Blood Moon

by Alyxandra Harvey

  And he was wiping blood off his lip.

  Shit.

  I grabbed Lucy’s hand and yanked her away, even as I shot the last of my Hypnos at Nicholas. He was already leaping up into the tree, out of range. He hissed down at us, candlelight flashing off his fangs and pale eyes. Lucy stared up at him.

  “Nicholas?”

  I tugged harder on her hand. “Lucy, we need to get out of here.”

  She tripped over a root and then dug in her heels. “Nicholas Drake,” she whispered. “Stop it. Stop it now.” It was as close to begging as I’d ever heard her. “Please.”

  The light changed quality, burned from pink to gold. Nicholas swung into the next tree, and then we heard him land on the ground and take off, running away from the dawn, away from Lucy. She tried to follow, but I wouldn’t let her.

  She was shivering, shrugging back into her frock coat as I forced her to move. We ran between the trees without talking as the sun rose, throwing darts of light between the branches. Ice gleamed. Birds sang from the canopy. I wouldn’t let us stop until we were well away from the encampment and any surrounding underground safe houses. We could almost see the road from here and my car parked haphazardly in the bushes. Lucy braced her hands on her knees and bent over, panting.

  “Kieran, how did you find us?” she finally asked.

  “You were tagged.”

  She blinked at me, confused. “What? I know my dad threatened to microchip me, but I think I would have noticed if he’d actually done it.”

  “Nicholas tagged you.”

  She straightened slowly. “How do you know that?”

  “We worked it out as a fail-safe.” I checked her coat and found the small tag under her collar. I pulled it out and showed it to her. “He activated it about a half hour ago.” I watched her reaction warily, assuming she’d be furious. Lucy tended to punch people in the face when she was furious. Instead she beamed at me.

  “That’s sneaky and awesome,” she said, wiping a tear out of one eye even as she giggled. “And it means Nicholas never really meant to hurt me. He was saving me from Solange.”

  “Yeah, about that,” I said as we pushed through the last of the undergrowth and climbed into my car. “What the hell happened to him?”

  “I don’t know,” she said bleakly.

  “He didn’t look good.”

  “I know. Shit!” She interrupted herself, eyes wide. “Jenna! We have to find Jenna!” She scrambled to get out of the car. “She was with me when Solange’s guard ambushed us. They left her in the woods. Spencer said he’d go after her.”

  “Spencer?” I echoed. “Hunter’s friend?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Okay, hold on, before you go charging back out there.” I flipped open my cell phone and hit speed dial. Hunter answered on the first ring.

  “I’ve got Jenna,” she said in lieu of a greeting.

  “Is she all right?”

  “She’s embarrassed, and she’ll have a hell of a headache for the next few days, but she’s fine.” I nodded at Lucy so she’d know Jenna was safe. She slid back into the car, looking relieved and exhausted. “Spencer called me to come get her at the gate,” Hunter was saying. “I think Lucy’s in trouble,” she added. “Jenna said they were chasing vampires. We can’t get ahold of her.”

  “Lucy’s with me; she’s fine,” I assured her.

  Hunter gave a loud sigh of relief. “Okay. Good. Damn, tonight sucked.”

  “Talked to Quinn?”

  “Yeah. Nicholas is back and Solange just made herself queen.”

  “Shit,” I said, before hanging up. The Solange I fell in love with had shoved a tiara through a vampire’s chest rather than claim it as her own.

  “There’s something wrong with her, Kieran,” Lucy said quietly.

  “We knew that already.”

  “No, this is different. It’s like she’s not really herself. I can’t explain it.” She rubbed her stomach as if it hurt. “I can just feel it, you know? I could barely recognize her.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We save her,” she said, as if I were an idiot. “We save them both.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Nicholas might not be missing any longer, but he didn’t look safe either. “And how exactly are we going to do that?” I scrubbed my face wearily. Lucy always had ideas, even if they were generally dangerous and reckless.

  “I have no idea.”

  And that scared me most of all.

  Acknowledgments

  As always I want to thank everyone at Walker & Company and Bloomsbury Books for all of their hard work and their incredible support of the Drake Chronicles. I am truly grateful.

  Thanks to Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency.

  Thanks to Jessica Kelly for all the book photography and to Adam Simpson for indispensable Web help.

  Thanks to my husband, who brings me dinner when I’m on a deadline and knows what to do when confronted with Crazy Face (cue Pride and Prejudice, back away slowly).

  And a second extra thanks to Walker for moving up the publication date of Bleeding Hearts so that the readers could get it sooner!

  And as always, thanks to my readers, without whom none of this would be possible!

