Dark Oblivion: The Vampire Prophecy Book 3

by G. K. DeRosa

  The man lurched back, his light blue eyes wide. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “I want to see him first.” I fisted the tube in my hand, the delicate glass so easy to shatter.

  The general shook his head. “Ms. Levant, that is not possible. I will not argue with you about this. Every moment we lose is a precious one, risking the life of the Head Minister. He could be on his very last breath as we speak.”

  Kaige moved beside me, wrapping his fingers around my hand and four royal guards appeared, flanking us. He peered at the old soldier. “If you want the cure, Solaris gets to see Turstan. That’s the new deal.”

  Cartwright ground his teeth, the muscle in his jaw contracting. “Fine.”

  Kaige pinned him with a stare, power lacing his words. “And you’ll personally assure me that no harm will come to Solaris at the hands of Turstan or any of his men.”

  The man nodded, his lips pursed. “Right this way.” He led the way down the hall and we followed, two royal guards shadowing us.

  A pair of OrderComm soldiers stood outside of a door, their gazes locking on us as we approached. The general waved them off and a click sounded, opening the thick metal door. Kaige signaled to the royal guards to remain behind with the soldiers as we followed Cartwright in.

  A man in a Hazmat suit stood over a hospital bed. The scent of disinfectant was thick in the air. I stepped into the room, the steady beeping of the heart monitor accelerating my own pulse.

  My gaze cast down on the man splayed out on the bed. A sharp gasp escaped my pursed lips. The skeletal form lying before me bore little resemblance to the man that starred in my nightmares most nights. Taut yellowing skin stretched over sharp bones, and pus-filled sores covered every inch of exposed skin. Mucus encrusted lids fluttered open, and lifeless gray eyes looked up at me. The heart rate monitor spiked as the beeps grew frantic for a moment before settling back down.

  Turstan’s frail hand slowly reached up and removed the oxygen mask. “What are you doing here?” he rasped out.

  Kaige squeezed my hand, and I could feel his love and strength burning through the bond. I sucked in a breath and steeled my nerve. “I have your cure.” I waved the amber liquid in front of his face.

  A small smile curled his parched lips. “I knew it.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” asked the general. “Give it to him.”

  I glanced down at the man who’d caused so much suffering to so many people. Images of emaciated bodies and blood siphoned from undeserving prisoners flashed through my mind. My fingers tightened around the vial.

  I couldn’t do it.

  “Ms. Levant—” Cartwright made a move toward me, but Kaige stopped him in his tracks.

  He pressed his hand into the general’s chest and pierced him with his hypnotic eyes. “Do not intervene.”

  The old soldier’s expression went blank, his arms falling limp at his sides.

  The med in the Hazmat suit made a move toward the door, but Kaige growled and the man froze. He zipped across the room and compelled him into submission as well.

  I turned back to Turstan. “Before I give you this, I need you to admit something.”

  He rolled his glassy eyes, red veins spiderwebbing across the yellowing orbs. “Fine.” The word caught in his throat, inciting a coughing fit. His emaciated chest heaved, and a spittle of blood dripped down his chin.

  I swallowed hard. Did I really want to know this?

  Yes.

  “Did you have my mother killed because she found out about the blood slaves?”

  A sinister smile twisted his cracked lips. “What does it matter now?”

  “It matters!” My fingers tightened so hard around the glass, I was afraid it would shatter.

  He opened his mouth and was seized by another coughing fit.

  “Head Minister, you need the oxygen.” The med’s voice filtered from across the room.

  Turstan raised a hand, silencing him. Then he turned his icy eyes to Kaige and finally back to me. Defeated, he muttered, “Yes. I had your mother killed.” A tremor racked his chest, and his breaths came in short rapid spurts.

  Kaige tried to pull me into his side, but I squirmed away. I moved closer to the bed, leaning over the man that ruined my life. “Was it worth it—to keep your dirty little secret? Now everyone knows anyway. Your reign of terror is over.”

