Domed Island of Oahu

MY HEART SHATTERED into a million pieces as I crouched above Kai and stared down at his too pale face. While my head screamed for me to get the hell away from the newly turned vampire, every tiny piece of my obliterated heart shrieked for me to stay by his side, to fix him.

He’s beyond saving. Run. But I couldn’t leave him. I wouldn’t. We were supposed to spend forever together.

But forever had just taken on an entirely new meaning.

Our story wasn’t supposed to end like this. Despite the fangs and red irises, Kai was the man I loved. Even if he had become everything I once hated.

Shouts echoed in the hallway behind me. My muscles stiffened, readying for a fight, but my focus never left Kai. Truth be told, I was scared to turn my back on a newly made vampire.

Julia’s voice came through loud and clear when she bellowed, “This is low, even for you! Cessius would be appalled!"

It took a second for my brain to clear and place the name. Cessius was her sire. Why would...? My body went rigid, as if my mind was physically rejecting the answer to the question. Cessius wasn’t just Julia’s sire. He was Mat’s as well.

I whipped my head around and set eyes on the bane of my existence. My mother’s vampiric brother, my kidnapper, and Queen Lilli’s murderer faced Julia at the opposite end of the hallway from Kai’s cell. He gave a low chuckle that sounded more like a growl

. “You have no idea what I am capable of, sister,” Mat said in a cold voice. The last word was delivered as a hiss. His eyes flicked briefly in my direction as though expecting surprise from me. Mat didn’t anticipate that I already knew the familial tie between him and my mother. At least I had the slight satisfaction of wiping away the snide look in his dark gaze.

Julia squared her shoulders and leveled icy, dark eyes on the other vampire. “You don’t even understand what you have done; you made an enemy of me. Now you will find out just what that means.”

Mat’s fangs gleamed in the low lighting of the dungeon hallway as he grinned. “Don’t be ridiculous, dear sister. You and I both know that you don’t have the stomach for true bloodshed.” It was like a slap across the face every time he reminded me of their connection, which I supposed was the point.

When I glanced down at Kai, his eyes were closed again. Sprawled on the ground and unconscious, he didn’t pose a threat. Yet. Still holding his hand, I turned my focus back to Julia and Mat.

Don’t let him near Kai. Never again.

The priestess’expression had turned vicious.

The two vampires circled one another slowly. “That was before you went after my daughter,” Julia snarled. “Turning him is a direct attack on her. On me.”

“That little commune you call a hive is proof that you can’t defeat me,” Mat pressed forward as though Julia hadn’t spoken. “You are deluded if you believe everyone can live together in peace and harmony. Wake up, sister. That will never happen. The casters are a blight on this frozen world. Only once they are wiped out can we move to the next era.”

My mother just shook her head. “You sound like a lunatic. You mean to destroy the world that you live in? You have always been so short-sighted.”

“It was already destroyed,” he countered. “I’m just setting things right, restoring the natural order.”

“This,” Julia spat, gesturing to Kai’s prone form, “is not the natural order. This is not the way to usher in a new time. This is simply a demonstration of your own inadequacies. You don’t fool me, Mat. I know you.” “That?” Mat pointed too, mocking Julia. “That is your fault. You drove me to this.

You set this plan in motion.” My eyes shot to my mother. His accusation didn’t seem to faze her. Maybe it was a vampire thing, but Julia’s face registered no emotion. They were halfway down the hallway.

“You should have respected tradition,” Mat pressed. “After Cessius died, his empire should have passed to me.” He jabbed a finger toward Julia, who looked like she was considering biting it off as a snack. “But you couldn’t allow it. I was older. It was mine by right. I deserved it. You never should have challenged me.” Julia’s laugh was like a cackle. “Get the hell away from my daughter, or you will beg for release from your painful and unending existence.”

“That is your destiny, not mine,” he replied, advancing toward the cell where I knelt beside Kai. “Now that we have turned her mighty caster king, your daughter will happily accept the same fate.”

Even as I heard Mat’s threat, I couldn’t move away from Kai’s side. His hand grew colder the longer I held it, but I refused to let him go. Beneath the red irises, I had seen my Kai within those eyes. He’d recognized me. His brain had registered relief at the sight of me. His soul still resided within the body of the vampire. I wouldn’t leave him behind. Not if there was even one sliver of Kai left inside.

Julia had moved back to place herself firmly between Mat and the magical cell, somehow managing to fill the hallway with her small body. She was angled so that I could see the hard set of her jaw. Nothing, least of all her vampiric brother, was going to inflict more tragedy on her family.

I might’ve given up if not for that look on my mother’s face. It strengthened my will and lessened my despair. She was prepared to fight for me. The warrior inside of me was too proud to let someone else battle in my place, and the daughter inside of me refused to allow my mother to face our enemy alone.

Fury swelled like a quickly rising tide inside my veins. Not just an anger that needed to be expressed, but a white-hot feeling of pure rage that manifested as magical energy. The power that came along with so much magic was invigorating at first. Mat had taken everything from me. It was time to return the favor. Rising to my full height, I walked purposefully to the cell door. I raised my hands to release the supernova of magic that was already causing flames to shoot from my fingertips. Julia blocked my exit, stupidly putting herself between my rage and its target—the vampire who’d ruined so many lives and ended even more.

“Don’t,” she said sharply, a warning in her quick glance in my direction.

Before I could protest, Julia flew forward as if on stunt cables. A resounding crack echoed as Mat slammed into the stone wall behind him.

Torn between helping my mother and returning to Kai’s side, I was too keyed up to sit on the sidelines while Julia fought the first and only opponent who’d ever bested me. I wasn’t a scared teenager any longer, and I wanted revenge.

With one last look at Kai’s pale, handsome face, I lunged for the hallway. The close quarters made for a dramatic fight between the two vampires. Every blow sent one of them careening into a wall, fragments of rock raining down upon the pair like hail. Balls of flame swirled in my upturned palms, but it wasn’t possible to hit Mat without striking Julia.

The priestess spared me a quick glance, her eyes wide and urging. Wisps of hair had slipped free, and her porcelain skin was covered in dust. Small scrapes healed before my eyes. As much as she wanted to kill Mat in that moment, the fight was a distraction. She meant for me to run past them, to save myself.

My stomached soured when I realized it. I couldn’t leave Kai. I couldn’t leave Julia. Despite recent events that might have pointed to the contrary, running wasn’t in my nature.

“Brie?”

His voice was so weak, so hesitant.

I turned my back on the dueling vampires and rushed to Kai. Years in the fighting pits had taught me that even a split second of hesitation

could make all the difference. Instead of questioning my sanity, I acted on instinct and adrenaline.

My fingers locked with his, and I looked directly in Kai’s red-ringed eye. “You trust me, right?” Kai blinked, clearly disoriented. He smacked his lips as if realizing his mouth and throat were too dry. “Yes,” he croaked. I forced a smile. “Good. Get up.” I yanked him to his feet, but Kai was too unsteady to stand on his own. His head lulled forward as though his neck was too weak to hold the weight, and it took him a second to set things right. “I feel...weird,” he mumbled, almost as if his brain was finally connecting with his body and realizing something wasn’t quite right. Tears welled in my eyes. He didn’t know he was a vampire. “I know. We’ll sort that out later. Right now, please just trust me.” I trailed my fingertips down his cheek, making small circles with my thumb. “Always.” He leaned into my touch. “Can you walk? I really need you to walk on your own,” I said in calm but firm tone. Behind me, a crack fissured the flooring as one of the vampires slammed the other into the ground.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***