My Vampire Knight (Sanctuary, Texas Book 6)
Page 1
My Vampire Knight
Krystal Shannan
Contents
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Acknowledgments
Praise for Krystal Shannan
My Vampire Knight
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
About the Author
My Vampire Knight
Sanctuary, Texas Book 7
Copyright © 2017 KS Publishing
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons –living or dead –or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.
Cover designs by Erin Hill, www.edhgraphics.blogspot.com
All rights reserved.
Please be aware that this book cannot be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the author, Krystal Shannan, at krystalshannan@yahoo.com, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/) and is punishable by up to five years in a federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
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Acknowledgments
I’m so excited for this book and a little saddened at the same time. It’s the finale this series deserves more than anything, but I’ll miss the world and the characters. I hope you’ve enjoyed their journey with me and have loved getting to know them as much as I have.
A huge thanks to all the people who help make this final book come together so amazingly. My cover artist Erin, my editors, Jena and Jacy, and my fantastic publishing assistant who makes my life so much easier - Annie you are wonder woman! I wouldn’t be able to focus so totally on writing without your support behind the scenes. To my fabulous Beta Readers, Iliana, Elaine, Rhonda, and Dina —you guys rock. Thank you so much for your insights.
To my brain trust and fabulous friends - ChickTales. Becca, Jodi, and KC - You are priceless. This book was the culmination of the series and I couldn’t have gotten to this point without you.
Also, a huge shout out to my wonderful ARC readers in Krystal’s Cavalry! You rock and I love you all and I hope that you know how much I appreciate the time you take out of your busy lives spend with my books. You show so much love in your reviews and I can’t thank you enough.
And to my fans! You’ve been amazing and have loved Sanctuary and I can’t thank you enough for coming with me on this adventure. There’s so much more to come and I hope you will stick with me for each and every step.
An extra special hug goes to Julie Bloomquist Walker. Thank you for your title suggestion for Godric and Calliope’s book!
Last but never least, my amazing husband and daughter who put up with Mama being part cyborg and always being connected to either the laptop, the iPad, or my phone. I do everything for you and because of you both. I love you both so dearly. You are my life. Thank you for putting up with my crazy.
Praise for Krystal Shannan
"Wonderfully imaginative. Vampires have never been so sexy or dangerous." ~Liliana Hart, NYT Bestselling Author of the Rena Drake Series
"I couldn't put it down, action packed and sexy!" - Amazon Reviewer
"steamy love scenes, danger, friendship, magic, vampires, werewolves, adorable pixies and more!" - Amazon Reviewer
"Shannan weaves a sexy, action-packed tale sure to keep you turning the pages late into the night." ~~Liliana Hart, NYT Bestselling Author of the Rena Drake Series
“The dialogue is intelligent, exceptionally well written and flows effortlessly. Ah, the characters....they are the main component, the heart and soul of this story. Each and every character is fascinating, captivating, intriguing, engaging and sexy as sin.” - Judy Lewis
My Vampire Knight
Falling in love is a killer. Literally, for siren Calliope Hart.
Any man she loves will die—a curse courtesy of her father and the reason for her tragic past. She’s determined not to suffer like that ever again.
Then the heart-stopping-wipe-the-drool-from-your-mouth-sexy Godric Devereaux shows up. He’s a disowned vampire-djinn hybrid on a mission to save his niece and rejoin his family—if only he can prove he isn’t the monster everyone believes him to be.
Calliope sees right through the bad-boy persona and into the heart of the dark creature who only wants to belong. He’s determined to claim Calliope as his own. All she wants to do is protect him from her curse.
But war brings a battle of trust and betrayal, and Calliope and Godric must discover if true love can break the spell—or if the curse will keep them apart forever.
USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author Krystal Shannan leads readers on a breathtaking journey through the heart-stopping final book of her bestselling Sanctuary, Texas series. Fans of paranormal authors such as Patricia Briggs will love this urban fantasy adventure packed with shifters, magic, and spell-binding romance.
Chapter 1
“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series
CALLIOPE
The warmth was gone.
The light was gone.
The protection spell was gone.
Everyone stood in the courtyard hoping beyond all hopes that Rose somehow still lived. That Xerxes hadn’t killed her. But he had. I was sure. And I couldn’t tell them, because the only way I knew was the damn charm in my hand. The small white crystal Rose had linked to my soul hid me from him. And if the spell on mine had broken, my sisters already had a target squarely on their backs.
