by Kim Faulks
Dead or alive, Zadoc whispered in my mind, and stared at me with the soulless eyes of a broken man.
I shoved to my feet and took a step. Drops of blood carried me deeper until the faint splatter turned into a splash. My stomach tightened at the sight. Long dark trails dripped over rocks and along the side. Faint sunlight streamed in from the cracks above. I clenched my fist and surged forward.
You need me. The Archer pushed against the icy wall inside my mind. Lucas…let me out.
I swallowed hard and moved deeper into what was once a room filled with medical equipment, and now—was a goddamn mess.
An overturned monitor barred the way. I found a hold and shoved my way through. Faint sunlight shone against the stainless. Lab equipment covered the sides of this cave, some still standing, most toppled, dented—I stilled at the buckled metal of what had once been a table, and was now ripped in two.
Glass crunched under my boots, drawing my gaze. Shards sparkled like diamonds against darkened blotches of day old blood. But it was the glistening drops that stilled me, and it was the fresh trail I followed toward the rear of the room.
An incubator sat sideways. The back end jagged and smashed, leaving a gaping wound in the plastic divider. Tiny tubes hung out of the open access ports, like the insides of this beast had ruptured and spilled out.
That was where Doc found her, tied down and tortured. Just a little thing, scaled skin and a perfect heart. How could anyone do something like that?
The memory of her on that table surfaced. I could picture her in that plastic incubator, wings flapping, claws finding nothing more than air as she fought to survive.
This mountain remembered. Cold earth whispered of pain and suffering, and for a second I was almost there—almost ready to tear down this wall and face the beast inside.
Dragon…
I took one slow step, drawn to the open portals and the black smeared tubes, until the darkness behind it moved.
Dragon, you there?
Black on black shifted, moving against the cavern wall. The bitch had come back. “I can see you hiding,” I growled. Glass crunched as I moved to the middle of the exit. “And there’s only one way out.”
Silence waited. I scanned the rest of the cavern, lingering on smashed bottles of a witch’s craft. They could be poison, could be spells…
My lips curled, body trembled. “You fucked up. You thought you could hurt my family and survive.”
I clenched my fist as the icy breath of fear turned into rage.
Silver flames danced in my mind.
Yes, my Dragon whispered, and the icy wall between us wept. Yes…let me out. I’ll burn the bitch alive.
Glass crunched, filling the void as I took a step closer. “You captured my brother—tortured him. Hurt his mate, hurt his daughter. How did you think this was going to end for you?”
The edge of her black cloak billowed out into the dappled light. Something glinted before it was gone.
“Come out here.” Silver flames blazed in my throat. “Face what you’ve done.”
The tip of an arrow sliced the shadows. Sparks danced, caught on hard obsidian as she took a step, wielding the weapon like a spear.
My breath stilled. “You?”
Blood coursed over pale skin, running in rivulets down her pale arms. Gone was the mask and the cold detachment. In this moment she was a woman—a broken, beautiful woman. “He won’t let me leave,” the Princess whispered and turned the arrow toward her chest. “And I can’t fight him anymore.”
I couldn’t think…couldn’t speak, frozen for a second.
And a second was all it took, as Princess Eva of the Shadistin Clan gripped the end of my spear and drove the point into her chest.
11
Eva
The blade pinched, driving through flesh and bone to the hollow space underneath.
I inhaled hard and then dropped my gaze to the point buried deep.
“Have you ever known hunger?” My whisper echoed inside the cavern. “The kind that makes you desperate—makes you do things you’d never dream of doing?”
Stars detonated behind my eyes…boom…boom…boom. I found the dark blur in the middle of the cavern, the bitter scent of his rage hit me like a coming storm.
He was the storm—this Dragon—this Guardian.
Disappointment drove the blade deeper, slipping under my rib to pierce my cold, undead heart. I wished I’d known him…wish I had…
He took a step, and his outline sharpened. Huge shoulders curved, moving like the mountain. My knees trembled. The redolence of death bloomed, dragging my father’s memory close, for a second I was a child again.
