Darkfell vampire clan bo.., p.112
Darkfell Vampire Clan Boxset, page 112
Once inside, I weaved between groups of frozen vampires, as if the entire world had been put on pause. I didn’t know how Caine managed to freeze time. Did his magic only affect this one little area or the whole city? Or the state?
Or the entire world?
I pulled the journals off the table in the library, and by the time I returned, Marie’s hands were outstretched, ready out to accept them.
“I don’t know why he took these in the first place,” I whispered to Marie. “I mean, doesn’t he know there were books worth a thousand times as much in the library?”
“Value is in the eye of the beholder,” Marie said vaguely, wiggling her fingers to hurry me along, but I pulled them away.
“Since you’re so fond of bargains, I have one for you. I’ll give these back, but I want Marie in return.”
“You are not in a position to ask for anything. This is almost over.”
“Then Marie shouldn’t matter in this game of yours.” I gestured to the advancing blight. “Just like you said, my home will be gone by the end of the day. You’ve all but won, so what does it matter now?”
I searched Marie’s blank face for any sign she might be listening.
“Leave Marie with us and take your precious journals.” For a long minute we stood there, me trying to figure out if he’d done permanent damage to my friend, and Marie, with that awful emptiness on her normally vibrant face.
The vampire who’d delivered Sebastian’s note appeared out of nowhere, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Give me the journals, Seraphina,” the man said, stepping closer. I wondered if he’d been under Caine’s control that day in the throne room. His mouth opened, and Caine’s voice echoed out,
“I’m done with the witch. She served her purpose.”
I hesitated, then set the books onto the man’s waiting hands. I gripped Marie’s wrist firmly. There was no reason for Caine to leave Marie, and we both knew it. But I figured with victory so close, he’d be willing to let her go.
The man leaned in closer, and a few errant sparks spewed out of his mouth. “I am looking forward to watching you die. To feel my brother’s agony when your heart stops beating, and the light dims from your eyes. And then, my sweet little Queen, I will rebuild this world the way it was meant to be.”
I didn’t want to see that world.
I sure didn’t want to live in it.
My hand intertwined with Marie’s. I led her back to the palace and delivered her into Markus’s care, allowed Deston to look me over, and when he declared me unharmed, headed straight to the throne room. When I reached the throne itself, I ran my hand over the cold metal, settled my palms on the heads of the beasts and sat down, my head bowed.
Please, I prayed to no one in particular. Please, if you are listening, help me. Give me enough strength to do this. I have to save them. And I’m not strong enough.
The metal beneath my hands heated, but I kept my eyes pinched shut.
It began with a tingle, then residual magic flowed into me. Nothing like what I’d had before, but enough—maybe—for what was coming.
The throne I hated pushed magic back into me, an odd mix of different kinds, all of them tasting faintly of greed and a trace of brimstone, reminding me who we’d all descended from.
I wondered if the gods had a sense of humor after all.
Because this was what I’d use to end him.
44
SERAPHINA
The rat bastard hadn’t been kidding.
We didn’t even make it till nightfall when Caine—evidently out of patience—sent a surge of black toward the palace.
Fleur Trahan was in the kitchen, undoing Caine’s hold on Marie when the infestation broke through the front doors, flooding the foyer with thick, gooey tar, the stench overwhelming.
We’d managed to save the most valuable contents, and the library was empty, although the beautiful carved animals on the ceiling would be lost forever. Doing one final check, I hurried through the halls, cursing Caine with every step. It wasn’t supposed to end this way. We were supposed to be happy.
We were supposed to live for a hundred years, together—here.
I was nearing the library when Cyrus came rushing out.
“Hold out your hands, Fina.” Cyrus’s grin was blinding when he dropped two enormous faceted emeralds into my palms. “The eyes from the serpent in the library,” he explained, folding my fingers around them. “No sense in losing them. Besides when you rebuild your new palace, I figured you could incorporate them into your new library.”
