“Put this on my finger,” she pleaded.
She grabbed Moldark’s hand and forced him to put the ring on her finger.
“Noooo,” the Princess cried standing up. She grabbed hold of Moldark’s other hand and tried pulling the ring off his finger.
“Stop it!” Maxine shouted, trying to pull Emberlynn off Moldark.
Their feet carried them further out towards the cliff.
Harland tried to pull Theresa away from Moldark.
“Back off!” Theresa screamed.
“ENOUGH!” Emberlynn roared, goo spilling from her mouth as she pushed Maxine away, who tripped back and fell off the side of the cliff.
“NOOO!!!” Theresa squealed, jumping over the side still holding onto Moldark.
She grabbed hold of Maxine’s hand, the pair of them both suspended over the face of the cliff.
Moldark was on his knees, still holding onto Theresa, keeping them alive.
Theresa looked across and saw Emberlynn had fallen over the cliff too, holding onto Moldark’s other arm.
He tried pulling them up at the same time, but it appeared to be a struggle for him.
Harland got to knees beside Moldark. “I’ll take Emberlynn. So you can worry about the other two. Just let me get in here.” He leant forward, half his body hanging over the edge, reaching for Emberlynn’s free hand. She grabbed onto him. “Alright see if you can…”
Emberlynn turned away from Harland and stared at Theresa.
“This is for betraying me,” she said and pulled Harland off the rest of the cliff.
She then let go of him and he fell screaming to the rocks below.
Theresa spat into the Princess’s face.
Emberlynn bore her teeth.
“Moldark, let go of Nurse Chantley.”
Theresa turned back to Moldark. His eyes grew smaller. Almost as if he couldn’t see her.
“Moldark, I command you to let go of her now!” Emberlynn shouted.
Maxine’s grip on Theresa was slipping.
“Please,” Theresa begged. “Don’t hurt me. I love you.”
Moldark’s eyes grew blacker. He turned to Emberlynn.
Her face was melting with poisonous sludge and smoke.
“I am the one who loves you, Moldark,” Emberlynn said defiantly. “I am the True Princess. Nurse Chantley is but our servant. Our slave. She means nothing to you or I. You will obey me as the collar binds us together!”
Theresa saw it grow tighter around his throat.
Moldark looked at each of them. “No,” he whispered.
“WHAT?” Emberlynn shouted.
He turned back to her. “I obey no master.”
He let go of the rotting Princess and she fell screaming as Harland had. With his free hand he reached down over the ledge and grabbed hold of Maxine.
Theresa and Maxine each grabbed hold of the cliff’s edge and Moldark pulled them up the rest of the way. Once up both girls immediately collapsed on their backs, coughing and exhausted.
Moldark sat down, his legs crossed and began to try to lift the collar off his neck.
Even now, it was still difficult.
Theresa forced herself up. “Oh, sweet hell.”
She jumped on top of Moldark and ripped the blasted thing free.
EPILOGUE
The Southern Vampire and his Vampiress slept like logs through the morning. A warm, beating sun stretched through the curtains into their royal chambers, as they lay in each other’s arms naked and entwined. There on top of soft silky fabrics, Theresa dreamed, and in her dreams was Moldark. They walked through the orchards of the wicked Princess, setting fire to every bushel, every branch, every flower. The Nurses ran to the top of the garden, outside the castle, where all were proclaimed as free. No one in the entire land would ever be forced into servitude again.
In their dreams, they could see the way forward. The path was clear. The Commoners and the Vampires would work together to build new orchards and plantations, this time with the true bloodflowers, and this time they would work together side by side. No more Lords. No more titles. Everyone would be happy and equal. This was the world the Vampiress, dreamed of.
When she awoke in the arms of her new husband, she knew of course it would not be that easy. Despite the defeating of one evil, many more would one rise to take its place. Evil itself wasn’t a virus. A separate organism or manifestation. Evil and Good were the hearts of everyone. Everyone was capable of everything. And it wasn’t that they had to learn to nurture the good in them, and starve off the evil. They just needed to reach into themselves to find love. And with love, they would be shown the way…
Throughout the day they slept. Sometimes waking briefly to shower the other with sweet kisses, and tender embraces. Theresa had not known the true gift of love until this moment now. She hadn’t known how powerful she could be with it on her side. That her life could have meaning beyond being alone.
As the day drifted onward and the night drew near once more, she awoke to find Moldark sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands pressed together, facing down. Theresa got up and draped herself around him. “Are you okay, darling?” she whispered.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” Moldark said. “I am so deeply ashamed.”
