The Blood Trilogy

by K Loraine

  “Stop!” Lucas’ voice boomed through the space, but I knew Cashel wouldn’t listen to his brother.

  I stared at my vampire king and waited for the worst. But he didn’t move. His hand opened slowly and the glass weapon floated out of his grasp and through the bars. My gaze followed, finding Lucas, another tall, dark-haired man, and a woman with long, ebony waves framing her face. She was dressed in a full skirt, belted at the waist, and a fitted jacket that made her look like she belonged in a witch coven. Hope blossomed when I realized that was exactly where she belonged. “Witch,” I whispered as the silver ball floated into her palm.

  My gaze flicked to Cashel, who was now prone on the floor of the cage, seemingly asleep. She’d saved him, for now.

  “He escaped his chains. He was going to try and turn me, but he had a…I don’t know…a moment of lucidity? He put himself in the cage.” I ran toward Lucas who pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead.

  “Seems I arrived just in time, then. Olivia, this is my cousin, Silas Blackthorne, and his mate, Natalie Good. They are going to help us.”

  “Can you save him?” I asked, voice shaking.

  Natalie took my hand and offered a sad smile. “I don’t know. I can do my best. The spell I placed on him has stopped the progress of the disease, but he won’t wake until it’s lifted, and as soon as that happens…”

  “He’ll be right back to where we were,” I finished for her.

  She nodded. “Lucas tells me the two of you are bonded mates?”

  Gaze flicking from her to Lucas, I hesitated. But Lucas nodded.

  “You’re not a vampire? But you’re his mate?” I couldn’t help the confusion in my voice.

  “Correct. I’m a witch. And I think you are too.”

  My belly flipped. “No, I’m not.”

  She smiled softly. “You are. You have to be to have the blood of the sun.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “It’s a very long story, but the short version is, my descendant created the sun spell. She passed on her power to me.”

  “So can you fix this? Can you undo it somehow or find a cure for what the hunters did?”

  “I can try. First, we have to break your bond with Lucas. Your blood isn’t good to us if it’s locked by him.”

  I looked at Lucas. He seemed hesitant, apprehensive even. “What do I need to do?”

  Indecision flickered in her eyes and she glanced back at Silas. He’d been standing there, strong and silent, letting the conversation go on between all of us without interfering once. But now he stepped in. “Removing a bond isn’t easy. It’s risky at best. For all parties involved. You know how I feel about this, Natalie.”

  “Yeah, I do, but we owe your cousin for what he did for us. You and I both know that. It’s time to pay our debt.”

  Silas crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared across the room at Cashel. “If anything happens to you, I’ll kill him myself.”

  She rested a palm on his forearm. “I know. I’m going to be fine. Sarah wouldn’t have given me this power if I couldn’t wield it.”

  His stony expression sent a chill through me. “That doesn’t mean I won’t worry. I can’t watch you put yourself at risk without concern.”

  Rising on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his harsh slash of a mouth. He softened immediately and became the handsome man I was sure she fell for. He looked so much like both Cashel and Lucas, I had to wonder how closely they were related. Lucas had said cousin, but in the vampire world, that could mean many things.

  She murmured, “I love you, but you need to relax or I’ll never be able to focus.”

  He closed his eyes and took a slow breath before stepping back. “As you wish, sweetness. I trust your abilities.”

  I could see the deep, abiding love between them, feel the bond they shared. It was different from what I had with Lucas. Ours was strained and forced.

  “Olivia, Lucas, I need the two of you to sit facing one another.” Natalie pointed to the center of the room. “Hold very still while I set a circle.”

  Lucas linked hands with me, apprehension radiating from him. He seemed like a nervous cat, ready to pounce at any moment. “Are you sure?” I asked him as we settled together where Natalie had indicated.

  His intense gaze locked onto mine and I swear, the floor disappeared under me for a second. My heart dropped. This was already ruining him. “There’s no other way. We have to try and save him. If I let him die, I’ll lose you anyway.”

