by G. K. DeRosa
Now the female vamp’s monologue was starting to make sense.
“Ronin truly believes that we should be the apex of the supernatural society of Azar. He thinks that as immortals, we are superior to the Fae, shifters, witches, etcetera. Since Carmen Rosa didn’t agree with his beliefs, he split from our circle and has been amassing his own followers. He calls them the Children of the Night and has made himself their king.”
An icy chill zipped up my spine.
“As you’ve learned in your studies, the first vampire was created by Thanatos, the daemon personification of death, millennia ago. Carmen Rosa herself can trace her bloodline back to the dying human the god touched and made immortal. Because Ronin hails from the same bloodline as the queen, he believes Thanatos has chosen him to usher in the new era of vampire supremacy. He claims the god himself has spoken to him directly and called him to fight.”
“The guy seems a little batty.” Pun intended. Contrary to popular belief, vampires didn’t in fact change into the creepy little creatures. Some of the old ones could, however, fly.
“Power has gone to his head,” she muttered, and a twinge of regret laced her tone. Shaking off whatever memories her words had stirred, she sat up straighter. “That is why the sicari teams are so important. That’s why you’re so important, Phoenix. Carmen Rosa has fought for decades to prove to the rest of Azar we are not monsters, and we will not allow Ronin and his children to ruin it for us.”
My head bounced up and down. I sure as hell didn’t want thousands of blood-sucking vamps running rampant around Azar, or worse the human world. Demetra was right. I’d always had a soft spot for the humans, for their traditions. Everything seemed so easy and normal.
Vampires attacked other supes to feed out of necessity and convenience, but their preferred snacks were of the human variety.
“By the look in your eye, I’m sure you’ve puzzled out the other pressing issue.”
“The humans,” I mumbled.
She nodded. “Azarians have always had a precarious relationship with the leaders of the human world. With the dark lord of the Underworld once again holding a firm grip on her demons, relations had been improving, but now the vampires are stirring trouble within their borders.”
In the past three years of training, my focus had always been on Nocturnis and protecting the shifters in Marlwoods, especially those on the border. I hadn’t even considered that hunting would extend into the human realm. So many possibilities…
The chair legs squealed against the stone floor as Demetra rose, jerking me from my thoughts. “Anyway, I hope I’ve answered all your questions about Ronin?”
“Sure have.” I gave her a smile, but the truth was there was one question no one would be able to answer until I met the rebel leader himself. Was Ronin the fanger that killed my family?
Chapter
Four
Phoenix
* * *
The last week on the Isle of Mordis sped by in a blur of final exams, written, and out in the field. My team rocked it, as was expected. I was the youngest team leader in Camp Kill history and also the first to graduate in only three years instead of the typical four. Was I proud? Yes. A little cocky? Sure, but I deserved it, right?
There was one person that didn’t agree. Spark. Since I’d shot him down for a movie date night, things had been a little frigid between my teammate and me. The son of the great dragon alpha did not take rejection well. The last thing I wanted was to end things on a bad note. We’d been best friends since we arrived on this island. If all went well, I hoped we’d be assigned as a permanent team when we went out into the real world.
Squaring my shoulders, I marched over to the brooding dragon as he munched on a big bowl of cereal. I slid into the seat beside him and elbowed him in the side. “You ready for our last mission as trainees?”
“Sure, why not?” he mumbled around a mouthful.
“Maybe we can hang out tomorrow night, to celebrate?” I reached under the table, and my hand skimmed up his thigh.
His fingers clamped around my hand as I moved further north, and a growl vibrated his throat. “I don’t think so,” he snarled.
“Seriously, Spark?”
He leveled me with a glacial glare, the typical warm golden hue of his irises like cut glass. “I don’t want to be jerked around, Nix. You’ve made it clear you don’t want anything serious so let’s cut our losses now. It was fun while it lasted but once we’re back in Azar, we’ll both have plenty of opportunities to find someone new to mess around with.”
