Savagery & Skills: Books 1-4

by Ciara Graves

  “I found the castle and the forge within it.”

  “What else?”

  I hurried around him to the mouth of the cave, mostly so he wouldn’t see my face as I lied. “Nothing. Just took me a while to find my way, is all. The trail was being interrupted by something.”

  It sounded good enough to me, but when Macron joined me at the entrance to the cave, his intense stare said he was calling me on my bullshit.

  “Let it go, alright? We have a long walk ahead of us.”

  He grabbed my elbow as I made to leave the cave. “You saw him again.”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You said to Draven you wouldn’t talk to him. What are you doing?”

  I tried to pull away, but Macron’s fingers dug in harder, not letting me loose.

  “What has he told you?”

  “Nothing I haven’t already heard.”

  “You’re lying. There’s something different about you. Tell me what he said.”

  I hissed, and I broke free, drawing my short swords and exiting the cave. “Doesn’t matter. We should get moving. Now.”

  Macron could either stay in the cave or follow.

  His steps caught up to me fast enough as I searched for the path I found while meditating.

  The road, once we found the road, would be a straight shot to the castle. The trail I led us on zigzagged through the trees, but thankfully, there were no shrieks following us, nor creatures bursting through the trees. Eventually, my boots hit the ground, and I brushed away the leaves to find the road.

  “We’re here,” I whispered.

  “Good. That’s good.” Macron’s voice was weak. When I turned around, he leaned heavily on his staff, eyes drooping.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “My magic, it’s being drained far faster than I anticipated.”

  I sheathed one sword and hoisted his arm over my shoulders. “Can’t stand here all day.”

  “Seneca,” he uttered, wincing every few steps as if walking hurt him. “Whatever Rudarius tells you, you can’t listen to him.”

  “Can you just stop talking? You’ll make yourself weaker.”

  “Nothing he says is the truth.”

  I wanted to believe Macron, but that was a lie. Rudarius had been right when he said he was the only one in my life aside from Draven who didn’t lie to me. Draven, I sensed, was getting close to that point though, if he could think of something to say that would keep me safe.

  Sticks cracked behind us.

  I froze.

  Seneca… run.

  I flinched to hear Rudarius’s voice again inside my head. Then it came again louder, the same words repeatedly as more sticks cracked, the sounds surrounding us.

  Now, Seneca, you must run.

  Rumbling growls issued from the trees and I turned slowly, following the noise.

  Hulking shapes separated from that of the trees and moved closer. Three… no, four now. All as large as the first monster who drove us to the cave.

  “Macron, we have to run,” I whispered as we walked backward.

  “I can’t. Get your ass to the castle, that’s an order.”

  “Yeah, I don’t take orders from you anymore, old man.”

  I shoved him behind me, ignoring his protests, and drew my second sword.

  The four beasts stomped onto the road, sniffing the air, their claws scraping against the stones sending up sparks.

  Rudarius whispered again, but I had no room for anyone else inside my head, but me.

  As the beasts closed in, I shifted my mind toward Draven, hoping he was having a far better day than I was.

  Chapter 7

  Draven

  “You going to hiss like that all the way there?” Shane muttered as we followed Nathaniel into the mountains, following an old gravel road. It’d been twisting and turning for the last couple of miles, taking us higher and deeper into the pine trees. “Draven, I’m sure she had her reasons.”

  I hissed louder, snarling at him in the darkness. Not even the moon shone its face tonight. Nor did the stars. I sensed Seneca was gone from the bed and made it to the back door just as Macron and she stepped through the portal he opened.

  She left without telling me. The only reason she’d do that was that she hadn’t wanted to see me again.

  Hadn’t wanted to face me again. She was going to go back on her word.

  “She can handle herself,” Shane tried again, but nothing he said would take away my anxiety.

  I stopped short, ready to tell him so when a searing pain shot across my forehead. I sank to my knees in the gravel, growling at the pain as it intensified.

  Shane and Nathaniel called to me, but they sounded so far away.