  Natalie stood in front of us, hands raised and face turned up toward the ceiling. She murmured something I couldn’t understand, and an honest-to-God storm began building in the high arches above us. Lightning struck in five points around us and, when the clouds vanished, all that was left was a glowing red pentacle burned into the floor with us in the center.

  “There is no turning back once we start, Lucas. You understand?” Her voice was low and serious.

  “I do.”

  “You’re giving up part of your—“

  “Yes, just get on with it.” Impatience colored his tone as he stared across my shoulder rather than at my eyes.

  “All right. This might hurt.” She focused her attention between us, and a dagger manifested in the air. “Lucas, you bonded with her by blood, and blood is what you’ll lose to remove it.” He nodded. “Take the dagger straight through your heart.”

  Terror caused me to shout, “No! He’ll die.”

  “A sacrifice must be made.”

  I tried to break the circle and stop the ritual, but we were contained in an invisible cell. “Lucas, you don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do.” He grabbed the hilt of the dagger and plunged the blade deep into his chest. Blood welled to the surface almost instantly. Then, when he removed the blade, instead of healing, he began bleeding freely.

  “That shouldn’t happen. It’s not silver. He should heal.”

  Natalie shook her head. “It’s enchanted. Made to open the body and only able to be healed with magic.”

  “But he’ll die.”

  “And your bond will die with him.”

  Lucas took my hands and squeezed. “If you don’t save my brother, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your days, wife.”

  Tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched him waste away. His blood pooled on the floor, soaking my clothes, staining the marble where we sat. Then he slumped forward and fell into my arms. I held him as the blood slowed and eventually stopped and I felt it the moment our bond broke.

  “It’s done,” Natalie said, holding out a hand. “Leave him here. Within the circle is the best place for him.”

  I stood, gently positioning him so he looked like he was sleeping before I bent down and pressed a light kiss to his lips.

  Natalie took my hand and tugged me toward her. “Now it’s time for you to help me undo what was done.”

  23

  Olivia

  I couldn’t stop staring at Lucas, his form still and pale in the dark red circle of blood. He deserved better than that. He deserved a life.

  “When I’m finished with the spell, I’m going to need you to get inside the cage with Cashel,” Natalie said. My nerves were shot through with terror at that single statement.

  “What? Why?”

  “He’ll need to feed as soon as we’re done. Your blood will be strong enough to obliterate the disease. As long as he stops, you’ll be fine.”

  “As long as he stops?” My tone was incredulous. She wanted me to go in there with a hungry vampire and let him drink my magic blood with hopes he’d stop in time not to kill me.

  “If you have some other solution, please, be my guest.”

  Suspicion curled in my mind. This family was nothing if not diabolical. “Silas, exactly how are you related to Cashel?”

  “As Lucas said, we are cousins.”

  “Yes, but…I only knew Elias. Are you his brother’s child? His sister’s? Who?”

  “My father
was his eldest brother.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “I see. So that means your father was King. And you were the heir. Why did Elias take the crown?”

  “I didn’t want it.”

  I stepped away from Natalie, my apprehension growing with each passing moment. “But you are here now. In the throne room, with one Blackthorne heir dead, and another caged. You could take the crown right now if Cashel dies.”

  “She’s a smart girl,” Silas said to his mate. “She’s spent too much time with my family.”

  I grabbed the dagger off the floor and armed myself against them. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Olivia, please, you don’t understand. We’ve fought the Blackthornes, we got away. Silas and I want nothing to do with this crown. We just want to take care of the debt Cashel is owed. That means helping him.”

  “What do you mean, you fought the Blackthornes? You’re my age. I haven’t seen or heard about you.”

  “Like I said, it’s a long story. Please, I have to wake him soon. It’s draining my power to keep him down like this.”

  Silas took up a stance behind her and placed his palm on her shoulder. “Are you all right?” he whispered.