I gave him a quick hug. “Thanks Cy,” I said quietly, though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be rebuilding anything. “You’re the best.”
“See, that’s what I keep telling everyone. I don’t know why they bother arguing.”
“Neither do I.” I shoved the priceless jewels into my pockets and zipped them closed, then slid my hands beneath Cyrus’s coat, clasping my fingers together behind his back.
The only good thing was that I was stronger, filled with a strange combination of power that felt and tasted foreign. A mix of the hundred queens who’d come before me, a melding of Darkfell magic that I prayed would be enough for what I had to do next.
“Ready, my Queen?”
I nodded, but I wasn’t. I took one last look around at the bare walls, at Caine’s horrible blight flowing down the hall toward us, and made myself a vow.
Caine would die. I’d made these people a promise to protect them, and I would. Even if it was from the creature who’d created them.
We rematerialized in the ancient graveyard in front of the Fontaine crypt.
Fleur arrived seconds later, stepped away from Deston, and looked around doubtfully at the ancient graveyard filled with moss-covered crypts and tipped-over headstones. Deston kept Marie in his arms, though I doubted she’d go anywhere, her eyes still milk-white and staring.
“It’s fine,” I reassured Fleur. “I had the same reaction, the first time I was here. This place is our backup for when things go wrong. Caine doesn’t know it exists.”
I hoped that was still true.
“Come on, we should get underground. It’s hard to say who he has working for him now,” I urged. Caine had thralls at his beck and call, and though we’d made several jumps to throw him off our trail, it was possible we’d been followed.
Luthor and Caden were heading for the stone wall where the wards began, and once they checked those, they’d sweep the woods, then post guards to watch over us.
Cyrus led the way into the crypt, while Fleur and I led Marie down the stone steps. Cyrus flipped on the lights, and we settled her on the couch.
“This is unexpected.” Fleur blew out a long breath, looking around at the modern, updated cave-turned-hideaway. “Are you sure that we’re safe here?”
“As safe as we can be,” I assured her, not wanting her to worry. “Caine will focus on destroying the palace tonight since ruination seems to be at the top of his agenda.”
“I can’t undo his magic.” Fleur sounded annoyed. “It’s like he’s holding her mind captive.”
“Let me see if Deston can help.” I carefully set Marie’s limp hand back in her lap. The Witch Queen was somewhere in there, fighting to escape, I just knew it. We had to figure out a way to help her.
I went back outside and found Deston. “Can you help Fleur?” I asked quietly, searching the woods for signs of movement. Or red eyes. “She can’t break Caine’s hold over Marie.”
“I’ll see what I can do. My brother probably used some arcane magic that Fleur has never encountered before.” With a nod, he went to help while I stared between the trees, sure I’d seen something moving.
The piles of dried leaves were replaced by lush summer growth, purple flowers dotting the tangled vegetation. The poisonous vines smothering the crypt and headstones were covered with shiny green leaves that I was careful not to touch. The last thing I needed was poison oak.
“You should go inside, Seraphina.” Luthor hurried over to me. “It’s almost dark, and Caine will be on the move.”
I waved a hand in the air. “He’ll spend hours gloating over the destroyed palace and forcing us to retreat. Once he’s sure there’s nothing to salvage, he’ll move on.”
I didn’t know what his next target would be. We were on the run with our tails between our legs. As far as he was concerned, we were no longer a threat.
“All the royal houses evacuated, right?” I asked for the tenth time. “Chances are, he’ll go after one of them next, starting with his biggest threat. I’m thinking Renard’s the most likely target, now that I’m gone.”
“Could be, but Renard wouldn’t budge,” Luthor muttered, frustration thick in his voice. “The old bastard was of the opinion nobody will push him out of his home.”
“Caden?” I called into the darkness. “I need your father to evacuate. Remind him that Caine took the strongest witch in the city hostage, and he’ll do the same to your family. I don’t want court members being used as bartering chips.”