  “Your mother wasn’t the first, and she wouldn’t have been the last.” He coughed, wheezing. “I would do whatever necessary to ensure the survival of my people.”

  “And so will I.” I raised the vial over my head and smashed it on the floor.

  His bloodshot eyes widened, and the heart rate monitor went wild.

  “You can’t!” shouted the general.

  I turned to Kaige, squeezing his hand. “Let him die.”

  He nodded and pinned the general and the med with his swirling irises. “Do nothing to save him.”

  “Please, Solaris,” Turstan hissed as another coughing fit took hold of him.

  I averted my eyes, focusing on the amber liquid splattered across the speckled tile.

  “Are you ready?” Kaige pulled me toward the door.

  I dipped my head. I was done with Turstan.

  Kaige opened the door and spun on the soldiers before they knew what was happening. “Don’t let anyone in or out of this room.”

  They nodded blankly.

  Turstan’s pleas carried down the corridor behind me, the haunting sound one I was sure I’d carry with me to my grave.

  Chapter 35

  Solaris

  All eyes were focused on the giant projection screen in front of the Capitol building. Nearly the entire remaining population of Imera had shown up to hear the big announcement. We’d lost over a quarter of our people to disease and starving taranoi, but the ones that had survived were gathered before us.

  I held my breath as the screen flickered to life over my head.

  Kaige’s stern face filled the monitor, his dark eyes intense under the moonlight. “People of Imera, thank you for coming this evening. As many of you know, I am King Kaige Stramonox of Draconis, but I hope to be much more than that someday in the near future.” He paused, gazing out into the audience. “Any remaining taranoi will be executed on the spot if found in Imera lands. The humans are no longer only our blood source. You are our neighbors and our allies.”

  A series of gasps rolled through the crowd.

  “Head Minister Turstan is dead. And so are his ways. The prophecy has been fulfilled—our old way of life is over. There is no need to keep humans and vampires separate any longer.”

  His gaze turned to me, and I shot him a wave of encouragement through the bond.

  “I wish to unite all of New Isos as one, as we were always meant to be.”

  More gasps rippled through the masses.

  “I know this is a lot to take in, but I will be here to answer all of your questions and provide the support you need. This transition won’t be easy, but I know that together we can achieve a better future.”

  The camera panned out, and my face appeared on the giant screen. Heat seeped up my neck, tinting my cheeks bright pink. I inhaled a slow breath. “There is so much more beyond that fifty-foot wall, and it’s time we embrace it. I trust King Kaige and assure you the atrocities that Turstan committed will never be repeated. We will be a better people together.”

  A few claps moved through the audience, but most were too shocked to do anything. Wide eyes and slack jaws closed in around us. Kaige squeezed my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. His love swirled through the bond, filling my heart. It wasn’t going to be easy, but we would succeed. We would become a better people after all.

  Prophecy be damned.

  Epilogue

  Kaige

  Two years later

  I bristled in the seat behind the large desk and dragged my fingers through my hair. I’d been doing that a lot these last few days. Solaris’s absence always put me on edge no
matter how safe she was. I hated not having her with me.

  A knock resonated on my study door. One glance at the tablet on my desk told me who it was. “Come in.”

  Dexter strode into the large ornate room, closing the door behind him. His dark blond hair was cut short now, framing his face. “The queen was just spotted pulling into the royal airplane hangar.”

  “Thank the gods.” I slumped in my chair, a large weight lifted off my chest so I could finally breathe. “She was gone too long this time.”

  Dexter chuckled. “It was only three days, Kaige.”

  I shot him a narrowed glare. “Three days too many.”

  Solaris had been in Imera overseeing the blood donation process. We were all one world again, and technically all of New Isos fell under our rule, but most of the humans still preferred to work with Solaris.