Ouch. My jaw hung open, all the words stuck at the back of my throat. I figured he liked me, but now, now I realized he liked liked me. “So you’re pissed because I want to keep things casual?”
He ground his teeth together.
“That’s what it is, isn’t it?” We’d been hooking up on and off for the past year, but when we first met, he and Seline had been doing the same. It had never amounted to anything serious, and I assumed the same would be true for us.
Spark kept his eyes glued to the fruity circles swimming around the bowl of milk.
“I don’t know how to do a relationship, Rhydian.”
He lifted his gaze, the iciness melting. It wasn’t often I called him by his real name. “You could try,” he muttered.
This was true. But did I want a relationship? It wasn’t that I didn’t like Spark or wasn’t attracted to him. It was that my whole life had been about one thing—finding the vampires that killed my parents and getting my revenge. Hell, that had turned into my career choice. And now, I was so close to succeeding. Would a boyfriend get in the way of that?
“I’ll take your silence as a no.”
“No,” I blurted, shocked the word had tumbled out. “I mean, it’s not a no.” I ran my fingers through my auburn mane. “We could try.” Damn my loose tongue.
A ridiculous smile lit up the handsome dragon’s face, and I couldn’t help an identical one from creeping across mine. He pressed his mouth to my lips in a sneak attack, and it took all my restraint not to push him away.
Once he released me, I threw him a narrowed glare. “Rule number one: no PDA’s.”
He chuckled and slid his hand under the table, squeezing my thigh. “Fine, I’ll just have to get my fill of you in private then.”
A swirl of heat unfurled in my lower half at the raspy edge to his tone. “Tomorrow night. After we take first place in our final field op.”
“Deal.” He shoveled another spoonful of cereal in his mouth, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Everything would be fine. I could handle a little relationship on the side and still be a kickass sicari. Who said a girl couldn’t have it all?
“Eek, I can’t believe tomorrow is our last mission as trainees!” Vera bounced around the room as she packed. The girl had brought enough clothes to dress the entire camp for three years. Which made no sense since most days we wore our all-black uniforms.
I hadn’t started packing yet. I wasn’t ready. It would make the fact that we were leaving real, and I still wasn’t entirely prepared for that. Plus, I could fit everything I owned in a big duffel bag so I’d be done in about thirty seconds.
“We better win,” I mumbled as I stretched across my bed on my stomach, resting my chin in my palms.
“Of course, we’ll win, Nix.” Vera ran her hand over my head like I was some puppy she was petting.
“Beta and theta teams aren’t anywhere close to our ranking,” said Seline, lowering the book she’d been reading. “Even if we came in third in tomorrow’s mission, we’d still have the most points of all the other teams.”
“I know, but I just really want to leave with a bang, you know?”
Seline and Vera shared a conspiratorial grin. “Yes, we know, Nix.”
Okay, so I could get a little obsessive and my teammates were nowhere near as crazy dedicated as I was, but they also didn’t have to bear the emotional baggage that dragged me down on the daily.
&nb
sp; “So…” said Vera, plopping down on the bed beside me. “A little birdie told me you and Spark might actually be giving it a real try?”
Dragon big mouth!
Seline’s eyes darted toward us, her curious gaze burning into the side of my face. When we’d all arrived at Camp Kill three years ago, she and Spark had hooked up for a couple months. Then when Spark and I had started messing around a few months ago, things had gotten a little awkward. My friend swore she didn’t care about him, but I often wondered. Now more than ever.
“We’re keeping it casual,” I finally answered.
“Yay!” Vera jumped up and down. “When we’re back in Azar, we can go on double dates.”
“I don’t know about all that.” Heat burned my cheeks, and I buried my face in my hands. I loved Vera, but sometimes she was so incredibly clueless.
Seline released a breath and stuck her nose back in her book.
“Ooh,” said Vera, as she marched toward Seline’s bed and pounced. “What about you and Archer? Then the whole team would be paired up, and it would be so perfect.”
