Dark Fates: The Vampire Prophecy Book 1

by G. K. DeRosa

  Kaige released his brother and approached the bed. He reached his hand out and helped me off as Xander glared, his fangs hanging out. Kaige positioned me behind him, his back my own nocturne shield. He ticked his head toward the pot on the stove. “Have some valerian root tea, brother, we could all use something to calm our nerves.”

  Xander’s fangs retracted under his lip as he regarded his brother skeptically. The moment he turned toward the stove, Kaige swiped the empty Alinare vial from the nightstand and bit into his wrist. He poured his blood into the vial and shoved it behind his back, offering it to me.

  “Take it,” he hissed. “If he tries to compel you, don’t hesitate.”

  If I hadn’t been so close to him, I would’ve never heard his words. I slipped the vial into my back pocket before his brother turned back around.

  Xander took a sip, and his posture relaxed. Hope simmered inside me. This was going to work. Kaige was really going to get me out of here alive.

  “Fine. I’ll let you walk out of here with her, but not before I have a bite.” The cup crashed to the floor, and a black blur sped toward me. Gleaming white fangs flashed in my periphery.

  A growl so loud it shook the entire cabin tore out of Kaige’s mouth. Before Xander clamped down on my throat, Kaige lunged, knocking him off me. The two brothers struggled on the floor as the smack of bone against flesh filled the small space.

  I leapt up and went straight for the shotgun in the closet. I put the handle up to my shoulder and trained it at the brawling brothers. I’d never seen a gun in real life before the other day, let alone held one, but I hoped the old Westerns I’d watched with my grandpa had been accurate. I put my finger on the trigger and shouted, “Stop!”

  Xander straddled Kaige, his fingers wrapped around his neck, but Kaige had his brother’s leg in an awkward position. One twist and it would be as broken as mine had been.

  “Xander, I mean it. Let him go or I’ll shoot you.” I didn’t know if the gun was loaded, but hopefully neither did he.

  His fingers slowly released their hold. Kaige sucked in a deep breath and squirmed out from under his brother, moving to my side.

  Xander raised his hands in the air and began to clap.

  What the hell?

  “Bravo, brother. I don’t know what you’ve done to that human, but she seems to be truly fond of you. And the way you almost killed me to defend her has me thinking the feeling is mutual.”

  Kaige shook his head. “No, you’re wrong. She means nothing to me.”

  I swallowed down the pang in my chest that his harsh words ignited. The blood bond pulsed, hot and angry.

  “Good. Because I’ve changed my terms.” He rolled his neck, releasing a series of pops.

  “What terms?”

  “You leave the human with me, and I’ll turn her in. I’ll say I found her wandering around the royal grounds. I expect father will be quite pleased with me. In exchange for keeping your nasty little secret, you’ll throw the trials. After all, as future king, I must uphold the laws of the prophecy.”

  Ice crawled up my veins. No!

  “You’re out of your mind, Xander. I’d never lose on purpose, and especially not if that meant you become king.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll turn you both in. You’ll die side by side after a lengthy stay in the castle’s dungeons.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “That’s always been your problem, brother. You’ve continually underestimated me. Everyone has. I will no longer live in the shadow of perfect Prince Kaige. Now choose: die with your human pet or throw the trials and live to see the future king crowned.”

  Kaige’s jaw clenched. His eyes darted to mine, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of regret cross the navy storm raging within.

  “Do what you will with her. I’ll throw the trials as you wish. I’m not dying for a human.” Kaige stomped out, slamming the door behind him.

  My heart shattered into a million pieces.

  Chapter 18

  Kaige

  I couldn’t breathe. A massive boulder sat on my chest, crushing my lungs. Sharp bits of rib bones were tearing the flesh to pieces. I was drowning in my own blood. Soon, my vision would blacken, and the world would dissolve around me in a haze of suffering.

  All of this was figuratively speaking. It was probably less painful than what I was really feeling.

  Solaris.

  I betrayed her. The agony rippling through the blood bond was incapacitating. It made me want to run back to the cabin for her.

