by L.H. Cosway
“When stripped of your bodyguards, you really are spineless,” Ethan quietly fumed, interrupting Whitfield’s ruthless proposal.
Whitfield let out a harsh laugh. “This coming from the man who only a few minutes ago was running away from me like a coward.”
“I ran away like a man who has a brain in his head and knows when he’s been outnumbered. But unlike you, Jeremy, I would never sell my people out to a sorcerer. Do you even realise the gravity of what you have offered? To save your skin you would enslave the very people who look up to you to guide them. If that is not cowardice, then I don’t know what is.”
“Do not talk down to me. I am hundreds of years older than you, Ethan Cristescu. You have no idea what it takes to survive that long.”
Theodore coughed loudly, an amused expression on his face. “I hate to break up this little domestic you vamps are having, but I do believe I’m the one holding all the cards here.”
Whitfield lost the hateful expression he’d been wearing when speaking with Ethan and turned back to Theodore.
Satisfied that the attention was back on him, Theodore went on, “So, if I’m understanding this correctly, you are offering to serve me, and to command your vampires to serve me, too, if I spare your life?
“That is correct, Sorcerer,” Whitfield answered, adopting a supplicating manner.
“Well, I have to say, that is certainly an attractive offer,” Theodore rubbed at his pale chin thoughtfully. “With my magic and the physical prowess of your vampires no one would dare try to overthrow me.”
Well, he certainly changed his tune. Before he’d planned on driving the vampires from the city by starving them of blood.
“It’s true. We vampires are far stronger than any humans,” Whitfield agreed, a little too eagerly. “I promise you would not regret gaining a vampire following.”
Theodore took a moment to study him before motioning him closer with a wave of his hand. “Come with me. We shall discuss this away from prying ears. Daughter, be a dear and make sure that my dear little Treasure and her vampire don’t try to flee.”
Rita didn’t breathe a word, her expressionless face gazing straight ahead. The dark magic streamed from her hands and kept Whitfield’s vampires at bay. I momentarily wondered what would happen if I simply hopped onto Ethan’s back again and told him to run. Would she use her magic to freeze us, too? Or would she somehow remember I was one of her closest friends and let me go? Right now, I didn’t dare to test out the theory. Besides, as Ethan said, we were penned in on all sides by vampires, so we wouldn’t get very far even if we did try to run again.
This was it. I glanced at Whitfield and Theodore, who were deep in conversation on the other side of the roof. Theodore had his hand on Whitfield’s shoulder, a gesture that could be interpreted as either new-found friendship or dominance. In my gut, I was going with dominance.
Theodore might seem like he was interested in teaming up with Whitfield, but let’s face it, he was only doing it so that he could add to his strength. Moments ago, he was all set on killing the vampire governor to get him out of the way. And to be honest, I didn’t get why he didn’t just kill him. Having the vampire population at his beck and call aside, Whitfield was clearly only biding his time by offering this deal. The moment he spotted a weakness in Theodore I had no doubt he’d dive right in for the kill himself.
Ugh, why did I even bother to theorise about all of this? My time should be spent worrying for Ethan and my own life, because let’s face it, we were the weakest of the three opposing teams on this roof. After using so much of my magic tonight, I felt drained. I wished I could somehow fill it back up, but something told me it would take time to restore itself. Sort of like when you lost blood, and it took a while for your body to recuperate.
I thought of my blood and all the power it could give to a vampire if ingested, or a witch if used in a spell. If only I knew more about spells, then maybe I could cut myself right here and cast one to get us out of this mess. The problem was, Rita had only ever gotten around to teaching me the basics. I didn’t know any spells powerful enough to help me in this situation.
Frustration consumed me as my attention returned to Whitfield and Theodore, who now had both their heads drawn close, most likely throwing together some dastardly plan or other. I practically shook with fear as I saw my death coming for me. Whitfield was right when he said it was in the air because I was as good as dead now.
Noticing my shaking, Ethan took my hand into his to calm me. I looked up into his beautiful eyes as he gazed down at me, his expression full of affection and grief. He knew it, too, knew that the two of us were done for.
Closing my eyes to stop from crying, I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest, feeling his heart drum a rhythm so different to my own. I thought of Ethan’s physical prowess and how powerful he always seemed to me. I guessed no matter how strong you were, there was always someone out there who was stronger.
As I was thinking this, the most miraculous thing happened. The All-Knowing Tome opened in my head again.
The pages flicked more slowly this time, before landing on a page titled, “The History of the True Power Bloodline”. It contained all the known facts about what my blood could do. I wasn’t sure why it was showing me this page because I knew everything that was written there already.
I knew that my blood could transform a vampire into something new and unbreakable. I saw it with my own eyes when Eliza drank from me right before I staked her. I almost got annoyed at the book for showing me this page because it was like it was rubbing my weakness to vampires in my face. But then I realised that wasn’t what it was doing at all. It was trying to remind me. Remind me that my blood could make vampires immortal, could transform them into an indestructible being, something with a strength that has never before been matched.