“Oh no,” Theresa said softly. “No, no, no. You did beat her in the end. We defeated her spell together. When I was under that collar, I was just as powerless as you were.”
Moldark was silent for a time. Then he said, “It wasn’t the collar making us do those things. It wasn’t the spell.”
“Well, what was it then?”
“It was the weakness inside of us,” Moldark said. “The collar just brought that weakness to life.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “And that’s how we beat it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The weakness inside us is the true enemy. The true, hidden evil. That is why after today we must never allow it to overcome us again.”
“It won’t,” Theresa said. “Now that we’re together.”
He kissed her hands and then spun around to face her body. “And this is forever, right?”
Theresa nodded. “Literally.”
He pulled the covers over them and they descended underneath, and into their souls…
Maxine woke up as the sun outside was beginning to set. With a cold stream pinkish, blue light over her face, she pulled her covers back and walked over to the closet in a daze. She pulled it open, confronted with various pretty dresses. She scoffed, shaking her head and pushed them aside. She was able to find a good pair of pants and boots, along with a dark blue sleeveless top that fitted her nicely. She passed a mirror in the hallway outside her room, and tossed her hair back with a half smile. She ventured down the corridor before running into a group of Moldark’s men.
“Uh, excuse me, my Lady,” one of them began.
“Maxine,” she correct.
“Yes, Maxine,” the soldier stammered. “Would you be able to go and wake Moldark and his Princess for us? There’s someone here to see them in the main hall.”
“Why can’t you go wake them yourselves?”
“We’ve been forbidden from going in this area of the castle. He requires the utmost privacy.”
“I wonder why that would be,” Maxine muttered.
“Huh?”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s probably neither of us disturb them. I’ll go see this person who’s arrived and assess the urgency. Does that sound fair?”
“As you wish, my lady.”
My lady. Maxine wasn’t a lady and she certainly didn’t expect to be treated as one. At the same time she had no problem speaking on behalf of Theresa and Moldark … to an extent. She thought she knew where their hearts lied.
Maxine followed the soldiers down a series of winding stairs till they reached the main hall where a small woman with fair hair in a green dress was waiting.
“Hello, there?” Maxine said. “Can I help you?”
&n
bsp; “Hello, Maxine,” the woman said. “I’m Portia. Lovely to meet you.”
“Oh,” Maxine said. “Yes, I think I’ve heard about you.”
“Come join me here.”
Maxine approached the Necromancer where she was, standing near a long table.
Outstretched was an enormous map of the world, and it stretched further than Maxine had ever dreamed to see. Their Land of Vampires was but a tiny island by comparison to the large continents in front of her, tucked away in the bottom right hand corner.
Maxine swallowed. “That can’t be real. Can it…?”
Portia smiled. “Either that, or the person who drew this map had a very active imagination.”
Maxine looked up, confused.
Suddenly the doors at the other end flew open with a bang and a gust of cold night wind flushed through the hall. Maxine rubbed her hands together, shivering.
Two black ravens flew through the open doorway, one of them carrying a flower in its mouth.
The other raven landed on the map and began tapping its beak near a large mass north of their land.
“Really?” Portia asked. “Are you sure?”
The first raven swooped down and dropped the flower into Portia’s hands.
The Necromancer lifted it to her nose, sniffing it.
Then she lifted her head. “Well done. Both of you. Now away.”
The ravens flew back out into the night.
Portia handed the flower to Maxine.
“Oh no,” Maxine said upon taking it. “It’s bleeding.”
She put it down as the Necromancer wiped her hands with some cloth.
“Let me ask you Maxine,” Portia said. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight. I … I don’t have any plans yet…”
“Have you ever been to Bear Forest?”
Maxine took a sharp breath of air. “No.”
“Well,” Portia said, “I just so happen to have a feeling. You’ll like it there…”
MAXINE RETURNS IN
A NIGHT IN BEAR FOREST
Shifter Nights, Book #1
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WORKS BY ROSETTE BOLTER
STANDALONE BOOKS
Vampire Dating Agency
Vampire’s Valentine
Stepbrother Bear
Game of Vampires
PARANORMAL SAGA
1. Shared By The Dragon Clan
2. Badass Dragons
3. Worshiped By The Bear Kings
4. Engaged To The Vampire Twins
5. Trillionaire Shifter Club (In Progress)
6. Embraced By The Vampire Triplets (In Progress)
SHIFTER NIGHTS
1. A Night In Bear Forest (Coming Soon)
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Game of Vampires: A Reverse Harem Serial (Part Five) Page 5