I extended my claws and swiped upward. She dodged and whispered to the others, “Restrain his arms.” As the three vampires left grabbed hold of my arms and fought to press them to the ground, Julie forced my head upward and slipped the sack over it, blocking my vision.
“No!” I growled.
I was lifted once again, even as I continued to struggle and swipe. They carried me away from the box. Although my vision was gone, it became clearer than ever that they were climbing up a slope.
And then they stopped.
“Here,” Julie said.
They lowered me to the ground. Although my legs were still motionless, at least my arms were unhindered by their grasp. I reached up and removed the sack, able to take in my surroundings for the first time as the vampires stepped out of reach of my claws.
My heart skipped a beat. I forgot how to breathe as I took in a chillingly familiar sight.
The sky was shrouded with dark, murky clouds and tinged with an eerie, crimson hue. There was a complete absence of vegetation and sprawling all around me were black mountains with peaks as pointed as knives. I lay beneath one such peak, on a cluster of level rocks. A few feet away from me, the ground dipped. I propped myself up with my hands to glimpse a wide, black hole in the ground. A crater.
I’d seen this before.
I’d been here before.
This was the place of my first vision. The place Arron’s traitor wife had brought me as an infant. The place where the Elder had first left his mark on me. And now, where the Elder would reclaim me.
I twisted back to face the vampires who’d carried me here. My eyes locked with Julie’s. Her gaze was no longer stoic as I’d expected it to be—rather, there was almost a trace of… guilt? Regret?
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed. Her eyes lingered on me for several more seconds before she turned on her heel and raced away with the other vampires, disappearing from view over the edge of the mountain. Their footsteps echoed as they clambered down the rocks, fading into the distance.
My eyes traveled back to the crater.
It hit me only now that even though I was no longer in the box and I was unprotected by any jinni, I still didn’t feel the Elder rising up within me to take over my mind. I realized why. He had no more need to beckon me back to Cruor. I’d already arrived.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine why Julie would deliver me to the Elder’s doorstep when she knew what it would mean. Why she was on the Elder’s side, and apparently working for him all along. What she could possibly stand to gain from it. But it didn’t matter. I was here.
An icy wind swept up from nowhere.
“Benjamin.” Goosebumps ran along my skin as a low whisper echoed up from the crevice. Faint at first, as though it traveled up from the deepest chambers of the mountain. But gradually, it grew louder. And louder.
Even the parts of my body that weren’t paralyzed froze as the whisper drew nearer.
A crimson mist formed above the crater. The whisper no longer echoed. It hissed straight into my ears, as though just feet away from me. The reddish mist thickened and turned black. The chilling voice stopped repeating my name and instead said, “Welcome back.”
So this was where my journey had led me.
Hortencia’s initial prediction had been accurate after all. For all my fighting to change the fate she’d foretold, this was where it had brought me—right into its clutches.
As my arms jerked backward in a futile attempt to distance myself, my right hand knocked against a weight in my robe pocket. A weight that I hadn’t realized I still carried with me. My shaking hand dug into the pocket and withdrew the small vial Arron had given me outside Breccan’s cave. Although made of glass, it had miraculously survived all this time.
Staring down at the swirling, light blue liquid, Hortencia’s last words shrilled in my mind:
“When the road forks, your route will be clear. Either a destroyer or hero of realms you shall be.”
As the black mist thickened into a fog and began to glide toward me, it couldn’t have been clearer that this was my fork in the road. Once it reached me, the Elder would surround me just as it had done when I was a newborn. Only this time, it wouldn’t leave me.
As for my route… the oracle had said that there would be two.
But in my eyes, there was only one.
Forcing open the glass vial, I shut my eyes and thrust the opening to my lips. I filled my mouth with the elixir and took rapid gulp after gulp. It felt like acid on my tongue, burning down my throat as I swallowed.
A bloodcurdling scream emanated from the black fog and it gathered speed, but as I forced down the last of the liquid, the Elder was too late.
Chapter 31: Vivienne
Derek and Sofia still hadn’t returned. I knew how much it would mean to my brother to be here for the birth of my child. It saddened me to think that he’d likely miss it. Corrine was expecting my waters to break at any time. She’d been in and out of the room all day, and she was due to pay another visit within the next hour to check in on me.