Deston emerged from the crypt, shaking his head. “I managed to break the mind lock on Marie, but she’s shaky, and her magic is unreliable. It will take a few hours for her to get her bearings. My brother’s magic left her confused, and I don’t think she’s slept in a couple of days.”
“Thank you,” I told him quietly. “Should they stay here?” I looked around. This place had been set up for the four of us, but we’d squeeze in.
“Fleur offered to take Marie to her place. I think it’s a good idea. Caine could attack tonight, and I don’t want to put them in the middle of a firefight, especially with Marie powerless.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll make sure they get home safely. I don’t know how, but Fleur said she’d warded her house against Caine, specifically.”
“When the most powerful vampire in the world knocks on your door, you take precautions. I managed to snag one of his hairs, that night he brought you to me,” Fleur explained, stepping through the doorway, supporting Marie. “I’m confident he won’t be able to get in. I’ll send word when she’s recovered.”
“Give me a few hours,” Marie grumbled irritably, “and I’ll be back to kick that bastard’s ass.”
I had to smile.
While Deston returned both witches to the city, Caden left to convince his father to abandon the family home—he didn’t think he’d be successful—and Cyrus set out to make one more sweep of the perimeter. Luthor and I stood side by side as I wrestled with what came next.
And all the ways this could go wrong.
There was a reason for the saying, Silent as the grave.
This place was completely devoid of sound. Even the breeze seemed to avoid it, and my voice seemed impossibly loud when I spoke.
“The only thing we choose in this battle is location. We can’t face Caine at the palace, it’s permeated with his magic now. Same goes for the prison. He was buried there too long, and I suspect he left some traces behind. We need a place he’s never been, a place he’s not familiar with. Which will give us a small advantage.”
Luthor made a low sound of approval.
“There are still dead buried here.” I looked around, counting the headstones. “I could raise them, and we’d have an army at our disposal, one that couldn’t be killed. I’d rather risk them than any of you.”
Luthor’s burning gaze fixed on me.
“This would be a good place to face him. Don’t you think?” I asked softly.
“If you had enough magic to raise the dead,” Luthor reminded me. “Which you don’t.”
“I’d have to get rid of all my magic in order to absorb Caine’s power,” I explained softly. “Raising the dead would accomplish that.” Luthor shook his head, and I hardly blamed him. I wished there was another option too.
“When I dump all my magic, it won’t take me long to die,” I told him softly. “When Caine senses me dying, he’ll want to gloat. He’ll head straight for me.”
I indicated the silent graveyard around us.
“Marie has to memorize the spell and be ready to cast it. There will only be a minute, maybe less, while Caine gets close enough to look me in the eye. Close enough for me to stab him. Once the knife penetrates his skin, Marie will begin the incantation, and the magic should begin transferring.”
What I didn’t say was—hopefully, I would survive it.
“Timing will be an issue and positioning. I know you don’t want to hear this, but Caine will have to get close. And once Marie begins, I doubt any of us can stop what happens next.”
I floated naked in the subterranean pool, the warm water lapping my body, the sound echoing faintly off the hewn stone ceiling overhead. This was the most peaceful I’d felt in days, just me, the water, and thoughts about killing my enemy.
I had no reservations. No doubts. No second thoughts.
Caine had to die for the rest of us to live, and that was a trade I was perfectly comfortable making.
I heard the door creak open, smelled Deston’s scent, the soft pad of his feet, the sound of shedding clothes before the water shifted as he slid into the pool. His hands were as warm as the water when they slid beneath me, traced my sides, then cupped my breasts, his fingers pinching my nipples gently.
I sighed, then let my feet drop to the floor. “I was perfectly happy, just floating,” I told him, searching his dark eyes, sprinkled with stars he no longer bothered to hide.
“I would have allowed you to float to your heart’s content, mate, until I saw these.” He lifted me until he could suck one of my nipples into his mouth, his teeth pressing down until I hissed. “You know damn well I cannot resist you, mon amour.”
