Shadow Realms- The Complete Series

by Kelly Carrero

  I swam over to the edge and sat on a rock just under the surface of the water, watching the boys try to make a swing out of a bunch of vines they found on a nearby tree.

  Max looked over at me then brushed his hands together, getting rid of the tiny pieces of leaves sticking to his skin. “I’ll be back in a moment,” he told the boys before diving into the water and swimming across to me.

  “You didn’t need to come over to me,” I said. “I’m fine just sitting here watching you guys have fun.”

  He sat beside me, right leg bent and arm leaning on his knee. “I know. But I wanted to.” Max snaked his other arm around my waist then lifted me off the rock, moving me between his legs. “It’s nice to see you having fun.”

  “Believe it or not, I used to be fun. You know, before all this vampire shit.”

  He pressed a kiss against my bare shoulder. “I believe it.”

  Melting into his arms, I leaned back against him. “Do you think the world will go back to what it was like before them?”

  “Before the vampires?”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t think we can ever go back. It will be a new era. And history books will have some lie about the vampires dying out or that the government finally came up with a cure and got rid of the vampires for good.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, that sounds about right. They never tell the truth in history books.”

  The boys finally got the swing working, and Kade had the first turn.

  “Come on,” Max said. “Let’s have a go.”

  The swing lasted about ten goes in total and snapped when Finn was having his next turn. He ended up with a couple of cuts and bruises from landing on a rock, but they disappeared quickly. Deciding to call it a day, we headed back to the resort.

  Nessa and Liam were still holed up in who knew where, so we took the opportunity to get some rest.

  Sleep was the last thing on my mind, but I forced myself to keep my clothes on and be satisfied with curling up in Max’s arms, taking comfort in his embrace as I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me under.

  Eventually, I drifted off and awoke after night had fallen. This time, Max was already awake—and missing from the bed.

  23

  I sat up, propping myself with my hands behind me as I focused on my surroundings. I could neither hear nor see Max, which under the circumstances made me a little paranoid.

  Getting to my feet, I checked the bathroom then both balconies with no luck.

  Telling myself he was probably off with the boys, I tried to remain calm and not act like the obsessive girlfriend I most definitely wasn’t. Under difference circumstances, I wouldn’t have worried, but with everything that was going on, I feared the Society had somehow gotten their hands on him. Which was kinda silly, because I was their target, not Max.

  Deciding to go find him, I opened the door and went to head down the steps when I saw Max coming up them.

  “You’re awake,” he said, trotting up the rest of the stairs. He kissed my forehead and continued into the room. “I was hoping to get back before you woke up. I’ve got a little something for you.”

  My curiosity piqued, I went back inside and closed the door behind me. “What did you get me?”

  He kicked off his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed. “Now, most girls would slap me and break up with me if I gave them this, but you’re not most girls.” Max patted the mattress beside him.

  “Now you’ve got me worried,” I said, easing myself onto the end of the bed.

  He smiled and opened his closed fist, revealing four little dark red pills. “Thought you might want some blood.”

  My eyes widened as my thirst returned with full force. “Holy crap. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I’ve been hanging for a little something.”

  I grabbed them off him, popped a capsule into my mouth, and bit down on it. My eyes almost rolled into the back of my head in ecstasy as the blood spilled over my tongue.

  “I tried to find a vampire for you, but there are none around this part of the island.”

  And if I thought I couldn’t love him any more, my heart just exploded. “You are the best boyfriend ever.” I kissed his cheek then popped another pill into my mouth.

  “Maybe you should keep some of them for later. We don’t know how long we’re going to be here.”

  I stared at the pills for a few moments then forced myself to get up and put them into my bag for safe keeping. “Any news on the other elements?”

  “Two have come through but we’re still waiting on the rest.”

  Returning to the spot beside him, I asked, “What elements are they?”

  “Water and fire. Now, all we need are earth and air.”

  My body jittered with energy that came with the blood I had just consumed. “Want to come for a run with me?”

  “Now?” he asked, a little surprised. “It’s dark. We could fall down a ditch.”

  I raised a brow. “We can see in the dark, remember? Plus, we won’t go far. To the waterhole and back?”

  “Fine.”

  I jumped to my feet, slipped into a pair of shorts and a sports bra, and then put on my shoes before Max had even bothered to get up. Putting my hands on my hips, I said, “You don’t need to come with me. I’ll be fine on my own.”

  “After only getting you back yesterday, I don’t think so.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes, but I was lucky he thought it was cute. He stood and took off his shirt as he shoved his feet into his shoes. “Let’s go.”

  There was something absolutely freeing about running through the forest during the night. It brought out the primal part of me that craved the chase. We stuck to the trees beside the road so we didn’t get lost, and I once again extended my protective shield to encompass Max before we left the safety of our rooms. I was finally getting the hang of it.

  Thanks to being able to run faster than a car, we arrived at the waterhole in only a few minutes. I kneeled beside the water, splashed some on my face, and tipped my head up to look at him. “You know, we could stay for a swim.”