  Seneca. She was in trouble. She had to be. I whispered her name as a flash of her face, covered in sweat and blood appeared in my mind, then was gone a second later.

  “Seneca,” I gasped.

  “She hurt?”

  The answer was stuck on my tongue as another burst of pain exploded, and I collapsed to the ground. Before, I could sense when Seneca was in distress, knew when she was in pain. But then it had been an uneasiness in my gut. A prickle of my skin. It was a hundred times worse than what I sensed when she’d been trapped with Rudarius in her dreams. Whatever these new pains meant had me clawing at the ground to get my ass up and go to her.

  Only I couldn’t, because she wasn’t in this world anymore.

  Nathaniel and Shane were talking again, glancing around nervously.

  “Come on, my lord.” Nathaniel took one arm and Shane the other as they hauled me to my feet. “It’s not safe out in the open.”

  I was in no state to argue and let them half-carry me up the drive. A sharp stab to my side had me curling in on myself and seeing black spots.

  Vaguely, Seneca’s battle-cry echoed around me as if she fought only yards away instead of a whole world away. Another harsher ache struck my back, and I was sure warmth spilled down it. Her scream drowned out everything else, but then fire coursed through my body, and when I shut my eyes against the throbbing agony inside my skull, I caught glimpses of Seneca in action, tearing through… bears? No, larger than bears, fiercer. Beasts. That was all I could think to call them.

  She fought with her hands, tearing them apart. Blood, she must’ve drained one.

  “Seneca,” I whispered, fearing what would happen after the monsters were dead. Would she turn on Macron? The last time she was in a blood-rage like this, she’d been far from her usual self.

  The monsters shrieked as they died, drowning out whatever Shane was saying to me. I tried to tell him what I saw, but then the last monster fell, and that fire burned through me all the hotter. Sweat broke out on my skin and as those eyes filled with darkness turned toward me, almost as if she could see me, a heavy hit to the back of the head sent her crashing to the ground, and I lost consciousness.

  When I awoke, I shot upright, fangs exposed, nails ready to tear someone’s throat out.

  “Easy,” Nathaniel said from my right, Shane beside him. “Easy, my lord. We made it. You’re safe here. It’s only us.”

  I relaxed, rubbing my hands over my face. “Did you hit me over the head?”

  Shane and Nathaniel frowned worriedly. “No,” Shane said, confused. “You just collapsed. Kept whispering for Seneca. Did you see her?”

  I nodded slowly, unsure of how to explain it. Had it even been real? Or was it Rudarius, messing with my head somehow? With the amount of magic he had access to, I couldn’t rule out either option. Part of me willed it to be the second option. To see Seneca in such a state after only being gone a day had me up and storming around the small, white room, anxious to find her.

  “She went into a blood-rage,” I whispered when I forced myself to a stop. “They were attacked by monstrous beasts. I think… Macron must’ve knocked her out.”

  There was no bloody wound at the back of my head, but it was sensitive to the touch all the same. As were
my back and side. How hurt was she? I was halfway to the door when I remembered there was no way for me to get to her. She was hurt, and I was stuck here.

  She could die, and there was no way for me to know.

  I spun around and bashed my fist into the white stones, punching a hole all the way through as my bellow of rage bounced back at me. When I pulled my hand back, my knuckles were split and bleeding, but it had done nothing to quell my growing rage at my current situation. I should’ve gone with them. I knew it, and I let them talk me out of it. She told me I could trust her, that she would be safe.

  “Draven,” Shane said, his voice quiet and calm, “you can’t do anything for her now.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  He held up his hands. “What you can do now is see to your coven. They need you. They need to see you’re alive and well. I think they’re all worried you’re dead.”

  “They’re here?” The room we were in was small, with a single bed, one light hanging from the ceiling, and nothing else. The floor beneath my feet looked like linoleum. The window was missing from the room, but there were iron bars over the opening. “What is this place?”

