Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
VAL
Amari’s muscular arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. I sank into him as his lips brushed across mine. Reality finally came crashing back, and I pushed him away.
“What the hell are you doing?” I shoved his chest, but he didn’t go anywhere. He was rock solid even when he wasn’t in his gargoyle form.
“I’m tired of you grumbling about how lonely you are.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal that he had kissed me unannounced. “Let me take your loneliness away.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he smiled at me, his green eyes sparkling.
“I’m not into men.” I started to walk away, but then his hand clasped my arm. I turned my head and looked at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He smirked, and I felt my temper flare. His hand was warm on my skin, and it was firm yet gentle. He moved his thumb, and goosebumps ran up my arm.
“Invite me to your bed.” His voice was low and seductive. I was pretty certain I’d seen him hanging around with women before. Maybe he hadn’t bedded them, or maybe he enjoyed both.
I pulled my arm away. “I don’t just jump into bed with anyone.”
“I’m not just anyone.”
The air between us thickened, charged with something I couldn’t quite name. Amari stepped closer, his presence overwhelming my senses. His scent filled my nostrils. My fangs throbbed with the need to taste his blood.
A strange fog settled over the room, the edges of my vision blurring.
“You need someone, Val.” Amari’s fingers traced my jawline. “You’ve been alone too long.”
A loud crash interrupted us, the door flying open with such force that it splintered against the wall. My heart froze at the sight.
Samara stood in the doorway, her gown torn and soaked crimson. Blood dripped from her fingertips onto the stone floor, pooling at her bare feet. Her purple hair hung in wet, matted strands around her face, and the eyes I’d lost myself in countless times were cold and empty.
“S-Samara?” My voice cracked, barely a whisper.
She tilted her head, studying me with an unnatural stillness. The room temperature plummeted, my breath forming clouds between us. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
“This is your fault.” She raised her arm, pointing a blood-coated finger directly at me. The accusation sliced through me. “All of it. Your fault.”
My chest constricted, and my lungs refused to draw a breath. “I’m sorry,” I choked out, though I didn’t know what I was apologizing for. Everything? Nothing? The weight of a thousand regrets crashed down on me. “I’m so sorry, Sammy.”
Amari’s warmth disappeared from beside me. I turned to find him moving away, crossing the room toward Samara with measured steps.
I reached for him. “Amari, don’t—”
He didn’t look back, his broad shoulders rigid with determination as he stood beside Samara. They faced me together, united in their judgment, in their abandonment.
“Sammy... Amari... please...” I reached out again, my hand shaking. The distance between us seemed to stretch infinitely, though only a few steps separated us. “Don’t go.”
Blood began seeping from the walls and dripping from the ceiling. The metallic scent made my fangs descend painfully, and hunger and despair twisted inside me.
Samara’s blood-soaked hand found Amari’s, their fingers intertwining as they turned away from me. Together, they stepped through the doorway into darkness.
“Don’t... go...” The words were raw and desperate.
The floor beneath me gave way, and I was falling through endless darkness with their accusations echoing all around me.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Your fault.
I sat up, sweat pouring down my face. I wiped at it with shaking fingers, confusion turning to dread as I realized why I was soaked through.
Vampires didn’t sweat unless—oh hell—I’d been poisoned.
My stomach rolled violently, acid climbing up my throat. I stumbled to the bathroom, one hand pressed against any surface I could find for support, the other clutching my abdomen as I threw myself at the toilet. I made it just in time.
I was at my father’s estate, trapped in my childhood room with its oppressive dark wood paneling and family crests that always seemed to be watching. I hadn’t been here in ages, not since I’d been strong enough to be on my own.
I lived in my own house on the other side of the village, in a sanctuary I’d claimed for myself, away from the darkness that had haunted my father since my mother’s death.
That’s where I met Amari.
I groaned and wiped at the hot tears spilling unchecked down my cheeks. They’d taken his arm. Holy shit, they’d actually chopped it off as if his pain meant nothing.
His scream of agony still rang in my ears, and I retched again, bringing up nothing but bile that burned my throat.
“Psst.” The noise came whisper-soft from the doorway.
I moved my head too quickly, and my vision swam, the world tilting and doubling. I wasn’t sure if it was from the poison coursing through my system or the tears blurring everything.
I stood on unsteady legs and went to the sink, gripping its porcelain edge before splashing cold water on my face. A washcloth materialized on the counter next to me.
“Who’s here?” My voice came out raspy and weak. It couldn’t be the house mage, could it? Why in hell would he come here, to me of all people?
“M-m-m-me. W-w-we n-n-need t-t-to h-h-help N-N-Nico.” The stutter on every single word revealed how terrified Kage was.
“Nicolas? He’s here?” Of course he would be if the house mage was, but my brain wasn’t fully functioning yet. “Where is he?”
“Your f-f—”
“Valentino!” I cringed as the booming voice came through the bathroom door that Kage must have shut, sending fresh waves of nausea through me.
I quickly wet the washcloth and ran it over my face, trying to erase any evidence of weakness before walking back into my bedroom on legs that threatened to buckle.
My father was standing in the doorway, his imposing frame blocking the exit, an annoyed look written on his face as if my poisoning was a mere inconvenience to his schedule.
As if he hadn’t been the one to order it.