  Nocturnes still needed blood. We created a donation arrangement where all well, able-bodied adults could donate as much as they liked. Everyone was encouraged, but no one was forced to. A few humans still disliked the agreement and refused to give blood. Most of them had been a part of the old Collective regime that was disbanded after Turstan’s death. They would be closely monitored in case they ever became a problem.

  Synthetic blood was still produced to stretch out each shipment of donations. Of course with the intermingling of nocturnes and humans, synth wasn’t always needed.

  The alchemists continued to maintain Draconis’s permanent night even though the synth had a higher concentration of human blood. Because I also drank from Solaris, the sun no longer had an effect on me, other than a warm sensation.

  “Would you like me to tell Maxum to escort the queen here immediately?” Dexter asked, the edges of his lips twitching.

  I waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Not necessary.” The bond was buzzing, and I knew Solaris was already on her way.

  My queen.

  I hadn’t waited long to propose. I couldn’t even make it past the day of her eighteenth birthday before I found myself on one knee. My little human was reluctant at first. She wasn’t simply marrying me. She was becoming a queen. In the end, it turned out to be a perfect solution. Our marriage united nocturnes and humans.

  And Solaris, well, she was still a firecracker. Maxum was the only guard who could keep up with her. She’d managed to slip away from all the others multiple times.

  Memories of us together bombarded my mind. I would never get enough of her. I’d never grow tired of her sweet taste or her honey and jasmine scent. My craving for her blood would never dissipate.

  My fangs ached just thinking about it. I swallowed hard and licked my lips.

  Dexter placed a bottle of water on my desk. “You seem a little parched.”

  I gulped down the water. There was no point in denying it. Besides, Dexter knew me well enough by now to recognize a lie.

  He’d made it through the attacks on Imera and had managed to spread the story that royal guards had joined forces with the Collective. A large number of taranoi had left Imera, including Dexter. And as promised, I rewarded him.

  Dexter was my royal assistant. Servants were no more. Taranoi received the same amount of blood as nobles and all were paid higher wages. The nobles weren’t happy about this, but when I reminded them of the taranoi’s revolt and slammed a list of names before them who had died during the attack on the castle, they backed down.

  Some of the more entitled and headstrong ones like Balton Vasile had to be reminded every so often.

  Everyone who worked in Castle De La Divin had a job title and was paid handsomely. As personal assistant to the king, Dexter was the highest paid employee.

  I placed the half-drained water bottle down on my desk, a fist knotting my chest. The job would have gone to Garridan. He died protecting Solaris. His sacrifice would never be forgotten and neither would his life. I had a monument constructed for him in the center of town. He was responsible for saving the queen’s life and mine because I wouldn’t have lasted long without her.

  And the Collective soldier that murdered him, Sargent Crawford, died during the taranoi attack on Imera. I only hoped it was a slow, torturous death.

  I cleared my throat and turned back to Dexter. “Any news from Ebony?”

  Dexter nodded and sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk across from me. “The construction of the capitol building is nearly finished.”

  “Perfect.” The lumenocs, along with a group of nocturnes and humans, were working together to rebuild the Shadow Lands. An entire city had been erected, and they were working on the capitol building where a small administration would be established.

  Solaris and I would stay there during our visits. It was also the same house we’d stumbled upon that stormy night during our long trek to Draconis.

  A smile curled my lips. I requested a particular bedroom to be ours.

  Dexter pulled out a tablet and tapped away on it. “Ebony and Xander have finished negotiations with the other lumenoc settlements and have a clear plan for their next city.”

  Xander had been sent to live with the lumenocs as our ambassador. It was his punishment for his part in the Mortiphen disease. I also didn’t yet trust him with Solaris. Maybe one day he could return, but then again, he may not want to. He seemed to be enjoying his new role and his life with the lumenocs, one in particular.

  “Have they finally come clean about their not-so-secret relationship?” Everyone knew Ebony and Xander were together even though they pretended to dislike each other. It was their little game of cat and mouse.

  Dexter chuckled and flipped the tablet toward me. A picture of Xander planting a giant kiss on Ebony in front of a crowd was on the screen.