  “Or we could go back and have a swim in our room.”

  I stood and kicked off my shoes. “Stop being so paranoid. There’s nothing around us. We’re safe.” I focused on the Shadow Realms, which I had almost mastered blocking out completely because it was damn annoying to look through both worlds at the same time. The one I resided in had to take preference, and the other shifted to the back. There were no demons on their side and none on ours. We had time, and I was going to make the most of it.

  I stripped down to my panties then dove into the water and turned around to Max when I came up for air. “Come on. Or are you too chicken shit to swim in water when you can’t see what’s in it?”

  In typical guy fashion, he was in the water with me in a flash after I’d threatened his manhood. “You really know how to get what you want, don’t you,” he asked, swimming up to me.

  “I have two brothers. I learned to manipulate them at a very young age.”

  He chuckled as I lay on my back, floating as I looked up at the moon.

  Max took hold of my hand and moved me into shallower water where he could stand, his eyes focused on me instead of the beauty around us. Lifting his hand above me, he brushed his fingers over my sports bra then down my stomach, stopping at my panties before making his way over my hip then up to my back.

  He wrapped one arm under my back and lifted, cradling me against his chest as his gaze dragged from my eyes to my lips then drifted down my body before returning to my eyes. “Your eyes… I never noticed how illuminating they are under the moonlight.”

  “More so than usual?” I mean, my eyes did naturally glow during the day.

  He nodded. “It’s almost as if they’re made of light.”

  “All the better to see you with,” I joked in a pathetic granny-wolf impersonation.

  Max threw his head back and laughed, my heart melting at the sound.r />
  I hooked my arms around his neck and pulled myself up, wrapping my legs around his waist. “You know, I’m so glad you decided not to kill me.”

  He smiled, finally seeing the humor in our love story. “I’m glad your brother and Lana stopped me.”

  I sighed. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to bring Lana in?”

  He nodded, moving his hands down to my ass. “I think there will come a time when we’ll need to for her own safety.”

  Lana had placed herself in danger, and as soon as the Society figured out what she’d done, there would be hell to pay. But she knew what she was doing. “I’m glad she’s on our side.”

  “Me, too.” His gaze dropped to my lips, making my stomach flip. Just as he started to close the distance between us, his phone rang. “Guess I better get that.”

  “Guess you should.” I unhooked myself from him and let him swim to the edge while I treaded water, watching how the droplets glistened on his body as he climbed out of the waterhole and grabbed his phone from his shorts, which had been dumped on the bank.

  “Hello,” he said, answering the call just in time. He remained silent, as Nessa gave him an update on the descendants.

  “We’ll be back soon.” Max hung up the call.

  “Another fire and one earth,” I said, before he got a chance to tell me what Nessa had said.

  Max pulled on his shorts. “There’s only one left they’re waiting on. She wants us to head back so we’re all set for when the news comes in.

  I swam over to the edge and climbed out. “We need an air. What happens if this last one isn’t an air?”

  “I don’t know.” He threw his shirt over his shoulder and popped on his shoes. “Hopefully, we won’t have to find out.”

  Once I was dressed, we raced through the edge of the forest, arriving back at the hotel within a couple of minutes. Even though the run hadn’t taken long, it had gotten rid of the itch under my skin. Now, all I had to worry about was finding this air elemental.

  Kade, Finn, and Mason were all sitting on two U-shaped lounges surrounding a built-in fire pit with an assortment of local foods on a small ledge in front of them. After getting changed out of our wet gear, we joined them on the couch.

  “Where have you two been at this time of the night?” Mason asked, holding what appeared to be a marinated chicken skewer in his hand.

  “We went for a run,” Max said, leaving out the best part of our time away.

  Finn slouched back in his seat. “It was foolish of you both to go without telling anyone.”

  “Leave them alone,” Kade jumped in before I let loose my rather colorful choice of words that were on the tip of my tongue. “They’re both adults and can handle themselves.”

  “Thank you, Kade.” I leaned forward, grabbed a skewer for myself, and held it up to my nose.

  “It’s just chicken,” Finn said.

  I bit into the meat, and although it was actually really good, all I wanted was to sink my teeth into vampire flesh. Nothing could compare. The leftover pills Max had gotten from Nessa were burning in my mind. But they would have to remain in my bag, and I would have to be satisfied with eating normal human food.

  What I would’ve given for a small bag of vampire blood. There had to be some vampires around this part of Bali. I just wasn’t sure how far I would’ve had to travel to find them. Actually, I really had no idea how far my senses worked. I made a mental note to figure that out when I returned home.

  Home. With vampires on tap.

  My mouth watered just thinking about it.

  Shaking my thoughts away, I focused on everyone around me, quickly becoming aware that they were all staring at me. “What?”

  “Did you sense a vampire?” Mason asked.

  Max chuckled. “No. That’s the look she gets when she’s thinking about blood.”

  I scrunched up my face. “I do not get a look.”

  “Uh, yeah you do.”