As I rested in my and Xavier’s bed, I looked down at my large stomach, protruding beneath a cotton nightgown. Xavier leaned against the headboard next to me on the mattress, his arms around me, gently stroking my belly. Liana sat in a rocking chair on my right. No words could express the joy I’d felt to be reunited with my best friend again. Of course she’d been thrilled to see that I was expecting a baby. I could still hardly believe that she was here, returned with Cameron and her two beautiful children. And yet, as we talked that night, my mind kept drifting elsewhere.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something on our island wasn’t… right. But at the same time I could not quite put a finger on what it was. I felt a deep sense of unrest, and my dreams had been strange of late. My brother Lucas kept recurring in them. Lucas had died almost twenty years ago. I rarely dreamt or even thought much about him these days. My older brother seemed like a lifetime away—and for the most part, that former life was one I wished to forget.
Then, as we had stood near the Port bidding farewell to Derek, Sofia and the rest before they embarked on their journey with the dragons, I could have sworn that I saw a long, bodiless shadow on the beach nearby. Standing. Watching. But then I’d blinked, and it was gone.
When Derek had asked me what was the matter, I’d shrugged it off as simply me being sensitive due to my pregnancy. And really, perhaps that was all that it was.
“Viv!” Liana gasped, shooting to her feet. She was staring down at the bedsheets. “Your water has broken.”
Xavier leapt up to examine them as I looked down. Liana was right.
“We need to go to Corrine!” Xavier exclaimed, his irises shimmering with excitement. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the penthouse. Descending in the elevator and arriving on the forest ground, Xavier swept me along the tree-lined path.
Anticipation and nervousness filled me. As much as I’d learnt about childbirth since Xavier and I had conceived, there was just no way to fully prepare myself for the experience. I tightened my grip around my husband’s neck and pressed my lips against his jawline. At least I have my love by my side.
As we passed the Port on our way to the witch’s home, I caught a glimpse of the ocean and the hunters’ naval ships in the distance. I wasn’t sure whether it was just a product of my imagination, or of the frenzy my mind had gone into at the thought of meeting my child, but I could have sworn that I spied another long, dark shadow sweeping across the jetty. Then Xavier turned a corner, and my eyes were drawn away.
Whether or not I’d imagined it, I realized then that there was more to my urgency for Derek to return than just for him to meet his newborn niece or nephew.
I didn’t feel safe with my brother and the dragons gone.
* * *
WHAT’S NEXT?
Dearest Shaddict,
With Christmas approaching, I have two exciting new releases for you to mark in your calendar!
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br /> 1st Announcement:
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!
I'm thrilled to announce the launch of a brand new story, and one many of you have been patiently waiting for ever since the dragon shifters arrived in The Shade ... A Shade of Dragon!
Yes! You will finally get a story dedicated to the mysterious, devastatingly handsome dragon prince, Theon, aka Master of "the artistry of romance", on his search for a maiden capable of bearing his love.
Where did Prince Theon go after leaving The Shade the night of Rose's wedding? What is really up with these heartstoppingly sexy fire-breathers? What was the "series of unfortunate events" that led them to become barren of their own females? Why are they so desperate for Theon to find a human mate? And will he ever find one?
These questions and more will be answered in A Shade of Dragon... Releasing December 8th 2015!
Tap here to pre-order your copy now!
You won't want to miss this ;)
Here’s a preview of the smoking cover (you may need to turn to the next page for it to be visible):
2nd Announcement:
BEN & RIVER'S STORY CONTINUED!
Ben and River's story will continue in A Shade of Vampire 21: A Vial of Life!
A Vial of Life releases just in time for Christmas: December 22nd 2015!
Tap here to pre-order your copy now.
And here’s a preview of the gorgeous cover (again, you may need to turn to the next page for it to be visible):
This Christmas is going to be a thrill ride!
I can't wait to meet you back in the world of The Shade...
Thank you for reading.
Love,
Bella xxx
P.S. Join my VIP email list and I’ll send you a personal reminder as soon as I have a new book out. Visit here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
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I’d love to hear from you.
Read More by Bella Forrest!
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
Derek & Sofia’s story:
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Rose & Caleb’s story:
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Ben & River’s story:
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A SHADE OF DRAGON
A Shade of Dragon
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
For an updated list of my books, please visit my website: www.bellaforrest.net
Join my VIP email list and I’ll personally send you an email reminder as soon as my next book is out! Click here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
A Hero of Realms Page 16