by Sara Snow
Skye shrugged. “You will. You always finish what you start, Elinor, once you put your mind to it.”
Cyrus smiled devilishly. “Yeah, let’s not dwell on the night you almost made everyone shit their pants.”
“Gee, thanks. For some reason, that isn't really helping me feel any better about myself.”
“I know,” he said, sobering up. “But after all, you got your power at the very moment we needed it the most. And sometimes, a little fear is good. It’ll give you the extra motivation you need to get your power under control.” He pulled Skye closer to him. “Something is coming, and I have a feeling we’re all going to need all the strength we can get.”
“I guess that means you won’t be holding back any longer, huh?”
His lip twitched as he looked at Skye, and she nodded, as if giving him her approval. “Yeah,” he answered. “No holding back now. The Vampire Queen’s going to die, one way or another.”
I wanted revenge, too, for Ms. Clementine, Skye, and all the other supernaturals who’d been branded and resurrected. But one thought kept echoing through in my mind.
What’ll happen to William when she dies?
14
Will
I entered the dimly lit coven and found it empty of vampires. They were probably sleeping or feeding, and I was thankful for that as I made my way through the house to Vivian’s bedroom. I pictured her red hair and ruby eyes, and all I felt was a revulsion that my mother had sent me here in the first place. And even more revulsion that I'd actually gone along with it.
I had spent months living under this roof with a vampire I detested. But that was now coming to an end. I was only here to speak to her and advise her I’d be leaving. Then I’d be on my way.
I’d learned little from my mother, but at least now I knew who was responsible for the killing and reanimation of so many supernaturals. It was surprising to me that she hadn’t realized yet what Cain was doing. While her interest was in expanding her domain, it was clear to me that Cain wanted something else. I just needed to find out what.
Nonetheless, I saw the irony in what they were doing, pitting supernaturals against each other and using them to reclaim the land they’d lost. But Cain was also limiting the food supply in the process. He had to see that.
My mother had been right about one thing, though. I had personally contributed to the fear the supernatural community had of vampires. I was not the only savage in vampire history, but I’d been one of the worst. This generation of supernaturals, and the three that came before them, hadn’t been alive when my name had driven fear into all who heard it.
I’d terrorized the inhabitants of countless towns and villages, successfully forcing thousands to swear their allegiance to my Queen. It had taken decades, but we were eventually forced into the shadows. The kings and queens before Amythia had kept a peaceful enough relationship with the supernatural and human communities, but when Amythia had gained the throne, she’d wanted to be feared. And it was my greatest shame that I had helped her.
Our obsession with power and control was eventually our undoing. Though it took me a long time, I finally saw that we were poisoning the same world we would have to live in. It was the primary cause of the change I underwent.
My mother didn’t care. She wanted to see the world burn. And she was on her way to getting exactly that if she and my brother weren’t stopped.
“Will?”
I paused mid-stride and turned to face Vivian.
She frowned as she looked me up and down. “Why are you sneaking around?”
“I was headed to your room.”
“Oh? Why? Where have you been?” She walked past me, her deep purple dress dragging behind her, and I remained quiet until we got to her room.
Once inside, I closed the door behind me. “I went home.”
Her frown deepened. “Why? Is everything okay?”
“It will be, Vivian,” I answered dryly.
Her eyes sharpened. “Did you visit the Queen before or after you went to the Black Souls Market?” When I said nothing, she stared at me with contempt. “You must think I’m a fool.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
She held her hands out. “What choice did you leave me? I’m your fiancée. That’s why you came here in the first place, but you’re always gone! Since the moment you arrived, you and I have barely spent any time together because you’re always off doing who knows what. You are never here, Will, and I needed to know why.”
Not good. Not good at all.
“So, when you followed me, did you get the answers you were looking for? Answers you could have asked me for, instead of invading my privacy. Do not forget who I am, Vivian. I don’t appreciate being spied on.”
She snorted. “Privacy.” She sat on her bed, then shook her head slowly, letting her red hair slide forward to shield her face. “I’m to be your bride, Will. Your mother sent you here so that we could bond, and so you could become familiar with my coven. Instead, the distance between us has only grown.”
Vivian was loyal to my mother. But if she had learned about Elinor and my involvement with saving her pack, why hadn’t she informed the Queen?
“How long?”
She looked up. “How long, what?”
“How long have you been following, Vivian?” I needed to be careful here and remain calm until I knew how much she knew.
She looked away. “Not long. I thought I’d give you your space and allow you some time to warm up to me and the idea of us. But after you left me during that snowstorm a while ago, I knew then that you felt nothing for me.” Her red eyes narrowed. “I only followed you once—to the Black Souls Market.” She paused. “Why were you there?”
“Why didn’t you follow me inside to see for yourself?”
Her eyes turned into slits. “Maybe I did, Will. So I’d advise you to stop speaking to me as if I were a fucking child! Something’s been going on with you, and I want to know what!”