My wolfy roommate rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Vera? I love Archer as a teammate, even as a friend, but the Fae boy is beyond conceited.”
A little chuckle slid through my lips. She wasn’t wrong. Archer Darkhen was a Winter Fae, and his family was related to the royals. The infamous King Elrian of Winter Court was his uncle. The Darkhens were the masterminds behind Darkhen Academy, or Darkblood Academy as everyone called it, the notorious school that birthed the first supernatural slayer squad over twenty years ago.
“Okay, I guess that’s true.” Vera shrugged. “We’ll just have to find you a new guy in Nocturnis.”
“As long as it’s not a vamp,” I blurted.
Vera waggled her finger at me. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, girl.”
Nausea crept up my throat at the idea of ever being with one of those bloodsuckers. “Never,” I gritted out.
“I don’t know, Vera’s right,” said Seline. “Some of those Royals are pretty fanging hot.”
I must have made a face because both girls burst into laughter. Whatever. I’d rather be dead than ever be with one of those soulless monsters.
Two quick knocks at the door sent Vera scampering toward the entrance. Before she reached the knob, the door whipped open and Spark bounded inside with Callan and Archer at his heels.
“Were you raised in a barn, Sparky?” Vera shot him a teasing glare. “After you knock, you wait until someone opens the door. What if one of us was naked?”
His mischievous gaze bounced from Seline to me and back before returning to Vera. “Don’t pretend I haven’t seen all of you naked already.”
Seline and I each chucked a pillow at the obnoxious dragon, but it was the punch in the gut from Cal that had Spark hunched over bracing his hands on his knees. Our Nephilim teammate was usually pretty chill, but when it came to Vera’s honor, he didn’t mess around.
Panting, Spark finally straightened, a grin still pulling at his lips. “Sorry, man, I just meant that time—you remember? We went skinny dipping after that mission?”
“It wasn’t skinny dipping, you idiot,” Cal growled. “The girls had gotten covered in vamp guts and jumped into the lagoon to clean off.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.”
Archer laughed, shaking his head. He had that how-did-I-get-stuck-with-these-idiots look on his face again.
“So what are you guys doing here, anyway?” I asked.
“We were bored,” Archer answered.
“And antsy.” Spark moved closer and folded onto the mattress beside me. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I can’t wait for tomorrow night.”
A wave of goose bumps puckered my flesh as his warm breath skated over the shell of my ear. I wanted to say me too, but the truth was that all I could think about was the final mission tomorrow. Once we’d won that, I’d be able to focus on us.
“Me too,” I finally forced out.
Archer moved to Seline’s bookshelf and pulled out a board game. “Azaropoly, anyone?”
“Yes!” said Vera, tossing the shirt she was folding onto her bed.
Well, hopefully this would get my mind off tomorrow for at least a few hours…
Chapter
Five
Phoenix
* * *
I leapt across the ravine, my nails digging into the hardpacked dirt. For the hundredth time, I cursed my non-existent wolf as I hauled myself up over the ledge. Claws would’ve definitely come in handy for that jump.
“I’m coming with you,” Spark shouted from the other side. His wings snapped out, the emerald hue catching beneath the sun’s rays and setting the shimmering scales ablaze.
“No. Go back and help Seline and Archer with the other two. I’ve got this one.”
His jaw tensed as he eyed the dense jungle ahead. “I don’t like it. The vamp seemed different than the others.”
“Spark, please. Beta team is already ahead of us, and if we don’t nab our last three vamps before them, they’ll take the number one spot.”
Our final mission had started in the middle of the island about an hour ago. Our task was to kill twelve vamps and return to Camp Kill before the other five teams. Easy peasy. Unlike our normal training exercises, we didn’t have coms or tablets to help us today, and we were each allotted only two weapons as opposed to our usual assortment of artillery. Like Spark had pointed out, these vampires seemed tougher than the usual starved line-up. Demetra had gone all out today recruiting more than a handful of Royals.
