A Shade of Vampire 86: A Break of Seals
Page 1
A Shade of Vampire 86: A Break of Seals
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
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Family tree
1. Esme
2. Tristan
3. Esme
4. Nethissis
5. Tristan
6. Esme
7. Tristan
8. Amane
9. Nethissis
10. Tristan
11. Taeral
12. Sofia
13. Esme
14. Kelara
15. Tristan
16. Esme
17. Esme
18. Tristan
19. Taeral
20. Taeral
21. Tristan
22. Tristan
23. Tristan
24. Unending
25. Esme
26. Sofia
27. Tristan
28. Esme
29. Derek
30. Sofia
31. Thayen
ASOV 87: A Shade of Mystery
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
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THE GENDER GAME
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The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
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A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance/adventure)
Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
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A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
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Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
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Copyright © 2020
Nightlight Press
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Family tree
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Esme
Maybe I should have seen this coming. As we all stood mere yards from the southern gates of Roano watching the Spirit Bender, Corbin Crimson, and a disturbingly large army of Darklings and other Aeternae nearing their boiling point, I had to wonder whether this had been our destination point from the very beginning.
Were we always destined to reach this moment, to end up staring the very core of our enemy in the face with little chance of escape and even less chance of actually winning this fight? Yes, we had most of the First Tenners on our side, but the strength of the Aeternae had been thrown behind one of the most dangerous of the First Tenners. Innocent lives hung in the balance, and their survival now depended on how we played this next hand.
“He’s summoned them all. Silver and gold guards, civilians, Crimson soldiers—he has stacked the deck against us,” Derek said as he surveyed the swelling crowd just beyond the transparent layer of magic that separated us from them. That kept us safe from them, at least for now. “It’s not just Darklings anymore. He’s turned this into an Aeternae-wide cause.”
“They will do whatever it takes to save themselves,” Unending added, her galaxy eyes reminding me that I wasn’t looking at Valaine anymore, even though this was still her body, and she was still in there. The Unending was the sum of all the lives she’d lived throughout the seals’ cruel cycle. She was also the very first among the First Tenners—the first Reaper Death ever made. “Spirit and Corbin have convinced them that killing me and destroying you all will be their salvation. Their only means of survival.”
Phantom crossed her arms. She resembled Unending now more than ever. The pale skin, the long black hair, the blood-red lips—from what Taeral had told us, these were defining features of Death’s appearance, as well. “You know we can’t escape again. There’s no way we can pull another Orvis here,” Phantom muttered.
“They want Thayen and Valaine,” Unending said. “They don’t know that I’m awake.”
Her statement made my heart beat a little faster. There was purpose in how she’d crafted her words. “Do you have a plan?” I asked her, and she gave me a sideways glance.
“The flicker of an idea, at best. But Spirit not knowing I’m back is definitely a plus, and it’s not just about my death magic skills. Spirit not knowing I’m the Unending again means he’ll treat me like I’m Valaine. He’ll be cocky and arrogant like he usually is when he thinks he’s got everything under control.”
Sofia kept her hands on Thayen’s shoulders. “Either way, they’re not getting Thayen. There’s no way we’re letting that happen.”
“I agree.” Unending sighed, then turned her focus on the other Reapers. “How long do you think the protective shield will last with all the death magic reinforcements?” She gave Lumi and Kailani a quick look, as well, including them in her question.
Lumi exhaled sharply, her gaze slowly dropping. “A few hours, at most. I’m not sure what impact thousands of Aeternae alongside the Darklings will have. We haven’t dealt with this large of a crowd before.”
“Make that tens of thousands.” Taeral appeared out of nowhere. He’d been gone for a few minutes in order to get a better look at what was happening beyond the protective shield. His feedback made my blood run cold.
“What?” I managed, my voice barely a whisper.
“You can’t see them from in here, but there are literally tens of thousands of Aeternae coming to Roano, gathering around the city from different directions,” Taeral replied, his brow furrowed. “From the north and the south, and even from villages and cities beyond the Nightmare Forest. It will take a while before they all get here, but I don’t see this ending well.”
Murmurs erupted across our smaller group. The Orvisians were understandably terrified. Even the Seniors looked worried. Regardless of their skills and experience, they were still at a disadvantage, since Spirit and Corbin had brought support in these alarming numbers.
But even so, I couldn’t bring myself to consider defeat. Not that it was too early, but I simply could not concede. The unfathomable had occurred. Somehow, Corbin had managed to bring the Spirit Bender back with just eleven of the twelve shards from his soul copy. The disgraced yet relentless Reaper now wanted Thayen to complete himself, and much like Sofia and Derek, I had no intention of letting Spirit take the kid and kill him.
The Darklings’ leadership had been crippled with Danika and Petra and all the other Whips gone. But Corbin was still standing, and he held the key to Unending’s freedom. He had her scythe and the ring that Spirit had crafted as part of the three-seal curse through which he’d bound her to Visio, stripped her of her physical form, and forced her into an endless cycle of suffering and rebirth.
“Most of those headed for Roano likely have loved ones suffering from Black Fever,” Taeral added. “The Darklings have them convinced that this is their only solution to stop the curse from spreading. An all-out assault on Roano to kill Valaine and reset the cycle.”
“They will kill her to save themselves from falling ill with Black Fever,” Kelara said, her voice breaking. She looked unwell, her galaxy eyes surrounded by tiny reddish veins. Her breathing was ragged, and her gaze darted all over the place. She had a hard time focusing, and the rune collar that Soul had put around her neck to keep her ghoulish hunger at bay was a very temporary solution. It was only a matter of time before she broke out of this one, too. She’d gotten out of Corbin
’s collar in order to save Thayen, but even though she was wearing this one voluntarily, she was also losing control over herself. “Their moral compass is unlike ours. They might have little to no care for… Unending’s plight. Oh wow, this hurts,” she cried out, hugging herself as she struggled to stay upright.
Soul put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t force yourself to talk,” he whispered. “Deep breaths. You can resist this.”
“How are we going to save her?” Thayen asked, genuinely worried for Kelara. “She saved my life. She deserves better than this.”
“Kill the spellcaster is the usual solution,” the Unending said. “That’s Corbin. But first, we need to get my scythe and my ring back without getting jumped by Darklings, Knight Ghouls, and desperate Aeternae.”
“This is quite the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into,” Trev grumbled, looking over his shoulder at Kalla’s funeral pyre. The flames were finally dying down, leaving only embers and ashes and charred chunks of wood in their wake. “Her wisdom would’ve helped right about now.”
“There’s a lot we’ve overlooked,” Mira said, unable to meet his eyes. I could tell she was still blaming herself for what Arya had done, but none of the Seniors were in any way responsible. Arya had deceived everyone for almost five million years. The ruse had taken an insane amount of talent and patience to pull off, but she’d done it. No one could have foreseen that she’d turn out to be a key ally of Spirit’s, a spy planted in the middle of the Seniors’ community to squash all hope or attempts at rebellion against the Darklings’ evil machinations. Arya had been the first Master of Darkness, after all. Not some run-of-the-mill Darkling agent, but the big kahuna herself. “This is our last chance to make this right,” Mira added. “Our final move.”