“Father, what is the meaning of all this?” I struggled to keep my voice level despite wanting to rip his throat out. If I weren’t so weak, I might have done it.
But I couldn’t deny that my father scared the shit out of me. He hadn’t always been this way, though. It could have been worse—he could have followed my mother into bloodlust.
“Where’s the girl?” His question was a demand.
“Where’s Amari?” I steadied myself by leaning against a bookshelf, fingers gripping the wood hard enough to leave impressions. “Your men took off his arm. You better hope to—”
He tipped his head back and laughed, the sound utterly devoid of humor. “Are you about to threaten me, boy?” He walked to the window and pulled the curtains aside, revealing the dark sky. “I should have known you would mishandle this.”
I stood silent and tried to control myself, biting back words that would only make things worse.
He let the drapes drop with a dismissive flick of his wrist before turning to look at me, his eyes calculating. “I never expected her to try to take the crown.”
“She isn’t. I don’t understand how her return affects anything.” I really didn’t. With eleven council members, her vote wasn’t even needed.
“It affects everything. Although I suppose the council did its job in attempting to eliminate her as a threat. But their failure to contain her proves my point that I should be king.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Our politics were frustrating, to say the least. Even before Lilith overthrew the Luna family, the council was a revolving door of powerful men who only worked to better their own families.
I’d hoped to be different and to shake things up a bit.
What a fool I was.
He started pacing, one of his arms crossed with the other fist on his chin. It was his pensive look that meant he was coming up with another maniacal plan.
“Where did Winston’s village go? None of this was part of the plan.”
He shook his head as if he regretted what he was about to say. “Winston’s right hand figured things out. We had to eliminate all threats.” He sounded completely unremorseful.
“Women and children were threats?” My jaw clenched at the thought of my father doing this. “What did you do to them?”
Deep down, I already knew what had happened to them, but acknowledging it would shatter what little I had left of my sanity. I was barely holding on as it was, especially with my visit to Earth and Samara’s return.
“Don’t worry, they aren’t dead. We made them part of our army. I heard you met a few.”
I schooled my reaction. “We?” Who was my father working with? He wasn’t committing the most heinous atrocity of draining light from demons. Was he? “You’re draining light? Are you working with the shaman?”
The shaman had fled as soon as Lilith had been eliminated. He’d been helping her with the magic involved in opening the barrier to Earth. I’d never seen or met the man, but King Rian had banished him from the castle and Kingsmore.
My father scoffed. “The shaman is a coward. And of course, I’m not draining light. Do you take me for a fool?”
It was clear he wasn’t going to tell me who he was working with, which pissed me off because he’d dragged me into this whole mess with the promise of a place on the council.
“Why?”
“Once I take the throne, I’ll need protection. Lilith proved that a phantom form only applies to dream demons.” He walked toward the door and paused. “Dinner is being served in the dining room. I have a special treat for you.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
The door clicked shut, and I sat down on the edge of the bed, still weak from whatever poison had been inside me.
Kage appeared and handed me a glass of water. He backed up several steps and kept his eyes glued to the floor as he spoke. “N-Nico and Amari are in your f-f-father’s d-d-dungeon.” He cleared his throat and clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. “S-Sammy’s b-brother, T-T-Taylor—”
“Taylor? Taylor Luna?” I jumped to my feet, immediately regretting it as my head spun and water sloshed onto my hand. “He’s dead!”
Or I’d assumed he was. I’d also looked for him but came up empty.
He shook his head vigorously and finally looked at me. “He’s h-helping your f-father.”
Confusion washed over me, and I sat back down heavily. I took a big gulp of water and wished it were blood. “Is he here?”
Another shake of the head. He chewed on his lip, and I watched closely for a drop of blood to appear. I bet his blood was full of magic, and a few drops would help heal me.
I shook my head.
He freed his lip from his teeth, and I almost groaned in disappointment when there was no blood. “He’s the one m-m-making v-vacants.”
“How is he controlling them?” From everything we knew of the demons, devoid of even a speck of light, they were the Earth equivalent of zombies—mindless, hollow shells that moved without purpose or awareness.
Until they got hungry.
“Where’s Sammy?” His voice was getting stronger and smoother the more he spoke to me.
“Earth.”
His eyes went wide. “H-h-how?”
“She found some angel feathers that had dried blood on them. That’s how we got out of the dungeon in the castle.” I rubbed my chin and then quickly dropped my hand, realizing I must look exactly like my father.
When Lilith was using angel blood, she had to apply a certain type of magic to it to get demons to Earth. Samara’s hand glowed when she brought us back to Inferna. Did that mean she’d come into her magic? It would certainly explain her hair.
“Your f-f-father told Nico she was d-d-dead.”
“He did what?” I ran my hand down my face. I might not have liked the squirrel, but I knew how much he loved Samara and how scared he was of losing her. It was hard not to respect that.
Kage’s chin trembled. “We have to g-g-get him out of th-there. Your father took some of his b-b-blood.”
Blood.
Nico’s blood.
My fangs extended, and I hissed as I fought to keep them concealed. They dug into the soft skin of my mouth, and I was forced to expose them.
Kage made a desperate-sounding whimper and disappeared immediately.
Great. Whatever progress I’d made with him completely vanished in an instant.
I ran my tongue over the sharp points of my fangs.
How many times had I thought about blood?