“I know.” I sighed, letting myself slide down his hard muscled body. “Not any more than I can resist you.” The magic I’d absorbed from the throne was waning, though I was trying to conserve it as best I could. But Deston was too gorgeous to deny, and my hand crept lower, stroking his hard length until he groaned.
“I have to be inside you,” he murmured, lifting me higher, so I straddled his hips and he slid in. My channel clenched around him while I sank lower and lower until I felt impossibly full.
“But I want my blood in you, as well.” He tipped his head back, his corded throat too tempting to resist. My fangs slid out slowly, my body lacking even the energy to feed, but I managed to puncture Deston’s skin, blood filling my mouth like the finest wine.
I drank deeply while he held me there, impaled, my clit pressed against the hard muscles of his abdomen. His hands stroked down my back, lingering at the base of my spine before drifting up again.
“Look what we’re missing, Luthor.” Cyrus’s indignant tone made me smile, blood flowing everywhere before I sealed my mouth back around the wound and pulled in another mouthful. “Pool sex, without us. What were they thinking?”
“I should have known you two assholes would ruin this,” Deston hissed, but there was no heat to his words. His body tensed beneath me. “Don’t you dare…”
He cursed just before the splash, and a wave hit us from behind. I’d barely licked him closed before Deston and I went under.
“You fucking assholes,” he spluttered, but he was laughing, and then I started laughing, and then Luthor did a cannonball, his head brushing the ceiling.
This time, the wave doused us all, and Deston pulled me up, cursing Luthor in French.
I grabbed on to my mate and sank back down on his cock, groaning as he thrust up, one arm wrapped around my back, a shield of his dark magic between us and Cyrus and Luthor.
Luthor’s shadows penetrated the barrier, wrapping around my torso, stroking my breasts, up my neck, the whisper-soft caresses making me shiver, despite the heated water.
“Let us in,” Cyrus demanded. “We want to play too.”
“Let them in, Deston,” I said, hissing when he nipped my neck, my heels digging into the small of his back. “We should be together tonight.”
“You know I don’t like sharing,” Deston argued softly, pulling nearly all the way out before he pushed in slowly, his gaze locked with mine, a hint of defiance shining in their depths. With every slow stroke, pressure built at my core. My eyes threatened to roll back into my head, but I tugged at his shoulder.
This was—potentially—our last night. I wouldn’t say that out loud, though, even when I couldn’t stop thinking it.
Let them in, mate. Right now.
Fine. The shield disappeared, and Cyrus’s hands replaced Luthor’s shadows, his clever fingers tweaking and sliding along my wet skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His hand fastened on the back of my neck, but he didn’t bite. Instead, he urged my mouth closer to Deston’s throat.
“Feed, Seraphina. Drink until you can’t drink anymore,” Deston hissed when I bit him again, already feeling the effects of his blood, my insides tingling with power.
He fucked me slowly, his cock sliding in and out, the water splashing around us, Cyrus’s hand finding my clit and rubbing gently in time with Deston’s strokes.
Harder, I thought, pulling in another mouthful of blood, harder, both of you.
I was swamped with need, wanting them inside me so deeply, I’d bear the imprint of them forever. Even if I consumed them down to the last drop, it wouldn’t be enough. Not for me, not for them, not with what lay before us.
Please, I begged silently. Please give me everything. I want more. Tears slid down my face. I didn’t even know why, only that our time was running out.
We’ll give you what you need, Seraphina, but we must be careful.
I don’t fucking want careful. I whipped my head back. I want all of you, damn it.
With a groan, Cyrus pushed the head of his cock against my ass, paused, then sank into me, the quick burn of pain disappearing as Deston pulled out. He never stopped rubbing my clit as they fucked me in tandem, everything fading away, everything except the slide of their cocks in and out, the delicious, burning pressure ratcheting higher and higher.