A lost and lonely child.
Warm hands found me as my knees buckled, and slid around my waist. Sparks flared from the stone, burning through my chest.
He snatched his fingers from my chest, eyes wide, and wrenched his gaze to mine. “Jesus Christ.”
I couldn’t breathe. Panic reared, fighting to the surface. I opened my mouth, but there was no air…no…
“Why? Why hurt the baby?”
The dank cavern air slipped past my lips, and a hiss escaped around the blade. The faint taste of Zadoc’s blood still lingered, blending with my own. He wasn’t strong enough to grant me what I needed. I pierced my fingers into the packed earth as my heart welled. A boom rocked my chest as I raised my gaze to his. Dark brows furrowed, hard stubble across his square jaw shone. But this Guardian was strong enough. His blood would set me free.
“Why come to our home? Why the betrayal?”
The hunger, I wanted to whisper. Because hunger is a Vampire that lives in my head.
“The Huntress. Are you with her?”
A flinch scattered my hair, agony seared through my chest. Packed brown earth bled to white. The slow thud of my heart picked up pace and hate burned. “Never.”
He dropped to his knees. That cruel gaze drifted over my chest, stilling at his blade, plunged deep. I knew it was yours, I wanted to confess. Your blade, your room. Your blood.
“Then why do this?” The growl softened. “Why…kill yourself?”
A heavy thud rocked my chest and the arrow’s tip pressed deep.
The Huntress’s face came to me now, curly blonde hair and her too-perfect smile, eyes sparkling with depravity. Hate welled in my throat. I gripped his arm and dragged him close. “The Huntress will never stop coming. Never stop doing what he wants. You’ll have to kill, Guardian. You’ll have to kill them all.”
Black blood bubbled up and spilled around the blade.
Silver flames echoed in his eyes, dragging me deeper. My nails sank into flesh. I gripped him—agony raced, trembling my words. “But kill that bitch for me.” I looked into his eyes. “She took everything.” The slow throb of my heart thundered, sending the boom through my body. “Everything I had.”
No, you don’t. His voice slithered from the wall in my mind. You think I’d just let you kill the child and leave me? You’re even more stupid than I remember.
Darkness moved in, stealing the Guardian’s face. I moved, welcoming the flood of pain and for one perfect moment those brooding eyes sharpened. The blood, I dropped my gaze to the blade in my chest.
Cold blood spilled, desperation shook my hand.
Desperation trembled my hands as I reached for the stone.
You stupid little bitch.
I’d never let you take what’s mine—not again. You belong to me, and so does the Dragon.
Muffled words echoed, as though he pressed his lips to the steel and growled. Touch her again and you will wish you died here in this cave. I’ll take you back to that dungeon. I’ll make you my wife.
The Guardian leaned in, brows furrowed in the middle. His lips were mesmerizing, full, red—and warm. Black blood glistened against the hard stubble on his cheek. I traced the hard line of his jaw, sliding down to his mouth. His lips parted, and warm breath danced across my palm.
Longing flared, mingling with the burn
in my chest. I wanted to feel something, something more than pain and darkness—more than this voice in my mind. Just one sip. One taste of the Guardian’s beast.
He moved through me, wild and untamed. The tiny silver flames burned brighter, urging me closer. My body quaked with the heavy thud in my chest as I took a step toward that tiny flame.
I thought the Guardian handsome before—a tremble quaked, dragged me closer and the flame blazed bright. I was wrong.
He wasn’t handsome—he was dangerous. My heart pulsed, warmth trickled through my veins. The end was coming now, swallowing me in silver flames.
I forbid it. The Vampire in my head raged. Do you hear me? Do. You. Hear. Me?
Zadoc’s Dragon wasn’t strong enough to fight the disease in his own body.
And he couldn’t fight it in mine.
My nails buckled, heat roared through my chest. With each thunderous boom, the cavern brightened, black and gray filled my world. The steady boom of my heart sounded like hooves moving closer…taking me down.