  “An old asylum we’ve claimed as our sanctuary. Come with me, and I’ll show you.” Nathaniel moved toward the door. “And then you can see the rest of your coven as well. They’re all very anxious to see their lord alive and freed from Rudarius’s hold.”

  Shane brought up the rear of our small group.

  The hall we entered was dank and dim with more rooms like the one I had been in on both sides. We passed through a set of steel double doors, then down another corridor. The building appeared to be in the shape of a square, mostly stone, and concrete. It stunk of mold but was tolerable. The deeper into the building we went, the more sets of curious eyes I sensed watching us from rooms. A glance over my shoulder showed me we were being joined by other vampires, whispering to each other, pointing at me excitedly. Some confused, others appearing uncertain of my presence. Nathaniel led us down three flights of stairs, and when we went through another set of doors, we spilled into a large room. From the looks of it, this had once been a cafeteria of sorts.

  Now it was filled with vampires.

  The conversation they’d been carrying on when we first entered disappeared. Every set of eyes turned to face me. Recognition hit many, and they stepped forward, reaching out toward me as a vise gripped my chest. So many more had lived than I’d anticipated. The sight of them all standing before me was almost too much. I shook hands with some, embraced others, and laughed, as vampire after vampire stepped forward to greet me.

  “How is this possible?” I finally managed to ask when I had finally shaken every hand in the room.

  “The guard,” Nathaniel explained.

  I frowned, not understanding.

  “You don’t remember your final order?”

  “Most of that night is a blur after what Rudarius put me through,” I admitted.

  Several vampires hissed at the mention of his name. Good, I wanted them to be angry, but Nathaniel’s warning that they might not being so willing to fight once they heard everything stayed with me. It might seem easy now, but I had to keep my hopes in check.

  “Rudarius’s forces breached the outer defenses,” Nathaniel explained as a hush fell over the room. “His army was greater than we anticipated, and he attacked without warning. You fought with us on the front line until we received word a smaller force pushed their way inside.”

  Glimpses of that bloody night came to mind, the screams of the dying, the rage burning through me to not let our coven fall. But it’d been a fool’s hope to hold onto.

  “You grabbed me by my shirt and yelled at me to get the people to safety. All of them, as many as I could. The guard was going to follow you, but you made us swear to put the coven first. Then you blurred away, not even giving me a chance to argue,” he ended with a quiet laugh. “That was always your way though, putting the rest of us first.”

  His shoulders sagged with a sudden heavy emotion that obviously weighed him down. A feeling he failed me that night. Failed my father, our leader. He wasn’t the only one. As I scanned the gathered crowd, I spotted the rest of my guard carrying the same guilt.

  “You endured for years at his hands,” Nathaniel whispered. “I would understand if you could never forgive us.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? There’s nothing to forgive. You followed my orders.”

  “And you were lost in the process, so was the coven.”

  I spread my arms wide. “Look around you, Nathaniel. You and the other guards saved our coven. You kept it alive and safe, away from Rudarius. I never dreamed so many remained alive. Now there’s hope again that we can finally put an end to that monster. We can destroy him for what he did to us. We have to.”

  The anger I saw only seconds ago began to shift into hesitation and fear. They’d faced down Rudarius and lost, maybe not their lives, but certainly their coven. Their family and friends were torn away. If they went up against him now, it could be the end of the Bleeding Crown coven for good.

  “There’s much we need to talk about,” I announced. “And I hope by the end of it, you’ll stand beside me once again.”

  Nathaniel had seemed more on board after he spoke with me and Seneca, learned how strong she was. But I’d seen the indecision lingering in his facial expressions. She was strong, but if she couldn’t find rings, have a way to control that power, it could all backfire. Not to mention, Rudarius had turned her. That in itself was cause to worry. Nothing I said would convince them she would stand with us, no questions asked.

  Standing there surrounded by them all, my own doubts about her staying good rose ready to strangle me. Rudarius had his hooks in deep. The longer she acted like it wasn’t an issue, the deeper they’d go until she’d be tearing herself in two.

