A Shade of Vampire 61: A Land of Perfects
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
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New Generation List
Family tree
1. Elonora
2. Kailani
3. Rose
4. Kailani
5. Vesta
6. Elonora
7. Elonora
8. Kailani
9. Derek
10. Sofia
11. Harper
12. Elonora
13. Vesta
14. Kailani
15. Dmitri
16. Rose
17. Elonora
18. Ridan
19. Harper
20. Derek
21. Derek
22. Derek
23. Rose
24. Harper
25. Phoenix
26. Derek
27. Sofia
28. Hazel
29. Caleb
30. Harper
31. Elonora
32. Ridan
33. Jovi
34. Sofia
Sneak Peek BONUS Chapters!
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Read more by Bella Forrest
Also by Bella Forrest
HARLEY MERLIN
(Brand new fantasy/romance/supernatural series!)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
THE CHILD THIEF
(New action-adventure/romance)
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Series 1: 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)
Series 2: 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)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
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 Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Series 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Series 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A Battle of Souls (Book 59)
Season 8: A Voyage of Founders
A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)
A Land of Perfects (Book 61)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
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Copyright © 2018 by Bella Forrest
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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New Generation List
Dmitri (son of Victoria and Bastien – half human and half werewolf)
Elonora “Lenny” (daughter of Ash and Ruby – vampire-sentry)
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br /> Varga (son of Ash and Ruby – vampire-sentry)
Kailani “Kale” (daughter of Brock and Arwen / granddaughter of Corrine and Ibrahim – witch)
Hunter (Sofia’s adoptive brother / adopted son of Aiden and Kailyn – werewolf)
Vesta (daughter of Idris and Rayna – water fae)
Family tree
If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree
Elonora
(Daughter of Ash and Ruby)
We’d sent Derek, Sofia, my grandparents and the other founders here on a much-deserved vacation. We’d scouted and scanned the planet, making sure it was uninhabited before we even built the resort on Noagh, a small island just south of the Prekk Archipelago.
All our initial findings had come up negative. Other than the superb flora and wildlife, there was nothing. Strava was perfect, with two seasons, the predominant one being hot and comfortably dry. It was a gorgeous planet in the distant galaxy of Meahiri, with thousands of islands sprinkled across the seemingly never-ending turquoise ocean. The moon cast its bluish hue over the white sand. The jungles chirped and growled. The palm trees’ crowns were heavy with delicious fruit, and the wild animals’ blood tasted amazing. We’d had no reason to worry, whatsoever, until Derek and his group failed to return from their vacation.
After upgrading the telescope lenses, we realized that we’d been watching large predators hanging around the resort, not our family and friends.
We came here looking for them, thinking they’d just gotten lost, or maybe they’d gone on a lengthier exploration and had forgotten to let us know. Anything was better than our worst-case scenario—that the planet was, in fact, inhabited, and that our people were in grave peril. We started the search without considering that possibility, since it didn’t fit what we’d already established about Strava.
We’d seen the open pods in the cave, first. That had been a crucial clue for us. When Derek and his group had come upon them, they had still been sealed. Something happened in that 24-hour window, between the time of the last footage we had of our group and the moment Ben and Rose first landed on Strava and realized that something had gone wrong.
We’d followed a trail to the northeast and found an island with a lighthouse and small port. The vessel we’d seen anchored there in photos from Cameron’s phone was gone.
Unfortunately, our worst-case scenario was starting to look more and more like what had really happened. Derek and the others were missing, and we had been attacked by creatures we didn’t even get a chance to look at. We’d seen flashes of light cutting across the sky. We’d heard the deafening bangs of the sound barrier being broken, over and over. We’d defended ourselves from devastating hits and fireballs that even melted Nevis’s Dhaxanian frost—ice we knew could never melt or be broken by anyone other than Nevis himself.
All hell had broken loose. We’d barely made it out of there alive. Kailani had managed to teleport us out of there by applying a swamp witch spell to her natural abilities. She’d transported us to a nearby island, where we waited for the flashes to go away.
They spent some time looking for us, though. We stayed beneath the cover of palm trees for hours, trying to understand what those creatures were. The one thing we’d all agreed on was that they were connected to the pods. Grandma Claudia’s accidental cable-pull may very well have let them out. With all this, I couldn’t help but think about my brother—Varga was currently on Neraka on a mission, but he probably would’ve given anything to be here with me, based on these new developments.
“The coast is clear now,” Rose said as she looked up at the night sky. “And we’ve only got a few hours till sunrise. Lenny, what do you see?”
I used my True Sight, ignoring the pangs in my stomach and my growing concerns about my grandparents and the others in their group.
“I can confirm they’re gone,” I said. “Nowhere near us on a three-, maybe four-mile radius.”