In my mind another came to me. A dark blur behind a wall of ice. I lifted my hand and moved close, pressing the tips of my fingers to the cold. He was in there…my salvation.
“Princess…”
Light seeped through the cracks of my lids. The pain was hungry, savaging what was left. My fingers trembled, thumb pressed against his lips, but instead of the cold—he was warm, alive…and free,
“He wants her like he wants me.” Secrets spilled. I couldn’t stop them if I tried. “He’s inside her head. She’s getting sicker every day. She’s falling under his spell. It’s the blood…”
You will lose Eva, every time you try to leave me, you will lose.
I stared into the Guardian’s eyes, searching for the beast behind the wall of ice. “He wanted a child—and now he has one.”
All of the things done to me surfaced, along with the Huntress’s face.
You’ll give your Creator what he needs, she whispered and lifted the hem of my shift. You’ll give him what he craves.
An ache spread low down in my belly…the remnant of a butterfly carved into my soul. Life fluttered, so faint…so fragile. I clung to that memory, to the one good thing I once had, and inhaled.
My lungs expanded, pain exploded as the blade’s tip moved deeper, carving flesh to find my heart. I opened myself up to the agony and the pain. Tears blurred the Dragon’s face. I gripped him tight, desperation swelled.
“Fuck you,” I whispered.
My heart fluttered, soft and low, like the butterfly I once had.
You are mine. I own you… The hunger filled my head.
Movement came from the corner of my eye. Darkness blurred, sharpening as my tormentor strode from the shadows. My heart gave a quiver and then fell silent as he whispered. “And it’s about time you remembered that.”
12
Lucas
He strode from the shadows with barely more than a whisper.
Long dark hair skimmed pale skin on high cheekbones as he lowered his gaze. “Take your hands off her.”
The corner of my lip twitched. I looked at the compacted earth behind him. There was nothing, no door, no crack this slimy sonofabitch could squirm through. My hold tightened, dragging her close. “Who the fuck are you?”
He never answered, never gave me more than a passing glance.
His gaze was for her and her alone.
She shifted in my arms. Her head rolled backwards and exposed her throat. Her eyes were glazed with the look of surrender—but not peace.
Peace was for the innocent. I’d find none here.
The movement wasn’t lost on tall, dark, and very fucking dead. Pale lips twitched as he hissed. “I said, get your filthy hands off what is mine.”
What is mine? Who the fuck was this guy? Fuck you. Didn’t she look at him and say those exact words?
They danced on the tip of my tongue as I dragged in the dank, stale air that tasted of power.
Cold, cruel…ancient power.
A shiver raced, stealing the heat in my blood. I licked my lips, tasted rage, and for the first time in forever I felt the savage claws of fear.
The Archer raised his head and inhaled the bitter cavern air. His lips curled. White fangs shone behind the wall of ice, and a warning growl slipped through.
The sun’s rays slipped in from a fracture overhead, glinting on the black stone in the middle of her damn chest. The glint drew my focus. I didn’t want to turn my head as the undead bastard steeped close. But it was now or fucking nothing—and I was no coward.
I forced myself to look at her. Black blood spilled from her perfect lips. Midnight hair fanned across my arm.
Under her flesh and bones life still fluttered, faint, fading with every second that passed.
“Don’t tell me,” I snarled and met his stare. “Dracula the Deadbeat…no…” I shook my head and forced a frown. “Dracula the Disease…no, no, no…I’ve got it…it’s coming to me now. Vlad the Vile…”
His lip curled, fangs shone.
Her hair skimmed my wrist, my palm, and then the strands slipped through my fingers as her head hit the ground with a thud. I shoved against the dirt and rose. He didn’t look so imposing as I met the bastard eye to eye…didn’t look so—dead.
“She’s gone,” I murmured.
Those lifeless eyes came alive with a spark of rage. “She’s not gone until I say she’s gone…”
“And that’s the thing buddy.” I stepped close, dragged my hand upwards to poke his chest—hard. “I have no idea who the fuck you are.”