  But I couldn’t. Xander would turn us both in. Why should I die for one insignificant little human?

  Acid crawled up my throat thinking of the life fading from those green eyes.

  I shook myself. I’d gotten what I needed from her, which was the only reason I saved her from the burning plane. If anything, her own recklessness led to her death. Not me.

  A dark voice laughed in the back of my mind. I ignored it.

  I marched through the lower level halls of Castle De La Divin, my body taut and fangs hanging out. They wouldn’t go back in. I caught sight of my reflection in a gilded mirror on the wall. My hair was a wild mess, and deep shadows crossed my harsh face. And my eyes? Two twin pools of molten silver burning holes at anything they landed on. It was a wonder the nocturnes I’d passed on my way hadn’t spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction.

  When I finally reached my destination, my fist pounded on the wooden door. This was the only place I could go. He was the only person I could trust in this entire world.

  “Hold your horses. I’m coming,” came a weathered voice from the other side of the door.

  It finally opened, and I rushed inside, brushing by Garridan. His room was ten times smaller than mine and lacked the luster and the finery. His simple wooden furniture and white bedding was the opposite of my ornate ironwork and silk adornments.

  “Kaige, what’s the matter?” Garridan closed the door behind him, his knowing eyes following my anxious pacing. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know what to do, Garridan.” My gaze trailed the dull stone walls, lit only dimly by gas lamps. “I don’t know what to do. Everything is falling apart and…” My words trailed off as I tried to catch my breath.

  Garridan stepped in front of me to stop my pacing. “Tell me what happened?” His frail hands found my shoulders, his grip surprisingly strong.

  “He’s got her. He’s got Solaris.” I jammed my hands into my hair.

  “Solaris? Who’s...?” He blinked and color drained from his cheeks. “The human girl?”

  I gave a sharp nod.

  Garridan dropped his grip and cursed. “Kaige, what have you done?”

  A barking, humorless laugh tore from my mouth. “How much time do you have? I’ve done a lot these past few days.” I shook my head. “But now Xander.” His name came out as a growl. “He found her and when he realized I…”

  When he realized what? I didn’t care about her. I just… I made her a promise, and now I was breaking it to save my own neck. “I made a deal with him.”

  His brow arched. “Your brother isn’t exactly a man of his word. I’m not sure you can trust any deal with him.”

  I started pacing again. Damn it. Garridan was right. Xander could still turn me in just to spite me, even if I did throw the trials. And then there was Solaris. Certainly he wouldn’t bite her because if he did, he’d be just as treasonous as I was.

  The scent of her blood mixed with the honey and jasmine of her skin swirled through my mind. The feel of her against me after I’d saved her from cracking her head on the tub burned through me. Her body was warm and soft, and she fit so perfectly in my arms.

  I shook my head. No. This was wrong. Maybe it was for the best if she died. The things I’d been thinking and feeling … It was too dangerous. The prophecy…

  The pain on her face as I left her in the cabin with my brother flashed through my vision. Was that the last time I’d ever see Solaris?

 
She didn’t deserve to die. Neither did I.

  Damn Xander!

  So much anger came rushing to the surface, red-hot and overwhelming. This stupid prophecy was ruining my life and stealing hers.

  “Kaige, calm—”

  A growl tore from me and before I knew what I was doing, my fist reared back and slammed into the wall.

  Tiny fissures appeared in the drab gray stone as pain exploded through my hand. Garridan cursed again and grabbed my wrist to examine it. My skin was broken over my knuckles, crimson leaking across the ragged flesh.

  “Come here,” he hissed, clutching my arm and drawing me toward the small fireplace. He forced me into a wooden chair. “Stay.”

  My nostrils flared as I stared at the wall I’d punched, wishing it were my brother’s face. My hand throbbed, but it still didn’t take away this ache in my chest from Solaris.

  “Drink this.” Garridan shoved a bottle of synth into my face. “Now.”