No, she hadn’t followed me inside. Vivian wouldn’t set foot inside that market because as strong and cunning as she was, she was also sheltered. She was nothing more than just a privileged vampire girl, allowed to play with supernaturals and humans as if they were toys. During one of my strolls through the house, I found a room where the rotting bodies of humans had been left.
My eyes turned red, and I struggled to control my anger. “Did you know about the Queen’s plans for the supernaturals?”
She looked confused for a moment, then her face morphed into an expression of amusement. Before long, she was cackling loudly, her head dropping as she laughed long and hard. I didn’t move or speak. If I did, I was afraid I’d kill her. Her voice sounded like the scratching of nails on a wall, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. She was an insolent creature who I could clearly see would only grow worse as she grew older.
Vampires like her were the worst kind of creature. They’d cause havoc simply for entertainment without caring about the negative impact on anyone else. The fact that I saw bits of my past self in her made me dislike her even more.
“The Queen didn’t tell you? Oh, how you’ve fallen from grace.” She wiped at a tear. “Well, I suppose you didn’t really need to know, did you? She sent you here to court me, but we both know how that’s been going. And honestly, now I’m not so mad about it. I thought you were her favorite. But I was wrong.”
“You’ve been wrong about a lot of things, Vivian, including your purpose.”
Even if I hadn’t met Elinor, I wouldn’t have married this woman. She was my mother’s choice, not mine.
She went still, and her usually pleasant face changed to reveal the real her—the sinister monster she truly was, not the sweet woman she pretended to be. I found it odd that she even tried to keep up that façade with me. There were gentle enough vampires around—they weren’t all savages—but she wasn’t one of them.
Her eyes grew murderous. “What happened to you, Will? You’re nothing like the man I heard
about, the warrior who struck fear wherever he went.” She looked me up and down with disgust. “As intimidating as you are, you’re nothing like that man. So maybe they were all just stories. You’re weak, Will, and you’re growing weaker. There’s no way you’ll be King.”
The control I’d been trying so hard to keep finally broke, and I moved toward her. Her eyes widened when I vanished from where I was standing, and she gasped as I grabbed her face from behind and bent her head. My fangs sank into her throat like a knife slicing through butter. My hand muffled her scream, and as her blood flowed into my mouth, I pulled away and threw her across the room.
Her wooden dresser cracked beneath her and her hand flew to her neck as she got on her knees. Black veins crawled up her skin, her black blood pouring out on the floor. Her hand was shaking as she pulled it away from her neck, a look of panic on her face. Unlike other vampires, blood coursed through my veins, but the rest of my kind had a black liquid in place of blood.
“I’m not healing!”
“There are things you don’t know about me, things that might have been left out of the stories you’ve been told. A vampire’s venom rarely affects another vampire . . . but mine does. And my bite is lethal. But you’re lucky. I only gave you a low dose of venom, just enough to block your healing receptors.”
My body was almost shaking with excitement at the smell of her fear. The look on her face of utter dread, as if I were a monster, was filling me with pure ecstasy.
My venom was another reason I had been so greatly feared by other vampires. But after our kind had been banished to the current Vampire Territory and my legend had faded, the Queen made sure that this particular detail faded as well. It would only give those who hated me more reason to believe I wasn’t one of them.
But the man I once was crawled closer to the surface with each step I took towards her. Images from my past, things I’d placed in a box and locked away, surfaced in my mind, and I closed my eyes for a moment. I needed to remain in control, or things would get out of hand. My gums were aching to pierce flesh, and when my eyes opened again, Vivian was on her feet and backing away from me, her hand still on her neck.
“It’s been so long since I’ve smelled such sweet fear.” I looked down at my hands, the warmth in them fading as I changed into my vampire form.
My skin turned gray, and I bent my neck to the side, the bones cracking as black veins appeared up my arms along with my neck and mouth. “You’re a fool to think the Queen would be so adamant to have me as her successor if I was weak. There has never been a vampire like me, and there never will be again.” I stopped walking towards her. “I should kill you now and be done with it.”
“Will, please—”
I blinked out of sight and reappeared before her, pressing a finger to her lips. Her body quivered in fear, and I couldn’t stop a grin from crossing my face. She deserved this. “The venom will fade soon, and you’ll heal again.”
My finger on her lips moved to her chin, and I tipped her head back. “If I was still the vampire I used to be, I would have killed you long ago, just so I wouldn’t have to hear your voice. You can forget about becoming royalty. This engagement is off.”
Her lips parted, and I swiftly covered her mouth with my hand. I tsked as I shook my head and bent her head to the side. Her hand covering her wound clamped down on her neck further, and I sighed. I wasn’t going to bite her again. I didn’t need more of her blood in my system. During sex, feasting on another vampire’s blood could be enticing, but any other time, I found the taste repulsive.
I released her and turned away to leave. My thirst for blood was growing, and the last thing I wanted to do was kill a human or supernatural on sight.
Or be on the verge of losing control when I saw Elinor.
I growled. I’d have to feed before going to see her because the last thing I wanted was to scare her off. Telling Elinor my mother was behind her friend’s abduction and that friend’s mother’s murder wouldn’t be easy. Loyalty meant everything to me, and if I helped Elinor and the other supernaturals, I’d be betraying my Queen, my mother.