I pulled my face from Ethan’s chest and looked up at him again, everything falling into place. We could get out of this. Theodore and Whitfield may have joined forces, but would their combined strength be enough to rival that of Ethan when transformed?
Preventing myself from hashing over the idea for a second longer, I whispered to him, “Bite me.”
His eyes widened at my request. I’d taken him off guard. “Did I just hear you right?” he asked, whispering too.
“It’s the only way we’re getting out of this,” I replied urgently.
His hand came up to caress my face. “Do you know, I never even considered …” he trailed off, hunger blazing in his eyes as thoughts of drinking from me took over.
I glanced quickly at Rita, but her attention was latched on one of Whitfield’s men, who looked like he was struggling not to faint under the force of her magic. Theodore and Whitfield were still talking, not paying us any heed. This was our only chance.
Ethan pulled me close, brushing my hair away from my face. “Are you sure?” he asked. “If I do this, it will change everything.”
“Look around you, Ethan. The city has gone to ruin. Everything has changed already.”
He fingered my throat with one hand, the other gripping me firmly at the waist. I couldn’t keep my eyes off his mouth as his fangs descended, mesmerised by how sharp they were. I swallowed hard, and my body came alive. Before I’d feared being bitten by a vampire, but at this moment, I welcomed it. With every fibre of my being, I wanted Ethan to drink from me. I wanted to feel his fangs cut into my skin and his mouth to suck the blood from my veins. I want to see him take a part of me inside him so that we were bonded forever.
He kissed me then, just lightly on the lips, but because his fangs were out, he nicked me. A tiny trickle of blood ran down my lip, and a violent shudder went through him at the sight of it. Ethan kissed me harder as he licked it away. His body gave a powerful tremble, and his mouth pulled away from mine. He gazed down at me, and I was suddenly aware of the fact that this was the last time I’d ever see him as the Ethan I knew. Once this was over, I wasn’t sure what or who he’d be. All I knew
was that doing this was our only hope of survival.
He leaned down to me, scraping his fangs along my earlobe, and breathed out those three little words, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I blurted, the response automatic.
A sea of emotions swirled in his golden irises as his mouth moved to my neck. I was practically shaking with the anticipation of his bite. Then, from one second to the next, his fangs clamped down on me. There was a brief second of sharp pain, but it quickly transformed into pleasure. My eyes closed, and I fell limp in his arms.
Every moment we spent together flashed rapidly through my mind as he drank. I wondered what my blood tasted like to him. Was it as delicious as his was to me? A second later, his mouth was off me, and I slid to the ground. With my hands braced against the cold, hard concrete of the roof, I stared up at Ethan as his body shook. His eyes and skin turned silver, just like Eliza’s had. His body seemed to be hardening, his skin resembling flawless marble even more so. It happened so quickly, and then the silver died down. His skin returned to its normal colour; although, his golden eyes were now edged in silver.
Rita’s head whipped around when she sensed the change in Ethan. She aimed her palms at him now, instead of Whitfield’s men, but her magic only seemed to bounce off him, causing no harm at all. She made an angry, frustrated noise at this, which drew Theodore’s attention. His eyes flickered over us, and within seconds he deduced what had happened. Instead of his usual, confident expression, his pale face suddenly seemed even more colourless.
“No …” he whispered, his voice filled with dread as he took in Ethan’s transformation.
In the blink of an eye, Ethan zoomed to Whitfield, took the vampire governor’s head in his hands, and pulled it straight off his shoulders. He held the decapitated head in his grip for only a second before tossing it over the edge of the building. His new eyes gleamed viciously at Theodore as he took a step toward the sorcerer. Undiluted fear seeped from Theodore as he backed away, and before I could blink, he and Rita disappeared in the same way they had arrived, in a cloud of purple smoke.
My pulse pounded as I watched the other vampires sink to their knees at the sight of Ethan. I was still so weak from blood loss that I could hardly move. I managed to gather just enough strength to crawl half a foot to the edge of the roof. Ethan gazed at me only for a moment. It seemed like he was trying to communicate so much to me in just that one glance, but I couldn’t decipher any of it.
In quick succession, he murdered all five of the vampires on the roof in the same way he killed Whitfield. He snuffed out their lives with not the slightest bit of effort. Then he strode to the edge of the roof, close to where I sat. He stood right on the precipice, his body so composed that there wasn’t a single possibility of him falling.
I pulled myself up and looked down where there were still hundreds of vampires going wild, unaware that their leader had just been decapitated. Ethan let out an almighty roar that echoed, not just throughout the street but throughout the entire city. The vampires below instantly stopped what they were doing to stare up at him in shock and awe. Ethan roared again, his body pulsating with his change, with my blood running through it, and just like the others, the vampires fell to their knees, their heads bowed. They all recognised that Ethan wasn’t like any vampire they had ever seen before. They also seemed to silently accept that he was their leader now.
This thought sobered me. In one night, Whitfield and Pamphrock were no more. The two rulers who fought a war over this city had both been taken down. Theodore had always been the most powerful of the three, but even he fled when he saw the change in Ethan. This meant that Tribane now belonged to the vampire standing next to me, looking down upon his people and showing them that they now belonged to him,
Over on the roof across from us, I saw Finn and the others staring at Ethan. They weren’t kneeling like everyone else, but they were certainly awe-struck.