  “They should just get married already,” I laughed. “It would make my mother happy.”

  A twinkle lit his dark eyes. “I know something else that would make her happy.”

  My smile dropped. “Don’t even bring that up. She would sense us talking about it.”

  The door burst open the same time excitement erupted through the bond. Solaris bounded in, those strands of spun gold wild around her face. Her cheeks were flushed as if she’d run the entire way here. From her erratic breathing, she probably had.

  “Kaige!” A smile brighter than the sun lit her face.

  I bolted from the desk and scooped her up in my arms, our hearts beating in the same frantic rhythm. Honey and jasmine swirled through my senses.

  “I missed you, little human,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Not as much as I missed you, prince of darkness.” Her voice soothed the unease that had grown in me during her absence.

  I pulled back, brushing my lips against hers. Within seconds, the kiss went from chaste to downright steamy. Her tongue mingled with mine as I reveled in her sweet flavor. Longing and pleasure rippled through the bond, igniting my insides with a roaring fire.

  Dexter cleared his throat, and I pulled back, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Oh god.” Solaris pressed her blushing face into my chest. “I didn’t even realize you were here, Dexter.”

  He chuckled as he stood. “Don’t pretend like that would have mattered.”

  Solaris and I had a tendency to forget we weren’t the only ones in the room. Dexter and Zabrina had been victims many times over.

  “How are Gavin, Isla, and Carissa?” I asked, attempting to change the subject and melt her embarrassment.

  “They’re good.” Solaris’s green eyes were still hazy. “Gavin likes his new job.”

  He was the head of the new human army. It wasn’t a position he ever wanted. Power was never an ambition of his, but that was what made him a perfect fit.

  “And Isla loves working with the lumenocs on their tech.” The lumenocs’ technology was quite advanced and provided the ingenuity that the Collective had been lacking. Isla was like a kid in a candy store touring their settlements.

  A touch of sadness sobered Solaris’s expression. “Carissa’s making some real progress
with Turstan’s victims.”

  I nodded as a lump choked my throat remembering the horrors they’d endured. Carissa was much better than others. She decided to set up an organization dedicated to helping the former blood slaves recover. The funds for it came directly from Draconis. I’d also offered to compel some of them to forget their time in the lab. A few had taken me up on the offer, but most wanted to remember and get through it on their own.

  The chiming of Dexter’s phone shattered the somber fog surrounding us. A goofy smile crossed his features as he checked the screen.

  “Let me guess,” Solaris said with a grin. “Tessamia.”

  Believe it or not, the spoiled noblewoman had fallen for my assistant. Her father wasn’t happy about their relationship; after all, her parents had groomed her for royalty. At first, I thought it was a way to get to me, a sad attempt to break Solaris and me apart. But when her father decided to disown her, and she stayed with Dexter anyway, I knew she was in love with the taranoi.

  My assistant sighed. “Yeah. She just texted—oh no.” His smiled faded, and his face turned a sickly shade of green. “Oh gods, she wants to cook me dinner again.”

  Solaris laughed at his expression. “It can’t be that bad.”

  Dexter’s eyes looked haunted. “Last time she cooked me dinner, it tasted like something a cat coughed up.”

  I chuckled under my breath. “Maybe you should ask someone to teach her.” Tessamia wasn’t the type to give up easily.

  A knock resonated on the door. Dexter checked the tablet on my desk. “Uh-oh.”

  My shoulders stiffened. “Who is it?”

  “Kaige.” Another knock. “Let me in, sweetheart. I heard Solaris was back and I’d really love to speak with both of you.”

  I cursed and glanced around, panicked. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Solaris scoffed and started for the door. “It’s just your mother. Don’t freak out.”

  My fingers curled around her wrist, and I yanked her back to me. “She wants to hound us about having children.”

  Solaris grimaced. “Again? I thought she understood we’re both too busy right now. And we have plenty of time.”