But I couldn’t let her continue with her crazy plan.
I also was afraid that in the time I’d been gone, Elinor might have grown suspicious of me. And considering my mother was behind it all, I wouldn’t blame her if she did. There was a foul taste in my mouth, and it had nothing to do with Vivian’s blood.
In the end, whether or not I told Elinor the truth, I would have to stop my mother. One way or another, I’d have to put an end to her plans. The world she was trying to create wasn’t one I wanted to live in. And I’d be damned if she used me as a reason for doing it. I hadn’t asked her to kill everyone just to expand our domain. Hell, I didn’t want the throne to begin with.
But I knew I had to tell Elinor and let the chips land where they would. The werewolves were going to discover the truth eventually, and she would definitely question my loyalty if she learned of my mother’s involvement from someone else.
“You can’t do this!” Vivian cried as I got to the door. “You can’t do this to me! I’m to be Queen! Me!”
“I can’t? I just did, Vivian. Now run along and tell the Queen. We both know you will.”
“You’ll fucking pay for this, Will. I swear it!”
I glided my tongue over my fangs and glanced at her over my shoulder. “All you need to do is give me a reason, Vivian, and I’ll thoroughly enjoy showing you the man I used to be. You know nothing of cruelty. You’re a child. If you’d like to live out the rest of your pathetic life, I suggest you be a good girl and stay away from me.”
Her mouth clamped shut.
15
Cyrus
“I’ll help you with that.” I held my hands out to a werewolf carrying a bundle of folded towels.
She stopped and looked at me hesitantly before glancing at Darian, who stood behind me. I wasn’t offended. I was a demon, after all, and the Blackmoon Pack was the only one to have welcomed a dark creature like me to live among them. Wolves from other packs still found my presence unnerving.
Darian and I, along with six other Guards, had arrived to help this pack two hours ago, after visiting the other one that had been attacked first. The damage to this pack wasn’t as severe as the previous one. Although there’d been more Guards with the other pack, they were up against a greater number of reanimated supernaturals. In the end, it had been a bloody mess. This pack was smaller, but there’d been fewer resurrected supernaturals to fight. The first pack’s Guards had killed off many of them before they’d been overrun.
Luna Clarice had ordered us to take supplies such as food and medicine to both packs, and we’d left five Guards with the first pack to help in any way they could. Both Alphas told Darian the same story. Out of the blue, the resurrected supernaturals had gone on a rampage. They hadn’t been looking for anything in particular—they’d just wanted to kill.
They burned down homes and murdered as many wolves as they could before leaving as quickly as they had arrived. They took several wolves, as well, and I knew exactly what would become of them. I stopped and handed a towel to a woman who was comforting a small girl—no more than five years old—as she cried over a covered body on the ground. There were two rows of shrouded bodies, eleven in total, laid out for survivors to check for missing family members.
The woman carrying the towels beside me sniffled as she made her way to the pack house. “There was no warning. They attacked us so suddenly, we couldn’t react. We had heard about what happened to the Blackmoon Pack, but still, we weren’t prepared.”
“How many wolves did they take?”
She shrugged, her blue eyes rimmed red. “Six are confirmed to be missing—two of them only teen pups.”
“Was there someone among them who seemed to have been controlling the supernaturals?”
She shook her head as we entered the pack house. “No. But they all stopped fighting at the exact same moment.”
“Did yo
u notice any vampires?”
She looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head and adjusted the towels in her arms. “I don’t remember seeing any. There might have been. I—I’m only a cook that works in the kitchen. I barely survived, myself.”
There were bruises on her arms and bags under her eyes, but she was still doing what she could to help. “Thank you for your help. I didn’t catch your name,” she said.
“Cyrus,” I told her.
“I’m Sabrina.” She took the rest of the towels from me and began handing them out among the wounded being treated on the floor.
I stood there for a moment, watching her work alongside the other wolves and the elderly wolf who appeared to be the pack’s doctor. Unlike our pack, these wolves didn’t have a second location to go to. They were all terrified that they’d be attacked again. If they didn’t die in the battle, they risked being captured and becoming one of the mindless creatures attacking their own.
I winced as my right arm burned, and I pulled my sleeve up. One of my tattoos was bright red, so I turned and walked out of the house. My eyes scanned the wolves outside until I finally spotted Darian.
“I need to go. Someone’s trying to use my portal.”
“How do you know?” He placed a large log he was carrying to the pack house kitchen on the ground.
I showed him the demonic symbol on my forearm, and he nodded, his eyes narrowing curiously. We’d learned nothing of importance, so getting away wouldn’t be a problem for me. Unlike Connor, who was sometimes friendly, Darian was a little more standoffish. As the leader of the Guards for the Blackmoon Pack, he always wore his uniform, even when off duty. Connor was the pack’s Beta, but both men seemed to do the same job when Darian wasn’t out on missions.
“Go. I’ll stay here tonight. Connor went back to the other pack. So once you’re done, return to our pack, okay?”
