait for our wedding night.”
My stomach sank. “We could do that,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment, “or we could go back to our room now…”
His smile broadened. “It will be all the more special if we wait,” he said. He leaned toward me, brushing his lips against my neck, before whispering into my ear: “I promise.”
“And how long until our wedding?” I asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I don’t think anyone on this island is up for another wedding while the threat of Lilith remains hanging over everyone.”
I sighed. “I know.”
Yet another reason for wanting to end that hag as soon as possible.
“Speaking of Lilith,” I said, “I wonder if Mona might have returned by now.”
We began making our way back toward the Residences. We’d almost reached them when Caleb stopped.
“I hear voices coming from the Great Dome,” he said.
“Let’s head there.”
We arrived outside the Great Dome and pushed open the doors. Sitting around the long table were my parents, grandfather, uncle and aunt, and all the members of our council except for Claudia and Yuri.
I was relieved to spot Mona sitting next to Kiev. Caleb and I sat down in the nearest spare seats.
“What is happening?” I asked.
“Caleb,” Mona said, ignoring my question. “Do you know of a man—a vampire—called Magnus?”
“Magnus,” Caleb said, looking surprised. “Magnus who?”
“We don’t know,” she replied. “But a vampire named Magnus is the key to ending Lilith once and for all. I know only a little about the man from accessing Lilith’s memories with the help of a potion. I just spent an hour trying to access more, but it seems I’ve already witnessed all that she unwittingly shared with me.”
“I did know of a Magnus,” Caleb said slowly. “Wasn’t he a child of the Elders? I saw him briefly in Cruor.”
Mona’s eyes widened. “You knew a vampire named Magnus in Cruor?”
“I didn’t know him. He wasn’t a prisoner there like the rest of us were. He was a child of the Elders. He was freer than us, more privileged. He could come and go as he pleased, or so it seemed. I never talked much with him.”
“It must be the same Magnus,” Kiev said. “There can’t have been two children of the Elders named Magnus. Do you know what happened to him, Caleb?”
Caleb shook his head. “I remember him because there was a short period when he brought us blood every day. Then he just stopped coming and was replaced by someone else. I have no idea what happened to him.”
“Well, none of this helps us,” Xavier said. “It would have been a long time ago that Caleb saw him there. And he left. We have no idea where he might be now.”
Kiev stood up abruptly, looking around at everyone in the room. “Let’s go to The Blood Keep.”
“The Blood Keep?” several vampires asked at once.
“Why?” my father asked. “It was centuries ago that you saw him there. What makes you think that—”
“Oh, I don’t expect to find him there,” Kiev replied. “But there is something in that castle that I believe might help us.”
“Didn’t we ransack The Blood Keep decades ago?” Zinnia said.
“The building might still be standing,” Kiev said.
My father stood up, followed by my mother.
I was still confused as to what everyone was talking about. Who was Magnus? Why was he the end of Lilith? Clearly, nobody was in the mood to answer my questions now.
“Okay,” my father said. “We leave for The Blood Keep.”
Several people were looking doubtfully at Kiev, but it didn’t seem that anyone had any brighter ideas.
“Xavier and Vivienne, you will stay here in The Shade. The rest of us can go. Ibrahim and Corrine, we will need you, obviously.” Everyone stood up, including Caleb and me. I was waiting for my parents to tell me that I should stay too, but they didn’t bother. It seemed that they were past trying to keep me out of things.
“Be careful,” Vivienne said, her hands resting over her stomach.
“The dragons will remain with you too,” my father said. “The rest of you can come. Though I’d prefer we keep our party no larger than fifteen members. We will be back as soon as we can.” He kissed his sister on the forehead, then nodded toward Xavier before following us all out of the Dome.
Fifteen of us gathered in the clearing outside: Caleb and me, my parents, grandfather, Kiev and Mona, Corrine and Ibrahim, Kiev’s siblings and Matteo, Micah, Ashley and Landis. My mother was looking worriedly at me. She walked over and held my hand. A small gasp escaped her lips when she realized that I was wearing a ring. She stared at it, looked from me to Caleb, then back to me.