  Also by Alyxandra Harvey

  The Drake Chronicles: Hearts at Stake

  The Drake Chronicles: Blood Feud

  The Drake Chronicles: Out for Blood

  The Drake Chronicles: Bleeding Hearts

  Ruling Passion, which includes Hearts at Stake, Blood Feud,

  and Out for Blood

  Haunting Violet

  Stolen Away

  A Note on the Author

  ALYXANDRA HARVEY is the author of the Drake Chronicles, Stolen Away, and Haunting Violet. She likes medieval dresses and tattoos and has been accused of being born in the wrong century—except that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream. Alyx lives in an old Victorian farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, dogs, and a few resident ghosts.

  www.alyxandraharvey.com

  www.thedrakechronicles.com

  www.facebook.com/thedrakechronicles

  READERS ARE RAVING ABOUT

  ALYXANDRA HARVEY!

  “Witty, sly, and never disappointing.…Fun, funny, and a relief from Twilight wannabes.”

  —Booklist on Hearts at Stake

  “A smart mix of darkness and humor.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Hearts at Stake

  “A highly entertaining and funny book that will be sure to make you smile the entire time through.”

  —Jucilicious on Hearts at Stake

  “A refreshingly humorous and high-action addition to the often brooding vampire genre.”

  —BCCB on Hearts at Stake

  “An action-packed story full of intrigue, suspense, and romance with a great cast of characters.”

  —School Library Journal on Blood Feud

  “Alyxandra Harvey’s attention to detail, and ability to create complex, sympathetic characters, are what separate this book out from others of its ilk.…This is one series I always enjoy visiting.”

  —Michael M. Jones, SF/Fantasy Author and Book Reviewer on Blood Feud

  “Will keep readers entertained from start to finish.…Fast-paced and engaging.”

  —VOYA on Out for Blood

  “Readers, new and old, are in for an intensely wild ride into a creative, interesting world filled with action, romance and suspense.”

  —Literary Cravings on Out for Blood

  “An action-filled story with romance and danger.…I thought I had a feel where the story would go—but each time Ms. Harvey surprises me. Definitely keeps the series fresh and addicting.”

  —Anna’s Book Blog on Out for Blood

  “Alyxandra Harvey is the consummate storyteller.…‘It’s a rare treat to be involved in a book that is new and can hold my rapt attention in this genre after 40 years of reading about vampires!”

  —A
Bookish Libraria on Bleeding Hearts

  “Book 4, Bleeding Hearts, is an action-packed story that will have you DYING for book 5, Blood Moon (it totally had me yelling IT ENDED THERE!?!?!).” —Page Turners Blog on Bleeding Hearts

  “Bleeding Hearts surpassed all my expectations, and gave a completely unsuspected ending. The romance was enticing, the action full throttled fun. Another read that should not be missed.”

  —Passing the Pages on Bleeding Hearts

  Copyright © 2012 by Alexandra Harvey

  All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  First published in the United States of America in June 2012

  by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.

  Electronic edition published in June 2012

  www.bloomsburyteens.com

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to

  Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Harvey, Alyxandra.

  Blood moon / by Alyxandra Harvey. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (The Drake Chronicles)

  Summary: When the vampire tribes convene for the rare Blood Moon ceremonies,

  family secrets and forbidden magic put all of the Drakes in danger, and

  Nicholas is caught between saving his little sister Solange or his girlfriend Lucy.

  [1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters—

  Fiction. 4. Secrets—Fiction. 5. Magic—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H267448Blm 2012 [Fic]—dc23 2012004359

  ISBN 978-0-8027-3407-5 (e-book)

  Table of Contents

  Contents

  Drake Family Tree

  Chapter 1 Lucy

  Chapter 2 Solange

  Chapter 3 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 4 Lucy

  Chapter 5 Solange

  Chapter 6 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 7 Lucy

  Chapter 8 Solange

  Chapter 9 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 10 Lucy

  Chapter 11 Solange

  Chapter 12 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 13 Lucy

  Chapter 14 Solange

  Chapter 15 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 16 Lucy

  Chapter 17 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 18 Solange

  Chapter 19 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 20 Lucy

  Chapter 21 NICHOLAS

  Chapter 22 Solange

  Chapter 23 Lucy

  Chapter 24 Solange

  Chapter 25 Lucy

  Chapter 26 Solange

  Chapter 27 Lucy

  Chapter 28 Solange

  Chapter 29 Lucy

  Epilogue Kieran

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Alyxandra Harvey

  A Note on the Author

  Praise for Alyxandra Harvey