Reckoning (The Arotas Trilogy #2)

by Amy Miles

  “Take care of her for me,” Gabriel calls to Nicolae, his pain raw as he turns back to look at the walkway one last time, as if Roseline might magically appear.

  Fane leaps toward Nicolae, clearing the well at the back of the courtyard. “Wait. Where are you going?”

  Gabriel turns away, burying his anguish in the angel’s shoulder blade. Powerful wings stretch out from the angel’s backs. One pair golden. One scarlet.

  Nicolae’s hair is blown back from his face as they leap into the sky. Their great wings attack the night, rising to the heavens. He watches as Gabriel turns back to look at the castle one last time before disappearing into the stars.

  “What was that all about?”

  Fane shrugs, a frown etched deeply onto his face. “He gave her up. How could he do that?”

  A scream rips through the air - terrified, frantic and decidedly female. It echoes through the castle, resounding off the high ceilings, bursting from the corridors. Nicolae’s head whips around.

  He leaps down from the half wall. Something latches onto his leg the instant he lands and pulls him down. He hits hard, his chest taking the brunt of the fall. He kicks back with his left foot, slamming into Lavinia’s face. She snarls, clawing her way up his body.

  His finger plays on the trigger of his crossbow, wedged between him and the ground. From this angle, he will not be able to get off a clean short. Nicolae wiggles the arrow free and waits until her reeking, blood-scented breath washes over his face. He bucks wildly and pins her to the ground as he slams the arrow down into her chest.

  She claws at the arrow, screeching. Nicolae leaps to his feet. One boot slams down on her flailing arm, the other shoves down on the feather tip, burying the arrowhead deep into her heart. Lavinia’s screech falls off as her eyes roll back in her head.

  “Nicolae!” Fane has reached the bottom step. Nicolae dips his head low and races after him. His boots slip on the gore slick stone as he leaps over bodies.

  Fane rounds the steps and tosses the body of a dead hunter over the railing. The man crashes to the ground, his gun skittering in the opposite direction. Nicolae winces at his fallen soldier but leaps to catch up to Fane.

  “Was that Roseline?” Nicolae gasps, clutching his bruised ribs.

  “I think so,” Fane grunts, shoving two more bodies out of their way. Nicolae’s legs stretch out into a full sprint as he leaps through the narrow path Fane is creating, out pacing the immortal.

  “Run faster,” Fane urges, trapped behind Nicolae in the narrow passage.

  “I’m going as fast as I ca-” Nicolae cuts off as Fane yanks him backward. An arrow burrows into the stone before his eyes. They turn to find Celina- her wild mane of hair drenched with blood- prepping for another shot.

  “Hey, that’s my crossbow,” Nicolae shouts.

  “Now is not the time,” Fane grunts, shoving Nicolae aside. He yanks a spear from a fallen hunter’s stomach and hurls it down at Celina. She yelps and leaps out of the way, backpedaling as she falls trips over a body.

  “Nice shot.” Nicolae grabs Fane’s arm and pulls him into the house. “You sure have a way with women.”

  “She never could take a hint,” Fane growls. His footsteps land inches behind Nicolae as he pushes the hunter to move faster. They race through the house, desperately searching for Roseline. There is no sign of her and her screams have ceased.

  “Nicolae!”

  They instantly veer off to the left as William’s guttural scream echoes down through the staircase at the back of the room. Nicolae attacks the stairs, taking three at a time. His toe slips off the step and he plunges headfirst toward the steep incline.

  His shirt snaps tightly against his throat as Fane grabs him from behind. “Thanks,” Nicolae gasps, wincing at the pain in his windpipe.

  Fane leaps onto the railing and dashes up the steep wooden pole.

  “Show off,” Nicolae grunts as he rushes up the steps. Fane blurs out of existence as he weaves down the hall and into Roseline’s room. “Oh no.”

  Fane’s moan lights a fire in Nicolae’s legs. He leaps the final three steps and launches himself toward the room. His chest heaves with exertion as he slams into the doorframe.

  “Oh god,” he gasps, realizing what room he is standing in. “Where’s Sadie? I left her on the bed.”

  The covers are slightly rumpled but decidedly empty. Nicolae stumbles into the room. His shoes slip on a growing pool of blood and glass shards. He cries out when he sees a hand sticking out from beside Fane’s knees - Sadie’s leather bracelet wraps around the fragile wrist.

  “No,” he screams, scrambling forward. His hands slide in her blood, it splatters against his face as he rushes to her side. Fane’s vacant eyes turn to meet his. William sobs, his eyes puffy as he cradles Sadie’s head in his lap.

  Nicolae moans, sinking back onto his heels. “No, this can’t be happening.” He reaches out, twining his fingers with Sadie’s. They hang limp in his hand. “Sadie, wake up. You can do it. Come on. Wake up!”

  Fane’s hand falls on his shoulder. “It’s too late.”

  “No,” Nicolae snarls at him, clutching Sadie’s hand to his chest. “It can’t be too late.”

  William raises his face, streaked with tear-washed blood. His shoulders quake. “She asked for you. I called but-” his voice cracks as he places a hand over Sadie’s chest. It rises and falls in halting breaths.

  Grief steals away Nicolae’s sanity. His crazed eyes bore into Fane. “How long?”

  Fane winces, shaking his head. “It’s hard to say. A minute. Maybe less. Her heart is barely beating.”

  Nicolae groans, kissing Sadie’s hand. “No, no, no,” he mutters, shaking his head. “This can’t be the end. She can’t die like this.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Fane says softly.

  Rage billows in Nicolae’s chest. He wants to lash out, to hunt down the person who did this and skin them alive, but through his anger comes clarity.

  Nicolae looks down at Sadie’s abdomen, what little is left of it. Something sharp has sliced through her flesh, nearly cleaving her in half. Part of her intestine hangs from her gaping wound.

  Nicolae’s head whips up to stare hard at Fane. “Save her,” he demands.

  “Now hold on a second,” Fane holds up his hands to push Nicolae back. “Think about what you are asking.”

  “I am,” he growls. All that surrounds him now is pain. He has lost everyone he has ever loved. He refuses to lose Sadie too.

  Fane grips Nicolae’s shoulders, forcing him to really focus on him. “I know it hurts and I know, in this moment, that you would do anything to save her…”

  Nicolae’s empty eyes stare back. Numbness seeps through every cell in his body. “I know what it is that I ask.”

  William glances between the Fane and Nicolae. “Are you serious? You can actually save her?”

  “Maybe,” Fane’s eyes mirror his doubt. “It doesn’t always work, William. I am not even sure she could survive the transformation. She has lost so much blood.” He winces on his final words. “Sadie might not survive.”

  “She’s dead either way,” Nicolae snaps.

  “But if you could save her, she would become like you? An immortal?” William asks, lovingly brushing aside the wisps of blood stained hair from his sister’s face.

  “Yes,” Fane whispers. He looks to Nicolae. “I can’t guarantee that she will remain pure though. If Sadie survives, she might become your enemy.”

  Nicolae’s eyes harden. “Just do it.”

  Redemption

  Coming 2013

 

 

 
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