  I took it and yanked off the lid, downing a huge gulp. It only made me think of the blood bags we’d found in the plane.

  I mentally cursed. My life had been turned upside down the moment that plane crashed into the Shadow Lands. If I hadn’t let Xander push my buttons that night and had I attended the summit like I was supposed to, none of this would be happening.

  And Solaris would be dead.

  A shudder rippled over my body, and I pulled the half-empty bottle of synth from my mouth.

  Garridan dragged another chair next to me, slowly taking a seat. “So your brother found out about the human you had at the cabin. What have you been doing with her?”

  “Nothing,” I hissed, my fingers tightening around the bottle. “I was just trying to get answers from her. She said she didn’t know anything, but I needed to be sure.”

  “Your compulsion didn’t work, did it?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “It was my blood, right?”

  “Yes.” Garridan ran a hand over his graying tufts of hair. “You were waiting for it to dissolve from her system?”

  I nodded. “I was finally able to compel her.” My eyes drifted to the scarlet liquid sloshing in the bottle. “She didn’t know anything, but the inside of the plane wasn’t as destroyed as I’d thought.” I could thank the humans for developing the fire-resistant substance.

  “And?” A line formed between his brows when he saw my face. “How bad is it?”

  I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, my chest still too tight from Solaris. “Blood.”

  Garridan blinked. “I don’t understand.”

  “The crates marked by our emblem were full of insulated boxes holding bags of human blood.”

  It took a moment for my words to sink in. His lips turned white, and he shook his head. “No. No. That’s not possible.”

  “It’s more than possible. It’s the truth.” I wiped the cold sweat that had formed on my forehead with the back of my unmarred hand. “Someone in the Collective is selling or trading human blood to someone in Draconis.”

  Garridan rubbed his face and let out a shuddering breath. “This is bad, Kaige. Something like this could start a war.”

  “That’s why I pushed the plane and all its damning evidence into the lake.” I downed another sip of synth. “Nothing good could come of me knowing this. I had thought it was something like technology or resources from Imera. Not human blood.”

  “You can’t tell anyone else.” He glanced around, shifting anxiously as if afraid someone might overhear. “Don’t even talk about it.”

  “I won’t tell a soul.” If Solaris were to drink the vial of my blood I slipped her, no one would be able to compel the truth from her either.

  “I wish you could compel me to forget.” It would be so much easier if the entire thing were washed from my memories. Even meeting Solaris.

  “I’m not strong enough,” Garridan said, sympathy crossing his features. “I don’t think anyone, maybe not even the king, is strong enough to compel you.”

  “Too bad.” I took another sip.

  Garridan was quiet for a moment, his gaze heavy on me. “What exactly were you going to do with the human before Xander found her?”

  I swallowed hard. “I stole a plane to take Solaris back home, and that was to be the end of it.” My nostrils flared, and my teeth ground together. “When I returned to the cabin, Xander was there, moments away from sinking his fangs into her neck,” I growled. The glass bottle began cracking in my hand.

  Garridan snatched it away and stood, tossing it into the trashcan. “What does Xander want?”

  What Xander always wanted: power. “He’d turn Solaris in and say he found her wandering the grounds. He’d keep me out of it if I agreed to throw the trials.”

  His lids fluttered closed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kaige, you cannot let your brother tell the king you’ve been involved with a human.”

  “I know that, Garridan, but what am I supposed to do?” I rubbed my forehead, wishing I could rub away this ache. “I can’t just let her die, can I?”

  “She’s just a human Kaige.” His hand found my shoulder. “You’re the prince. You need to think of your people. Even if you throw the trials and Xander is chosen as the next king, you will still need to be here to make sure Draconis doesn’t implode from your brother’s foolishness.” He shrugged as his hand slipped away, the wrinkles in his face deepening. “I know that’s cruel, but it’s just the way things are.”

  “You don’t understand.” My jaw clenched as my teeth ground together. I could still feel her pain echoing through the bond, pounding against my chest. Her hate was mixed in too. She probably cursed the day we ever met.