  “Draven?” Shane nudged my arm. “You alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” I stepped forward and motioned for everyone to take a seat. “It’s going to be a long night,” I informed them. “A very long night indeed.”

  Silence filled the cafeteria as my last words faded away. I told them about my time with Rudarius and all I had to do to survive under his watch. I told them about finding Seneca and how our relationship came to be. The more I talked, unable to stop after a certain point, the more faces turned dour and solemn. Nathaniel appeared to be right, after all. Despite all Rudarius had done to me, to Otherworld and our coven, my people didn’t seem ready to jump into battle. They looked more than ready to continue hiding here, where they’d been safe for decades.

  “Why should we care about the fae kingdoms?” a voice yelled from the back of the room. “What have they ever done for us?”

  “He’s right,” another chimed in. “When the vampires were first attacked, the fae stood by.”

  “They did nothing.”

  “They could have joined us then.”

  The complaints across the room picked up, and I had no argument.

  “You’re right,” I finally shouted, and they quieted down. “The fae, the shifters, the demons, they all told us Rudarius was our problem to deal with. He took over the covens in Otherworld, wiped out our numbers. You have every right to deny them aid now.”

  The vampires nodded.

  “But we can’t,” I said, and they froze. “I will not stand by while that monster continues to draw strength from those he’s captured. He won’t stop with the fae. He’ll take over the rest of Otherworld, our rightful home. He’ll go after Valesk and then he will come here.”

  “We can’t stop him,” someone cried out. “He’ll kill us all!”

  “I will not lie to you.” I marched to an old table and climbed atop it. “Rudarius is strong, far stronger than he was when we faced him the last time. He’s found a way to use the fae and mage power against us.”

  Whispers erupted in the crowd and panic probably wasn’t far behind. I raised my hands, and they fell silent again.

&n
bsp; “But we will not stand alone against him, not this time. Just as I’m here with you, Prince Marlie of the fae is building an army of his own to join us in this fight.”

  “Will it be enough, us and them?”

  “No, but I’m going to do something we should’ve done a long time ago.” I looked around, locking gazes with as many as I could then said, “I’m going to unite the vampire covens.”

  I hadn’t told Nathaniel that part of my plan. He seemed as shocked as everyone else, but if the other covens didn't stand with us, our chance of defeating Rudarius would be gone. His army was vast and his power growing stronger every day that he stood unchallenged.

  “What of Seneca?” Nathaniel asked. “You said she’s strong.”

  “She is, but she will not face Rudarius on her own.”

  “She’s fae, how can you trust her?” a woman asked, arms crossed. From her arched brow, it was clear she did not enjoy the idea of her leader being with a half-fae hybrid.

  I hadn’t told them anything of Seneca’s time with Rudarius yet and hoped to avoid it. If it made them trust her motives, then I had no choice. She’d forgive me, maybe. “Seneca has suffered at the hands of Rudarius as well. He tortured her and torments her even now. If there is anyone aside from us with a vendetta against that monster, it’s her.”

  “She’s still part fae—” the woman insisted.

  My hand cut through the air, shutting down whatever arguments she was about to make.

  “Her people spurned her. Cast her out for who she is. It no longer matters if she is fae or not, she stands by my side and I by hers.” My loud proclamation had several more vampires mirroring the one who spoke out against Seneca. “Look, I understand your hesitation, I do, but Seneca has saved my life on more than one occasion. And I hers. We share a bond I can’t even begin to describe, nor will I try. She is fae royalty of a different sort, and she is part vampire. She is one of us.”

  Great, it seemed I was closer to turning my coven against me than I was for bringing them together to follow me into battle. They whispered and talked quietly to each other, some glaring openly at me. Why had I ever thought I could be a leader as my father was? I’d changed too much. And Seneca wasn’t the woman they wanted to see by my side. She wasn’t like them. I spent years believing I was all that remained of my coven. Turned into a cold-hearted bastard until Seneca crashed into my life and nearly killed me.