  I shoved him then pulled him back to my side and snuggled against his arm. “Well, none of you would understand how good it tastes. It’s a hell of a lot better than this.” I took another bite, trying to fill the void in my stomach that only seemed to want blood.

  Max wrapped his arm around me. “I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”

  “I’m with Max,” Kade said. “The thought of eating blood makes me sick.”

  “I drink it, not eat it.”

  “Same dif,” Finn said.

  “Leave her alone,” Mason said, coming to my defense. “Don’t make her feel like shit for needing something that is going to save us all.”

  “I don’t make her feel like shit,” Finn shot back.

  “Oh no? Because I haven’t seen you being supportive of her new habit.”

  Finn swung around to face me. “Is that how you feel?”

  I shrugged. “I know what I do grosses you out.”

  “It doesn’t gross me out.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Oh, really? Because you’re the only one here who can’t stand to watch me feed.”

  He sat back in his seat, and after a few moments of silence, he said, “I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel that way.”

  “Relax,” I said. “I don’t need you to watch me. Just stop being so judgmental about my lifestyle.”

  “I don’t judge…”

  I raised my brow.

  He sighed. “Okay, fine. I do judge. I don’t know how you can stomach doing what you do. But that in no way means I’m not accepting of your need. I just can’t watch—unless it’s during a fight. Then I’m happy to watch you rip them apart.”

  “So, it’s just the whole keeping a blood bag on hand that you have a problem with?” When shock marred his features, I said, “Relax. I’m just messing with you.”

  Kade’s amused gaze drifted over us siblings, probably remembering his own. It heartened me to know that although he had lost someone so very dear to him, he had found a place within this new family we’d created.

  Nessa and Liam strolled toward us and took seats around the fireplace. The look on their faces told me something was wrong.

  “She’s not an air, is she?” I asked.

  They glanced at each other before Nessa confirmed, “No, she’s not. She’s another fire.”

  24

  We were one short of the five elements needed to perform the bonding spell. And without the air element, we were nothing. My mother would stay exactly where she was, and we were powerless to help her.

  “We’re screwed,” I said, my eyes stinging with tears I refused to let go.

  “Not necessarily,” Liam said. “There’s still one descendant we know of who hasn’t been tested yet.”

  I sat up in my seat. “Who?” The moment the question left my mouth, it dawned on me who they were talking about. “How?”

  Nessa nodded, confirming my suspicion.

  “How what?” Max asked.

  “She’s already turned,” I said. “There’s no way we can get her.”

  “Get who?” Finn asked, frown lines creasing his forehead.

  “They’re talking about the one the Society has already given to a demon,” I said, filling them in.

  Various profanities came from the guys’ mouths.

  Nessa leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “I know it’s not ideal and will take a hell of a lot of planning and searching for the right spell, but we believe that with Lana’s help, we can cast the demon out of the huntress and bring her back to us.”

  I choked on a laugh, trying to wrap my head around what they were saying. “Say there was a spell, how are we going to get ahold of her? She’s freaking psycho. The way she…” I trailed off, remembering the way she held me in the air, unable to move. “She’s the air elemental.”

  We moved fast, grabbing our things, and headed back to the airfield where the private jet was already waiting for us. Time seemed to drag as we flew over the ocean, heading back to Australia, all the while trying to come up
with a way we could trap the demonic huntress without any one of us falling victim to her rage.”

  By the time we touched down, we were still without a plan. The sun was up, and jet lag had set in as we drove back to the village amongst the trees. Nessa made a few calls, and none of us could be bothered asking what they were about because from what we could gather, everyone was just as clueless as each other.

  We all hoped the answer lay within the pages of the books Lana had smuggled out for us. After a quick feed of the blood kind when we arrived home, I joined the others in a shipping container filled with couches, armchairs, and large cushions strewn across the floor. In the center was a pile of books, yet to be read.

  I picked up the one on top and sank into an empty beanbag. The room was deathly quiet, apart from the sound of the pages being flipped.

  As intriguing as the spells were, I didn’t have time to go through them properly, so I skimmed the pages, looking for anything that seemed promising. A couple of times, I thought I’d found something, but when I read through the details, there was nothing.

  Not all that was written within the pages were spells. There was a lot of information about how the link between our worlds worked, but it never once mentioned how the bond worked between the elements. And, of course, there was no details on how to perform an exorcism on a huntress.

  Hours passed without any clues; food was brought in for us, and even though I wanted blood, I kept my ass in the beanbag and continued the search, nibbling on a ham and cheese sandwich while being careful not to ruin the pages.

  Opening the third book, I’d almost given up hope when Mason asked, “We’re searching for how to rid a demon from its host, right?”

  “That’s what we’ve been searching for,” I said. “Don’t tell me we have to go through the books you’ve already been through.”

  “No.” Mason stood. “I think I’ve found something.”

  I was out of the beanbag faster than I’d ever moved before in my life. “Let me see.” I snatched the book from his hands and read the page, hope building inside of me the more I read.

  I lifted my gaze to Nessa, who was looking over my shoulder, reading for herself. “I think this is it.”