Bite of Vengeance (Shadows of War #3)

36. Zan

Chapter 36

Zan

“ I t’s interesting, isn’t it?” Pax glanced around. “That we’re walking into Project Hope as if we belong. And now humans are free to leave.”

“For a lot of them, it’s their first time going past the walls,” Kali muttered from beside me.

“If they’re smart, they’ll be back inside the walls by nightfall,” Viggo added.

I nodded in agreement. The Clovers wanted to give humans freewill. To give them a choice to leave their city. But we had to be cautious. They had to travel in groups, and even if we hadn’t seen any vampires, it didn’t mean they weren’t watching. The gates closed at sunset every night, and if the humans weren’t back, they were on their own. Something that has been stated multiple times.

They were only allowed to go out for a specific amount of time. Even if vampires couldn’t walk in the sun, I wasn’t taking the chance. For anyone to become a vampire—or if they drank Keeva’s blood to become a Shadow—they would need to die with the blood in their system. Four hours was the maximum time any human could go out for that reason. So far, no one had broken the rule. From what Warner had told us, the humans were just happy that things were finally changing.

It still made me uneasy. It wasn’t just Amaros we had to worry about. Rowan was planning something too. PARA could travel during the day. There were Clovers and Shadows scouting for miles around to alert us of anyone getting close, but I still didn’t like it. There were too many unknowns.

But for this to work, the humans needed to see the change. They were sick of the strict rules under PARA, and if we wanted them to follow the Clovers, things had to run differently.

Viggo chuckled. “I don’t think they’d be as welcoming if they knew who we were.”

“No one will know,” Kali said firmly.

If humans realized we were Amaros Kane’s sons, they wouldn’t trust us at all. Warner had introduced the twins to the Clovers as just Shadows, and that was how we planned to keep it.

Rya appeared at the end of the street with a group of Shadows behind her. She gave Kali a smile as she strode closer.

“They’re set to go,” she said.

Nerves splashed across Kali’s face. “Are you sure? We can’t go unless we know the Clovers are backing us.”

“They are,” Pax said. “I talked to Warner earlier. Collin—that Clover who is communicating with—has already spoken to the Clovers in Project Wish. They’re ready to go. Talk of revolt has already been whispered. Once we get there to help take over, the humans will side with us like they did here.”

“PARA will be on guard,” Pax reminded us. “We need to be more careful.”

Viggo scoffed. “Please. They have no idea what city we’ll hit next. With the Clovers supporting us, they don’t stand a chance. The Shadows have even more strength than vampires and can be in the sun. There’s no stopping them.”

“Unless they start using my blood to turn Shadows into humans,” Kali murmured. “And we have no idea where Rowan is.”

“We’ll find him,” I promised darkly. “He isn’t getting away with what he did to you.”

“The Shadows want to talk to you before they leave,” Rya said.

It was Rya’s job to appoint a Shadow in charge for every mission since she knew them best. They were still antsy fighting alongside the Clovers without Kali with them. I reluctantly let Kali pull her hand from my grasp as she followed Rya down the street. Even when they left my sight, I made sure I could still hear her.

“This is going better than I thought,” Pax muttered under his breath. “But that can change if Amaros decides to come out of hiding. He might not have Shadows, but he has enough vampires to wage a war.”

“If we can convince the Shadows who are allied with Keeva to join us, then he won’t have a chance.”

Pax shook his head. “ If we can find them. We have no leads at all.”

“We will,” I said confidently. We had to. Defeating Rowan and my father was the only way that Kali would ever be free. I wouldn’t stop fucking fighting until they were both in the ground.

Pax leaned closer. “And what is Kali planning with her twin? Is she going to have a hard time if it gets ugly?”

“We can’t kill her, Pax. If the passage is true, then they’re connected for life.”

“I know. But she just found out she has family in this world.” His voice was laced with pity. “And now they’re enemies. It has to be tearing her up inside.”

My mind went back to the nearly two weeks we were trapped with PARA. Kali might not remember it because of the sedatives, but I could replay every damn second. Keeva chose Rowan over anything . She watched Kali writhe and scream from agony while being chained to the chair. Keeva didn’t bat an eye. No regret or sadness had covered her face. To her, Kali was nothing but a pawn to be used for what Rowan wanted.