Fear snaked it
s way through me like the cold fingers of Death himself, choking and suffocating and painfully reminding me of the fate that waited if I didn’t find a way to hide again. If I didn’t find someone else to protect me. Someone else to rebuild the charm.
My sisters and I would all die. Over. And over. And over.
These people in Sanctuary thought Xerxes was the only bad thing out there. The only monster. But he wasn’t. I closed my fingers around the small white crystal and took a deep breath. I couldn’t show emotion. Certainly not fear. Not the earth-shattering-soul-stealing terror filling me now like water filling a sealed grave with me locked inside.
No.
No one could see me like that. I was better than that. Stronger. I had survived this long. Survived so much. There had to be a way for me to save myself and my sisters from him.
He was coming.
He would torture them first, though.
He always did. They were my weakness. The way he could punish me most efficiently. The way he took advantage of what remained of my heart.
“Calliope?” Erick’s mate, Bailey—also one of the town’s vampire Protectors—stepped to my side and touched my shoulder. “What’s wrong? Do you feel something?”
Something? I’d felt too many things since coming to this town. It’d made me soft. Made me forget. Made me think I deserved things I knew I didn’t. Tricked me into caring about people when I should’ve stayed focused. I glanced down at my hand. My fingernails were long black claws, which meant my eyes had morphed too. By the Gods! Attention was not what I needed right now.
“Just feeling the loss,” I replied, willing the proper emotion into my voice and forcing my body to transform from its agitated, ready-for-battle state.
“We don’t know that she’s dead yet,” Bailey whispered. “There’s still hope. There was no body.” They’d only found Eli’s body in Xerxes destroyed camp. While his death had been a painful blow to the town, everyone hoped their precious Rose had survived.
I nodded and patted her hand. There wasn’t any hope, body or not. I knew Rose Hilah was dead, but I couldn’t tell Bailey that. I couldn’t tell any of them. They would want to know how I knew and I wouldn’t tell them…I hadn’t even told Rose all of it.
I glanced around the frozen stone courtyard then up at the distorted clouds overhead. Diana had sealed us inside. The entire castle was encased in a fucking snow-globe of ice. Not that I begrudged her grief over her lost mate, but at least she still had another. She would survive. She should be grateful. In a world like ours, survival was everything. The quicker they all remembered that, the better off everyone would be. Rose had made us feel too safe. Too protected from things outside Sanctuary. We all had our reasons for hiding here.
Mine was gone now. Missing and dead.
“Stay close to Erick.” I glanced into the sapphire blue eyes of a woman who considered me a friend. I liked Bailey. I didn’t want her to die. But friends weren’t a luxury I’d ever been able to afford. This town and its inhabitants thought I was their friend—their ally. That I would help because I’d always helped. And I would’ve because of my arrangement with Rose, but now…now I was on my own. They had their problems, and I had mine.
Rose was gone.
My gaze drifted to one of the other vampire Protectors—Eira. She and her Elvin mate, Killían, stood next to the Drakonae, Miles and Diana. The dragonfire swords on Eira and Killían’s backs gleamed in the morning sunlight. Their weapons could hurt Xerxes, though they had no way to get close enough to use them. And Eira was nearly as pregnant as Diana, so that knocked out two very powerful warriors on Sanctuary’s side. Diana and Eira’s mates would be unfocused and more vulnerable because of their concern.
The odds for the upcoming fight were not promising.
My gaze darted to the other individuals circling the casket of ice Diana had built around her dead husband Eli. Seeing Eli’s body—the death of one of the most powerful supernaturals in town—should’ve made everyone run for the hills. Instead, Gretchen, the young Sister of Lamidae who’d been tortured by Xerxes, had come out slinging words around like fight and win and conquer, and everyone had bought the speech. Alek, her Gryphon mate, stood beside her, holding her hand. It was all so sickly sweet and made me want to hurl. Not because I begrudged the woman her happiness, but because I didn’t get to have that. No one had or would ever look at me the way Alek looked at Gretchen.
The pixies huddled together, trying to look tough, but mostly pulled off looking like a group of terrified My Little Pony wannabes. Their ponytails incorporated every color on the spectrum. Pixies were powerful, but they weren’t fighters. Sooner than later, they’d all leave and go back to their grove of oak trees outside the town and disappear.