Only minutes ago, Ethan and I confessed our love for one another, but did that love still exist now that he was changed so irrevocably? And was it true that consuming too much of my blood not only caused a vampire to strengthen but also to decline? I didn’t know whether Ethan drank just enough to become immortal, or if he drank too much. Only time would tell.
His old self had died. He was reborn as a new vampire.
Feeling a little less weak in body, but very much weaker in my mind, I gazed again at the vampires below us, each bent over as though worshipping the one who stood above them. At that moment, I could barely conceive of what the future might hold.
All I knew was that things would never be the same again.
Thank you for reading Witching Hour. The story concludes in Sunlight, book #4 in the Blood Magic Series. Read on for a sneak peek at chapter one.
P.S. If you are curious to read Florence’s story, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter HERE and you’ll be the first to hear news of when her book is being released.
1.
Tegan
My view of reality was foggy.
Ethan stood on the edge of the roof, his body shimmering with a silvery glow. Hundreds of vampires on the street below bowed to him as though he was a miracle made into flesh.
My magic showed me a vision of the entire city, where it seemed like every vampire had sensed Ethan’s change into this indestructible, extraordinary being. No matter where they were, they bowed. Some in fear, others in awe.
The blood that rushed through his system wasn’t merely his, but mine, too. And I felt his power like a physical pulse. The black chaos mist retreated from the humans, called away by its master, Theodore. I suspected he’d gone to regroup, laying low until he could figure out how to approach this turn of events.
Ethan’s strong, familiar voice shouted orders, commanding the vampires to cease their violence on the human population. His Romanian accent was more dominant than it had been before; the modern cadence less evident.
The vampires stood to attention, taking his orders with renewed enthusiasm, their eyes staring up at him in amazement, like he was the ruler they’d been waiting for all this time. Gone were the days of the Herringtons, of Jeremy Whitfield and his wars. A new era had begun, and the possibilities were endless.
I was slumped weakly over the edge of the building, staring down at the vampires who now organised themselves into groups as they cleared away the dead bodies and carnage that had drowned the city in a sea of blood and mess.
I wondered in horror just how many innocent people were killed tonight.
Then, arms as hard as steel wrapped around me and lifted me, and my dizzy head sank into the crook of Ethan’s neck, my safe place. My energy was vastly depleted from blood loss. He started to move at vampire speed, faster even than before. I couldn’t handle the whooshing colours, and I slipped in and out of consciousness.
Then I slept.
When I woke up my head and my eyes felt sore. It was like I’d been asleep for days. I lay naked on a bed that wasn’t my own, and a cool Egyptian cotton sheet covered my body as I stretched out my aching limbs.
The windows were wide open, and morning light shone into the room. I looked around, recognising Ethan’s bedroom in his house on the south side of the river. The house Whitfield had exiled him from.
I sat up, and the sheet fell to my waist. Ethan was lounging in his armchair by the bookshelves in front of a window. His eyes were closed, and he held his serene face up to the sun. The soft, golden light cast his features in a peaceful glow. I’d never seen him look so at ease.
I repeat, he was sitting in the sun, enjoying its warmth without any concern of getting sick.
The events that led to my being here rushed through my head, and I gasped. Ethan’s eyes flashed open when he heard my sharp intake of breath. Oh wow. They were incredible. Deep gold edged in silver. His blond hair shimmered even more so now, and his olive skin was even more flawless. He stared at me intensely, and for a second, I wondered whether or not I was safe, whether
or not he was still Ethan, or something else.
“Am I safe?” I whispered, and he tilted his head questioningly in response.
“Are you safe?” he repeated back at me, his accent doing all sorts of hot things to my insides.
A long stretch of silence elapsed. I pulled the sheet up to cover my chest.
“Well, am I?” I asked uneasily.
“Lumina mea, you are safer than you’ve ever been. Do not cover yourself.”
I blushed and let the sheet drop again. Ethan stood from his chair and walked toward me. He sat at the end of the bed and ran his hand over the fabric of the sheet.
“How long have I been out?”
“About a day,” he answered, not lifting his eyes from the sheet. “I imagine you needed the rest to recuperate from the blood loss.”
“You’re probably right. My muscles are all sore.” I stretched one arm up over my head and then the other. “What happened while I was sleeping? Where is everyone?”
A look of frustration entered his gaze. “I’ve not yet located the others. I believe they fear I’ve changed into a monster and are in hiding.”
“Oh. And how do you feel?” I asked.
“I feel incredible. You have no idea the gift you’ve given me,” he replied earnestly, his eyes practically glittering.
I rubbed my arm, hesitating a moment before I spoke, “Pamphrock once mentioned that know one knew how much True Power blood it took to strengthen a vampire. It’s believed that too much might cause you to decline.”
Ethan’s features turned thoughtful. “I don’t believe I drank too much. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been and other vampires sense my power, but I don’t anticipate any decline,” he said and relief filled me.
“You have no idea how good it is to hear that. I’d been so worried…”