“You’re engaged?” she choked.
I nodded, grinning. Tears brimmed in her eyes. My father was already in conversation with Corrine and Ibrahim, but my mother caught his hand and pulled him over. She pointed to my ring.
Despite the worry creasing my father’s forehead, he couldn’t hold back a smile. He drew me in and planted a tender kiss on my head. Then he placed a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Congratulations,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Derek?” Ibrahim called.
My father left to continue talking. My mother hugged me tightly. I felt her shake slightly, as though she was trying to suppress a sob.
“Sofia,” my father called.
She let go of me and joined him. I moved closer to Caleb, wrapping my arms around him. After a couple of minutes, my parents, Ibrahim, and Corrine had finished their conversation. They turned to the rest of us.
“Let’s go,” my father said. “Form a circle.”
We all gathered around and did as requested.
“Corrine and Ibrahim are going to take us directly within the compound of The Blood Keep. We don’t know what we are going to find there now, so be careful once we arrive.”
My parents took their place in the circle next to me. My father held one of my hands, while Caleb held the other, and we all vanished.
Chapter 3: Sofia
Even as we arrived outside the looming castle and crossed the shadowy courtyard, all I could think about was my daughter being engaged. I couldn’t believe how fast she had grown up. It still seemed like just yesterday I’d been nursing her in my arms. My baby girl.
I was knocked back to reality as Derek and Kiev pushed open the ancient oak doors. A strong smell of decay wafted out from the building. We walked through the door into the entry hall. I shuddered as I took in the place. It looked much the same as I remembered it. Long velvet curtains hid the windows and the high ceilings were covered with cobwebs. There was a thick layer of dust coating the floor. Looking around, it appeared that nobody had stepped in here since the day the Elder had escaped with his vampires through the portal. A portal that was supposed to have been closed by the late Ageless.
Remembering that Derek was no longer a vampire and couldn’t see in the dark, I gripped his arm and led him forward as we crossed the hallway. We stopped at the base of the wide staircase leading up. All eyes turned toward Kiev.
“So?” Mona said, her voice echoing eerily around the hall. “Why did you bring us all here?”
Kiev looked paler than usual, his eyes haunted with memories. It seemed to take a moment for him to compose himself enough to answer. “While I was staying here,” he said, his voice deep, “there was a room where the name of every single one of the Elder’s children was recorded. On the walls… It was a job my Elder had given Clara. We need to find that room. I don’t remember
exactly where it is now.”
“Where do we start?” Derek asked.
“Upstairs,” Kiev replied.
I remained holding onto Derek as we climbed the stairs. I looked back to see Caleb supporting Rose.
The first floor was brighter than the ground floor. Many of the curtains were either torn or ripped right from the rails, allowing the rays of the moon to shine through. Derek didn’t need me to guide him anymore.
This level was also more wrecked than the floor below—pieces of crushed furniture and shards of glass from smashed mirrors were scattered everywhere. Perhaps this floor was where the main battle had taken place that night Derek and our vampires had stormed the castle in search of me.
“I suggest we split up to make this faster,” Derek said.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Matteo asked.
“One wall, covered with etchings of names,” Kiev replied.
Half of us split right, while the other half went left. Even as a vampire, I found myself shivering as I walked along the corridors and looked in each of the rooms. Many of them I recognized from my stay here, and when I reached the room at the end of the corridor I was walking along, I stood rooted to the spot. It was all too familiar. I gulped, looking around, and stopped at the foot of the bed. This had been the chamber I had been imprisoned in while I was pregnant with the twins.
Someone entered behind me. Kiev.
“Oh, you’re already checking in here,” he muttered. He stopped short as he realized which room this was. All the emotions—the fear, the uncertainty, the distrust—I’d held for the vampire during my stay within these walls came back to me full force. I remembered how much his erratic, violent and unpredictable nature had terrorized me. I had begun to believe that I would never make it out of this place alive. If it weren’t for Shadow, I probably wouldn’t have.
Our eyes met across the room. His expression was dark, tortured. It was hard to believe that the same vampire who’d kept me captive was standing before me now.
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