“Fine,” he gritted out. “But be careful. You owe me a date tonight, and I’m not letting you die to get out of it.” He shot me a teasing wink as I shooed him off.
“Go, go!” I watched him for only a moment as he leapt up, his wings extending and catching on the breeze. Spinning back toward the thicket, I raced into the woods. Though my wolf refused to emerge, at least she let me borrow her enhanced sense of smell. I’d been tracking this vamp since the helicopter dropped us off an hour ago. He was insanely fast.
I inhaled deeply, and the musky, woody scent made my nose twitch. There was something different about it. Most vampires had a very faint odor which made tracking more difficult. They smelled sterile, lifeless. But this male… I sniffed the air again. His smell was more defined, more pronounced.
Lucky for me. Sucky for him.
I glanced at my wristwatch, at the ticking timer. We had until noon to make it back to headquarters, but that wasn’t enough. We needed to be first. And without the coms, it was impossible to determine how many targets the other teams had taken down until the official announcement. Every thirty minutes, Demetra’s voice filled the moist jungle air with the updates. As of the last one, we were in second place with Beta team in first. No way I’d let those guys win.
I chopped my way through the tangle of vines with the help of my trusty friend, bardy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly move silently with the constant thwack, thwack of greenery as I raced or hacked past it.
I couldn’t spot the fanger anywhere, but my nose told me he wasn’t far. As his scent grew thicker in the air, I slowed. Tilting my head up, I scanned the dense canopy overhead. Vamps were excellent climbers and with all the towering trees an attack from above would be the smart move on his part.
A flicker of movement caught my eye in the giant kapok tree ahead. Its massive roots sprawled out in front of me, and I kept my gaze up as I climbed over. With its strong branches and generous foliage, it would make a perfect hiding spot.
A dark figure leapt from the tallest branch and landed across the way on the neighboring tree. I reached behind my back and muttered a curse when I remembered I didn’t have my crossbow. Dammit. With the two-weapon limit, I’d opted for the classic wooden stake which was sheathed to my thigh as my alternate. I had a pretty accurate throw, but at this distance it wouldn’t hit him with enough force.
The vampire must have noticed my frustration be
cause a head peered out from behind the thick trunk. Dark eyes drilled into me, and a cocky smirk tugged at the male’s lips. “What’s the matter, Red? You can’t climb?”
My brows slammed together as I shot the bastard a narrowed glare.
He moved further out from behind the branches, and the hair on the back of my neck bristled. Darkness coiled around his form, shadows dancing along the perfectly cut surfaces. My wolf stirred. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt her. I almost jumped out of my skin. The shock of her sudden presence distracted me, and the vamp took off.
He leapt out of the tree, landing in a crouch about ten yards away. Black, bottomless irises locked on mine, and I could feel him pressing, probing against my mind. I tore my gaze away and focused on building up my mental walls. On the picture of my family.
Take that, bloodsucker.
I bent down and reached for my stake, concealing it behind my wrist as I straightened. Drawing my arm back, I inhaled a breath and steadied my racing heart. Just don’t move. He stood between the shadows of two sprawling kapoks. I kept my eyes glued to the fanger, hoping he’d think he had me with his compulsion and took a step forward. Then another. A few more yards and I’d be within striking distance.
Eyes locked, I crept closer still as we played out a deadly game of chicken.
The corner of his lip twitched, and I refused to acknowledge how that ghost of a smile softened his sharp features, intensifying his attractiveness ten-fold. Most of the vamp scum dropped off on the island were starved, more beast than human. This guy… he could’ve been one of the sicari or hell, a model. He was tall, with broad shoulders barely concealed by his leather jacket and long, lean muscles. Darkness coiling over every inch and dressed in all black, he was a perfect match to our trainee uniforms.
He waggled a finger at me and clucked his tongue. “No closer, Red. I haven’t fed today, and you’re much too pretty to waste for a snack.”