The corner of his lips curled. His gaze lowered, staring at my finger, before he found my stare. The bastard moved as I lunged, stepping into his path. My heart was booming, filling my ears with the sound.
“Get out of my way,” he whispered. His gaze bore a hole through my chest.
I slowly shook my head. My stomach tightened, balls drew tight. I hid my fear, strangled that bitch tight as I growled. “I don’t think so, Vlad.”
His slick words crawled under my skin. “I always despised you Guardians. The great…mighty…protectors. Isn’t that what they called you? You were supposed to be their saviors.” He wrenched those sickening eyes to mine. “You couldn’t save them then, and you won’t save them now. You’ll run, like you did before and poof, you’ll be gone into your little hole like the rats you are.”
My fists clenched at my side. I chained the darkness, nailed that need down tight. Sweat broke out across the nape of my neck, and I followed the slick trail down my back.
“Weak. That’s all you really were. Oh, I know the stories—and I know the truth. Tell me…how is your sister now, Lucas? The poor thing must be a shattered mess after what they did to her.”
The room seemed to tilt. Bright lights pulsed in my eyes.
I tried to breathe—until breathing seemed fucking pointless.
I cocked my right fist and aimed for his face. In my mind the blow hit, shattering teeth and bone. And a dormant darkness came alive.
Silver flames swallowed my past with the hungry lick of rage. My pecs flexed, trembling with need as I dragged my left fist behind me and swung.
The undead moved like I knew he would, dodging my first blow, until the second caught him on the side of jaw.
His head cracked backwards. He stumbled right, catching the momentum as a fleck of dark blood painted pale lips.
The beast in me roared, all fight and fury. I wanted him broken and hurting. I wanted to ram those words down his throat, and into his undead heart, right before I ripped him apart with my bare hands. “You don't talk about my sister.” I closed in. “You don’t say a fucking word about her.”
A gray tongue peeked out, lapping the crimson drop before it disappeared. He opened his mouth wide, testing his jaw and the crack was brutal.
I wanted to take solace in the sound, and use it to make the beast come alive. But that was a dangerous fucking slope, one that ended in blood and war. One that almost cost
me my family. I couldn’t go there again. Anger seethed in me with the kind of brutality that made even Zadoc flinch.
One blow would lead to another, bones would break, skin would split and he would leak out—just like all the others.
My fingers trembled, dancing with desire, until movement came and a crunch tore through my nose. Pain roared, and tears followed, blurring the sonofabitch in front of me.
“I wonder did your whore of sister ever love Elon, or did she make up the entire thing?” He murmured. “She was always a murderous bitch.”
His fists were a blur. One hard blow buckled my knees. The next came for my cheek. I dragged my fist high, blocked and shoved to my feet.
He was lithe and fast, cracking my skull, and my chest with jab after jab. But he wasn’t a fighter. Blow after blow came with no purpose. One more found a tender place in my ribs before I caught the pattern, one high, one low—one to the side.
Rage spilled from the edges of my soul. Whore of a sister. Murderous bitch…whore of a sister…murderous bitch. Fist met fist, and the crack of knuckles followed. Pain gnawed my fingers, and savaged bones. Old muscles came alive with the movement, and slowly that old me surfaced.
The cavern faded. The Princess faded.
There was just me and him—and pain—always sweet, sweet pain.
Agony flared with an unseen blow, carving through my head with a razor’s edge.
I stumbled, caught the fall and blocked a blow to my chest. The blast in my head came again. But it wasn’t his fists. My Dragon? “Archer, stop…no…I can’t…”
White, hot sparks danced behind my eyes, pushing into the corners of my mind.
It’s not me, the Archer growled, jerking my focus from the Vampire. Something’s wrong…let me out…Lucas. I’m not playing, let me the fuck out. He’s in here…Lucas…he’s inside your fucking head!
A cry tore free as agony ripped across my temple. Pressure built in my head, strangling my brain. Block…block. Clench and swing. But my aim was wrong, the blow too wide.