  But I still didn’t want to hurt her. Would I feel her die? Would the bond just sever like a broken bone?

  “I don’t know if I can let her die,” I muttered, my gaze averted to the stone ground. “We formed a bond.” The words were simple enough, but the meaning behind them condemned me.

  A long, tired sigh drifted from Garridan. “I knew it.”

  I glanced up at him, my brow furrowed. “You did?” When he’d told me about the bond, he kept staring at me, looking for something beneath my already crumbling mask of control. Did he see the invisible ties binding Solaris and me together?

  He rested his hands on his knees. “You were so agitated when I saw you. I was hoping it wasn’t true, but…” he trailed off, his gaze going pensive.

  “What do I do, Garridan?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t make that decision for you, Kaige.” He chewed on his bottom lip and then stood. “But maybe I can help you clear your mind.” He strode toward a small rickety shelf on one wall. He pulled a large, worn leather-bound book out and reached into the narrow space. His hand reappeared clutching a dusty, cobweb-riddled bottle.

  “What is that?” I whispered.

  He strode forward, his eyes dark and even a little distant as he stared at the tiny vial of blue liquid. “This is something that will help.” He blew the dust off it before gently placing it in my palm.

  My thumb brushed over the remaining grime. There was no label.

  “It’s called Evanescium. It was used in the times before the prophecy,” he said. “It should numb the bond with the human. Its effects are only temporary.”

  My lips puckered. “Why would you have this?”

  “Never you mind.” He closed my fingers around the vial. “Just take it. It will help you see clearly without the bond clouding your judgment.”

  Knots formed in my gut as I opened my hand, staring at the glittering blue liquid. If I took it, I wouldn’t feel her fear or pain. I wouldn’t feel anything for her.

  At least I shouldn’t.

  I uncorked the bottle and downed the contents.

  Chapter 19

  Solaris

  How could I have been so stupid? How could I have trusted a nocturne even for a second? A tear rolled down my cheek, and I rubbed it against the carpeted floor of Xander’s trunk. Every inch of the ca
r oozed luxury, even the part he deemed lowly enough to toss me into. Anger bubbled up, burning a hole in my chest. I strained against the ropes that held my wrists together as I bounced around in the dark.

  Xander was even crazier behind the wheel than Kaige. I was sure I was going to be black and blue when we finally arrived at the castle. I gulped as fear replaced the anger. What would the king do to me when he discovered a human was in Draconis? At least Kaige hadn’t told his brother about the blood bags on the plane. I would’ve surely been tortured for information before I was killed.

  Killed. I was going to die.

  I swallowed down the impending hysterics and took a couple deep breaths. I couldn’t give up yet. Maybe I could talk my way out of this like I’d done so many times before with Turston in Imera. If you could manipulate one ruler, you could manipulate them all, right?

  The car ground to a halt, and I smashed up against the back of the trunk. Son of a—! I ran my restrained hands down my lower back to massage away the pain, and my fingers landed on a lump in my jeans pocket. In all the commotion, I’d totally forgotten Kaige had slipped me his blood. Anger bubbled up in my gut. I didn’t want anything that belonged to him now, not after what he did to me.

  Suck it up, Solaris. The voice in my head was right. I needed to keep it just in case.

  I dug out the small vial and brought it up to my face. The damn trunk was so dark I couldn’t see a thing. I popped open the cork and sniffed at the dark liquid. Bleh. A sharp briny scent filled my nostrils. Why would he give this to me if he knew he was going to betray me?

  The lid popped open and the dim light of the streetlamp nearly blinded me. I shoved the vial into my pocket. Xander’s wicked grin appeared over the opening, and my heart constricted. Why did they have to be twins? I couldn’t look at Xander without thinking of Kaige. Every so often the blood bond pulsed, and a slew of unwanted emotions came over me. Pain and guilt spilled over like a tidal wave, temporarily smothering the burning hate in my chest. At least Kaige was miserable too. I held on to every shred of anger and directed it to the bond, hoping it suffocated him.