“Okay, we need to get back to Noagh and get the shuttles and the rest of our supplies,” Ben replied. “We need to find a safe place, and I doubt the resort is clear of danger at this point.”
“Agreed.” Rose sighed. “We’ll go straight there, no stopping for the boats. We can get those later. They may still come in handy.”
Nevis walked over to the edge of the water. We followed, quietly looking around, ready for pretty much anything. We’d nearly gotten fried once, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let that happen again. Those flashes moved fast, so even if I didn’t see anything five seconds ago on a four-mile radius, that could easily change in a split second.
“I can put together a vessel of sorts,” Nevis said. “We need the fae’s water ability to push it and increase its speed.”
“Consider it done,” Vesta replied with a firm nod.
Nevis then breathed out and wiggled his fingers. Frost spread out from underneath his bare feet and into the water. An ice boat emerged from the ocean with a splash—a long and aerodynamic type of vessel, big enough to hold us all.
We followed the frost path across the low waves and got in. It was cold, but comfortable. Vesta stayed at the back of the boat, coaxing the ocean water to push us smoothly toward Noagh, which was about seven miles to the south.
I continued using my True Sight during the trip, which did chip away at my energy reserves. It was worth it, though, as it allowed me to help keep my team safe. About two miles in, Vesta increased the speed of our ice boat.
“I’m going to need to syphon some energy later,” I said. “Those barriers took their toll on me, and I’m using my True Sight a lot as well.”
Zeriel smiled. “I can give you some of mine, if you want. I’m pretty strong.”
“You don’t look it,” Nevis replied, then gave me a brief, dark glance over the shoulder. “How often do you need to… syphon energy from people?”
I shrugged. “It depends. Normally, once every couple of days, but if I use my abilities frequently or heavily, once every eighteen to twenty-four hours. The more I put into a barrier or mind control, the quicker I need to replenish my energy,” I said, then looked at Zeriel. “Thank you for offering.”
“Ignore the Tritone,” Nevis cut in, just as Zeriel opened his mouth to respond. “I have enough energy to keep you sated, Miss Goode.”
I didn’t know whether to be thankful or irritated by the way he inserted himself into my “sentry menu.” I wasn’t even sure how I felt about feeding off him. I worried it might throw my senses for a loop, since everything about him was just so… intense and strange. I could easily compare syphoning from Nevis to trying a new, exotic dish.
Dmitri chuckled. “Let’s not forget there’s a dragon on board, too,” he said, pointing at Ridan, who gave me a half-smile and a nod. “Lenny’s not lacking in terms of energy sources here.”
“I assume having your energy drained takes its toll on you,” Nevis replied. “We need our dragon in tip-top shape. My frost was proven useless back there, so there’s no point in me preserving my energy for much.”
“Nevis, that’s not true,” Rose said to him. “You’re beating yourself up over something that was out of your control. Out of our control, for that matter.”
It hit me then that Nevis, in all his might and frosty coolness, was disappointed with himself. He’d experienced the kind of failure he’d never thought possible. His whole life, he’d thought that his Dhaxanian frost was unbreakable, downright indestructible. Five minutes against those murderous flashes, however, and he’d been rendered helpless, much like the rest of us.
“And your frost did help,” I added, prompting him to look at me. “Even if they melted it, it still kept their attacks at bay for a while, long enough for Kale to get us out of there. If you think you’re useless just because those things can break your ice, then you’ve misunderstood your overall value on this mission. I expected more from a creature of your caliber.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, then shifted his focus b
ack to what lay ahead. His aura was confusing as always, multicolored and seemingly undecided, but there were threads of dark blue and gold emerging. As a sentry, I’d yet to learn what they all meant. The size of an aura and the quantity of colors within it left room for endless possibilities. Reading an aura was never an exact science, and I could easily get it wrong. It was even harder with Nevis, whose emotions were displayed in a very confusing jumble.
I couldn’t read vampires, Maras, or daemons, but I’d learned to follow their body language instead. I figured I’d do the same with Nevis, if his aura didn’t give me anything concrete or even reliable.
“Oh, no…” Rose murmured, staring ahead.
I followed her gaze and stilled. “Crap,” I croaked.
A giant fire blazed on Noagh’s beach. The entire resort had been swallowed by large amber flames that licked at the night sky, spewing clouds of black smoke that spread out into the night. The escape pod we’d initially left for Derek and the others had also burned. My stomach dropped. Cold sweat burst into tiny droplets over my forehead as the harsh reality set in.
The resort was completely destroyed, burning like a midsummer bonfire.
“No one’s around,” I said, using my True Sight. “Whoever did this is gone.”
As the ice boat reached the shore, both Dmitri and Hunter sniffed the air.
“I’m getting that lemony whiff again, stronger than last time. Fresh scent trail,” Hunter replied.
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