  She nodded. “I am. I just…I need her to understand everything. Then maybe we’ll be able to do this.”

  Silas was in front of me, penetrating gaze locked on me. “Look at me, Olivia. I’ll show you why you can trust us.”

  So I did. I fell into his gaze, the past melding with the present. Magic and witches and history all curled together. I saw Cashel from hundreds of years ago, helping end the witch trials. I saw the death of Silas’ father. And most of all, I saw Silas break off from his family and help put an end to their reign of terror.

  I came back to myself gasping and shaking, knife still in hand. It was so much. “You really don’t want the crown, do you?”

  He shook his head. “Not in the least. But as you see, Cashel changed my life. I need to do the same for him.”

  “Are you ready now?” Natalie asked.

  I took one beat to think about it, then nodded.

  “Good. Lie back. I need to set the spell on your body. It’s going to hurt before it works.”

  My heart hammered in my chest, but I did as she said. She knelt at my side, hands hovering over my form. Heat spread from my heart through my veins with every pump of the organ. Her spell wove its way around me, growing warmer and warmer until I burned, and a cry escaped my lips.

  “Almost there,” she whispered.

  “It hurts.”

  “I know. It won’t much longer. And I promise, no harm will come to either of you.”

  I frowned, not understanding her, but then another wave of unbearable heat hit me and I screamed, back bowing, light bursting from me.

  “Silas, take cover,” she shouted.

  The light was so bright I couldn’t see anything but white, until it all went black.

  “Wake, Olivia. No time for sleep.” Natalie’s soothing voice had me blinking my eyes until everything around me came into focus. I sat up with a start, alarm jolting through me.

  “The sun. Is Cashel okay? He didn’t take shelter.”

  Natalie rested her hand on my forehead and whispered some soft words of comfort I couldn’t make out. They eased my fear though.

  “He’s fine. I shielded him. But he’s awake, and he needs you.”

  She helped me to my feet, and I saw him. Cashel stood in the cage, eyes dark with hunger. “Little bird, get out of here. I’m not safe for you.”

  Gritting my teeth, I walked toward him and pulled the key from my pocket. With shaking hands, I unlocked the cage and stepped inside. Then, I tossed the key to Silas who locked the door and backed away.

  “No!” Cashel’s protest was frantic. “I’ll kill you.” He glanced to Natalie and Silas. “You. Silas, you can’t let this happen. You know what it feels like to find your mate. I can’t be trusted with her. I’ll drain her dry.”

  I closed the distance between us and drew the end of the blade I still held across my forearm. “Cashel, you have to feed from me.”

  Cashel

  The scent of her blood was too perfect. It was strong and warm and everything I ever wanted. Something about it was rich and pure, more powerful than before. “Olivia, what did you just do?”

  “For once, can you just trust me?” Frustration echoed in her tone.

  “I can’t trust myself. I’ll kill you.”

  She shook her head. “You won’t. I can’t have gone through all this for you to end up killing me. It isn’t how my story ends.”

  My fangs descended as she stepped closer and ran her finger through the blood on her arm. Then she pressed that finger to her lips, smearing the blood across the place I most wanted to taste. “Kiss me, Cashel.”

  Everything in me ached to do exactly that before I took her blood. But I held my ground, fighting instinct.

  “Cash, the bond is broken. I’m yours again. Please. I’m the cure. Natalie made me the cure.”

  My gaze roamed the room and fell on the eerily still form of Lucas. “What did you do?”

  “He gave his life for you. Don’t you understand? This is how it has to be. Don’t resist and make his death be in vain.”

  “Let us out of this cage,” I demanded. “I can’t risk killing her as well.”

  “I’m sorry, Cashel, I can’t do that. My debt isn’t paid until you’re safe. Do as your woman says. Drink.” Silas’ voice remained cool and calm, but I could tell he was tense.

  “Cash, I need you to do this. If you don’t, I’m a sitting duck for every vampire within a hundred miles.”