Jared stood off to one side, near Alek and Gretchen, flames licking at his fingertips, a thirst for blood on each whisper of breath he exhaled. The warmth of his Phoenix’s fire had melted Diana’s frost in a ring around his body that extended out several feet. He was a wild card and wouldn’t help me. His only thought was for Manda—the traitorous Djinn held captive by Xerxes himself. Even if Jared managed to get to her, she’d never be welcomed in Sanctuary.
Then there were the wolves—Lycans. A large group had gathered with us in the courtyard, at least fifty or sixty. Charlie, Travis, and Garrett at the forefront, their two children in their arms.
All the Lycans had agreed to throw their fucking hat into the ring, too. Given the opportunity, they would die for those they loved. I wasn’t on that list. Not even Rose had truly cared. I was a means to an end. They were all a means to Rose’s end.
They were all stupid.
We should be leaving, not preparing to make a stand.
Chapter 2
KILLÍAN
Eira—my beautiful and beloved—walked ahead of me, holding Diana’s arm. Miles strode at my side, and we both walked in silence, listening to our mates discuss the joys and weariness of pregnancy, a welcome change of topic from the death and destruction facing us outside these castle walls.
“Why are we not just leaving? You have the dagger. We could all go. I have military connections. We could be on a boat out of the Gulf of Mexico in less than twelve hours. Staying and fighting is…” My words trailed off. Both women flashed me a glare over their shoulders and then entered the large space the Blackmoors used as a living area.
Miles sighed, his shoulders hunched, face tightened at the corners of his mouth and eyes. Stress rolled off him in waves. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like to lose a brother and watch his wife grieve a mate at the same time. “Diana is right. We have to fight. And as much as I want to throw her over my shoulder and disappear before Xerxes comes back, Sanctuary is our home. Has been my home for so long. It would be wrong to abandon it. To abandon the people in it. They are our friends. We’ve fought for a common goal for so many years.”
“I just don’t see it that way. I’m here for Eira.”
“I know, Killían,” he answered, leaning against the stone wall and peering into the living area, but not entering it. “Even though you’ve only been with us a few months, this is your home, too. We are family. All of us. My birthright in Veil was lost millennia ago. A war awaits me and my family in that world, too.”
“So we finish this war first. But how?”
“One battle at a time until we’re all that’s left standing.”
I half-scoffed. The Dragon spoke as if it were going to happen. Like he didn’t have doubts or reservations. We would beat Xerxes, and then we would go home.
“Rose was a smart woman, Killían. Gretchen was right when she said it’s likely that the portal is heavily guarded. Fulfilling the prophesy of Lamidae would open a new portal. One Xerxes could not access once we all crossed. It is the better way. The Djinn are a formidable foe, especially aligned with him.”
“If you two insist on talking strategy, get in here and talk about it with us,” Eira’s forceful tone cut through the noise in my head. The rage. The d
esire to see blood on my sword. It always did. She was my calm. My rock. She’d saved me from myself.
Miles ducked through the open doorway first, and I followed. I took off the strap and sword from my back and laid it on the ground within arm’s reach next to Eira’s. We both carried them everywhere. Even as she’d grown rounder with our child, she’d refused to stop carrying the dragonfire weapon.
I lifted Eira from where she reclined on a small couch and then sat down, arranging her strong curvy body on my lap so that I could wrap my hands around her swollen belly. They were mine—mate and child. Both of them so precious I would move mountains to keep them safe and happy.
Eira didn’t fuss or struggle against the placement; she just settled back and let me rub her stomach. Let me take a small amount of joy in feeling the new life wriggling inside her. The son or daughter I couldn’t wait to meet, yet worried for him or her being born into this world. At least we still had a few months to prepare.
Miles sat next to his wife on the couch facing us, and she leaned into his shoulder, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. He slipped an arm around Diana’s shoulders and squeezed gently.
“We have to do something. Xerxes isn’t going to sit on his claws for long,” I said slowly, continuing to massage my mate’s firm belly.
“We have to get the rest of the town safely into the castle. There are still two bunkers we haven’t been able to reach since the first raid.” Eira said, grabbing my hands and sliding off my lap to the cushion next to me. I would’ve rather her stayed put, but she’d been restless lately and not able to sit or stay or lie in one place very long comfortably. “I helped coordinate the rescue from the closer ones before—”