“Keeva will never choose Kali,” I admitted in a low voice. “Spending her life with Rowan and PARA ruined her. She’ll never side with us. Or think we’re doing the right thing.”

I glanced around, realizing Viggo wasn’t beside me. I frowned, turning to see him behind us, talking to a human. As if he could sense I was watching, he looked up, his expression blank for a moment before he grinned, and motioned me over.

“Warner wants to talk to you,” he said as I got closer. “The Clovers have a question about Project Wish.”

“Why me?” I’d made my peace that Warner would be in Kali’s life. For eternal fucking life since I turned him into a vampire. She was mine, and I knew without a doubt that would never change, which was why I didn’t let his presence bother me anymore. But I wasn’t friends with him, and he usually talked to Viggo.

“He didn’t say. He’s outside the gate.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, throwing my hearing to listen to Kali still talking with the Shadows.

Pax chuckled. “I’ll stay with her. You can deal with being away for twenty minutes.”

I could—it didn’t mean I wanted to. But making sure this mission went off without any issue was important. I nodded and then followed Viggo and the human toward the front gate of the city. Viggo lit a cigarette as he walked next to me.

“Everyday we get closer to bringing down these cities.” He scoffed. “Not in the way I ever imagined it when we were planning it with Dad.”

“This way is better,” I muttered.

“Because it’s what Kali wants.”

I side-eyed him. “Because it’s the best way to prevent a future war. I thought we all agreed.”

“We do,” he drawled before lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Even if Kali thinks our name will never come out…Rowan isn’t the only one in PARA who knows our faces. If they find out who we are, all of this will be for nothing. Because the humans will never trust us.”

I stared at the human who was walking in front of us. “I know. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

We walked past the few Clovers who were standing watch at the gate, and my annoyance grew when I didn’t see Warner anywhere.

The human who was walking with us pointed north. “He’s over there.”

Viggo began following him, and I grudgingly strode after them. I should have just waited for Kali. The trees soon blocked out the sun as we went deeper in the woods.

“How fucking far is he?” I asked. “I can’t hear him.”

“No idea.” Viggo stubbed his cigarette out with his boot. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He dropped back as I upped my pace, trying to hear any other heartbeats near us. After a few more minutes, I halted, cursing under my breath.

“If he wants to talk to me, then he can come find me. Can you hear him?”

“No.” Viggo’s voice came from right behind me.

An odd sensation flowed through me, and I stiffened, trying to place where it came from. Glancing over my shoulder, my heart stuttered when I came face to face with the barrel of a gun. A gun that my brother was holding. His finger went tight over the trigger, and I lashed my arm up, knocking it to the side. The shot echoed in my ears as the bullet whizzed past my ear.

“What the fuck?” I hissed, my pulse thrashing.

“Dad wants to see you.”

I didn’t have time to process his emotionless voice before he took another shot at me. I grabbed his wrist as he rammed into me, knocking us both to the ground. We rolled through the dirt until my spine slammed into the trunk of a tree.

“What the hell are you doing?” I grunted, trying to untangle myself from him.

His answer was to aim the gun at me again. I lunged, wrapping my hand around the muzzle to try to yank it out of his grip.

“Viggo,” I snapped, my shock still sweeping through me.

Lowering my shoulder, I slammed into him, pushing him into the tree. We were both gripping the gun, and I finally caught his eye. My stomach plummeted, and I froze.

“No,” I choked out. “Fuck.”

His blank stare told me one thing—he was entranced. Only one person on this earth could control his mind, just like mine. Had Amaros entranced him before he and Kali left the property?

“Listen to me,” I said frantically. “Fight it. Don’t fucking do this.”

He didn’t respond, trying harder to tear the gun from my grip. Until pain flared up my back and then flooded my veins. I let out an agonized groan, my hold on Viggo faltering. Glancing behind me, I saw the human standing there with a needle in his hand, and the same blank look as my brother.

“Shit.” I tried fighting the hawthorn, but it was a losing battle.

“I’ll help you get him to the vehicle before I go back.”

I barely recognized Viggo’s voice, making my chest constrict with panic as he crouched down next to me. This wasn’t fucking happening. It never even crossed my mind that my brother might be entranced. Why did Amaros even let him leave the property with Kali?

“Viggo, look at me,” I demanded hoarsely.

He grabbed the sides of my head, and I heard the bones in my neck snap before everything went black.