  Hunger gnawed at me and the burn in my blood was unbearable. I needed her. I needed the light inside her. Sun sickness was winning, and there was nothing I could do to stop myself. I kissed her bloodstained lips and tasted heaven. Then I lost control. I saw red. I was a complete monster in that moment. My fangs tore into her throat and I drank her down.

  The burn inside me intensified until I thought I might combust. My heart beat frantically, and my hands clutched at her as she moaned against me. I drank and drank, long pulls of the drug that was her. Until her pulse slowed, and the pain in my body turned from fire to simple comforting warmth. I had to stop. I couldn’t be the one to kill her. She slumped in my arms and I released her from my bite. Kneeling, I cradled her against me and willed her to wake.

  “Please, don’t leave, little bird. Not now when we finally have our chance.”

  “Cashel, you have to replenish what you took. They won’t survive it if you don’t.” Natalie’s directive was firm and confident.

  I frowned, confusion rolling through my mind. “They?”

  She nodded and I looked down at Olivia’s perfect face, memorizing her all over again. She was my everything, and now I could have her. I bit into my wrist and held it over her lips. Drop after drop of my blood coated her parted lips, and only after painfully long moments did she begin to swallow. Once she did, she gripped my arm and brought it to her mouth, drinking me down as though I were her only source of sustenance. I couldn’t turn her. I promised I wouldn’t. But I could give her my bond right here and now. There was nothing on this planet that would stop me. Olivia was mine, and I was hers.

  I felt the connection building between us, threads knitting together, joining our souls and making our hearts beat as one. But there was more power inside her than I bargained for, and as our bond grew, so did my understanding of Natalie’s words. A tiny spark, a hummingbird heartbeat joined ours and I was overcome with emotion.

  I pressed my lips to Olivia’s temple and murmured, “A Blackthorne heir.”

  “A cure,” Natalie said. “A permanent cure.”

  I cradled Olivia in my arms and got to my feet. “Release us. I need to take her to rest. She’s been through far too much tonight.” Natalie nodded, and Silas unlocked the cage. “Do me a favor?” I asked. “Destroy this cage. I never want to see it again.”

  Carrying
Olivia, I walked to the place my brother’s body lay. The blood, his blood, didn’t move past the line of the circle Natalie must’ve etched into the floor. “Why is the circle still set? He’s gone. He doesn’t need protection.”

  Natalie shook her head. “He isn’t gone. He’s waiting for me to return him to his body. Limbo is a funny place. This spell was meant to test his willingness to sacrifice his life for his mate. He did that. It doesn’t seem fair for him to have to stay dead.”

  Relief flooded me as she broke the circle, but instead of the blood rushing past the constraints, it pulled inward, toward Lucas. It kept going until the only bits that remained were stains on his clothes.

  Silas put a hand on my shoulder. “Give him a little while. He’s lost a lot tonight. Don’t be surprised if he needs time away.” He jutted his chin toward the door. “Go, be with your mate. I promise, I’ll take care of Lucas. Natalie and I won’t leave until we’re sure he’s all right.”

  “Thank you both. Consider your debt paid, Silas.”

  He grinned and took Natalie’s hand before bowing. “My King.”

  “There’s nothing stopping you from challenging my claim, you know.”

  A shrug lifted his shoulders. “I’m not meant to be royalty. It takes more than royal blood to rule. You know that better than any of us.”

  “True. But you don’t have to live your life in the shadows any longer. You and Natalie are welcome to come stay at Blackthorne Manor.”

  Natalie smiled up at him. “We are perfectly happy where we are. A cottage in the woods. No neighbors, no obligations. Just us.”

  Silas pulled her close and stared at her like she was his entire world. And in truth, she was. I knew the feeling. Olivia in my arms, I understood the depth of a mate bond more fully than I thought possible. I needed time alone with her. Time to make up for everything we’d already been through and all the wasted hours in between.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I am going to take my future queen to bed.”