“But you,” he ground his teeth. “After I tortured Kyan, he’s a traitor to our kind so it was a pleasure, but mostly I needed him to give me the spell to get through the protective wall around this place for some… friends,” he laughed darkly. “I threatened to control your mind, take you as my slave if he didn’t, he laughed and told me he put a protection spell on you and I couldn’t. But I found another way in anyway.”
Another way? Torturing him? “Is he… dead?” I thought back to the night Kyan kissed my hand, when I felt a pulse of something go up my arm and through me.
“Not yet. The craziest thing is Kyan didn’t even do it because he wants you for himself. He thinks humans are special.” Senica faked a gag. “I noticed a bunch of soldiers heading out earlier to look for us. They aren’t going to find my friends. There is no cave.”
“Why are you even telling me this?” I felt like he was trying to buy time. Trying to distract me. I searched for Zyacus, my grandparents, Mother—anyone who could help. We’d pretty much gotten lost in the sea of gowns and suits and I couldn’t see Aric or Legacy anymore. I wanted to tell everyone to get inside but then Aric or even Legacy could die.
“Because it’s fun. Because I want to smell your fear before I take a bite.”
This was his little game but I was only a small part of the picture. I was waiting for the screaming to start, the chaos.
Suddenly everything went black and I felt like I was being squeezed through something much too small and in a heartbeat, we appeared by the lake at the end of the property and we were alone. He’d used the appearus spell to bring us here.
When I tried to pull away, he gripped me harder, enough that I thought the bones of my hand might crush. Clenching my teeth I held in a cry of pain. Then he clamped a cold metal band onto my wrist and I felt my magic waning. Kirune—the metal that suppressed magic. I’d kept my composure until that moment but panic swelled in me. My magic was gone unless I could get this thing off.
Dragging his nose along my neck, he whispered, “There is that fear I’ve been waiting for.”
I slammed my knee into his groin, drove my forehead into his face and pushed off. Pulling my dagger, I backed up and readied myself. All the fabric of this dress would make it harder to fight. Bindy showed me how the bottom half could detach so I jerked on the ribbons and ripped it off, leaving me in the corset top and black leggings.
“Nice dagger,” he said, and the cut an inch below his left eye from my headbutt healed shut. No magic, no sword, his advanced abilities, this fight was looking grim for me.
An idea came to mind however, probably a stupid one but it would at least catch him off guard. I sliced my forearm and blood flowed.
He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath through the nose and then came at me so fast I barely saw him move. As if he couldn’t control himself, he dragged his tongue along my bleeding arm and I drove my blade into his back.
He arched in a cry of pain and his arms flung wildly as he reached for the dagger. I bolted, running as fast as I ever had.
“Get back here!” he roared.
Feet pounding, my blood buzzing in my ears, I got closer to the party. The sound of screaming, and the ringing of swords made me run even harder. Those bastards had gotten in. They were here! I cursed the stupid manacle on my wrist that kept me from using magic.
Without a sound of his approach, I was tackled from behind and was fighting off Senica who was trying to pin me down. “Get off!” I screamed so loud my throat felt like it might bleed.
A percussion wave sent Senica toppling off me and shook the very ground. Scrambling to my feet, I readied myself for another enemy but there stood my beautiful prince, looking pissed as hellfire. He was adorned in his battle uniform, the same one he wore during the tournaments and his sword was in his hands at the ready. “Stay away from her.”
I closed the distance between us and skidded to a halt slightly behind him.
Zyacus turned his head slightly. “Sorry, my father and I were in a heated discussion or I’d have been out here sooner.”
This felt way too familiar, and my stomach lurched when I saw several pairs of red eyes, they were stepping out of a portal and surrounding us. How could they do that! Then it hit me, this is my vision! I turned to the left and when I saw Aric running toward us I yelled. “Get out of here!”
A red orb formed in Zyacus’s free hand and it propelled toward the blood drinker chasing Aric, blowing up on impact.
“Aric,” Senica yelled as he rose. “Take your dagger and cut your throat.”
“No!” I shouted and ran at him.
Aric took his dagger in hand as commanded and when I reached him, we fought over it. “Let go,” he said as if in a daze.
Zyacus threw magical attacks that exploded as at least five other blood drinkers tried to come at us.
“Aric, listen to me,” I wrenched at his fingers as he slowly brought his dagger upward. If I was only stronger! “Don’t listen to him. You don’t want to kill yourself, please stop!” He kept fighting against me. “Zyacus help!” I shouted.
“I can’t!” he shouted back.
The tip of the dagger pierced Aric’s skin. “Stop! Stop!” Then it sunk into his neck, and tears cascaded down my cheeks. Blood bubbled out of his mouth, poured from beneath the blade and he fell into me, I struggled to hold his weight and had to guide him to the ground. “Why!” I cried. Why wasn’t I ever wrong? Why did this happen? Why did Senica have to use Aric?
Senica appeared next to me, wrenched me up by my hair and sunk his teeth into my neck. I screamed. His arms were like a vice around me and the harder I fought, the tighter his grip got. He was inhumanly strong and perhaps he thought I was completely helpless until I dug my thumbnails into his eyes. Roaring in pain, his fangs retracted and he pulled back. I smashed my elbow into his chin. The moon glinted off the dagger at his waist. I tore it from his belt and plunged it into his neck. “You’ll die just like Aric.” I drug that blade across from ear to ear until Senica went limp and crumpled to the ground at my feet.
“Visteal!” Zyacus roared, and over Senica’s shoulder I saw him chop a head off, and cut down another.
I clamped my hand over my neck before Zyacus appeared at my side. We stood back to back while three other blood drinkers circled us. The female hissed, baring her fangs. The two males watched the blood smeared on my neck and down my chest with precision. They wanted a taste. “Solaris adonus,” I whispered to Zyacus.
A white light blasted out all around us, blinding me but I heard them screaming in agony. When the spell subsided I still had white spots in my vision but the vampires were piles of ash. Zyacus grabbed my face in his palms, inspected my wound then the manacle on my wrist. “Damn him, Damn them all.” He wouldn’t be able to heal me with the kirune on me.
“I’ll be fine for now.” The punctures had stopped bleeding.
I knew he wanted to say more but it would have to be later. We dropped down beside Aric. He wasn’t breathing and I didn’t think anyone could survive losing the amount of blood pooled underneath him. I touched his chest to feel for a heartbeat but there wasn’t one.
With tears in my eyes, I looked to Zyacus who was staring at Aric. “He’s gone,” Zyacus whispered. He sounded shocked, like he couldn’t believe it. “He’s—dead.” Gently, he pulled the dagger from Aric’s neck and sat it down beside him.