Chapter Killian
Killian
It was time for Ivy to Ascend.
Killian visited Veldmoor each night out of pure curiosity.
On the first night, Voresta stood with his back ramrod straight, his eyes constantly roving his surroundings for incoming threats.
Nights two and three saw a little sag in his spine, but Voresta was still alert and prepared for anything.
By the fourth night, Voresta’s fatigue was evident, and it was clear to Killian that he hadn’t abandoned his post at all—not even to feed.
The perfect moment to strike came and went, but Killian only left his rooftop viewpoint to return to Diarom.
On the fifth night, Killian saw the red sedan from Sabor Sanguine drive up Veldmoor’s private drive.
An older Human female was taken around the house and delivered to Voresta’s waiting fangs by Finare.
Finare kept a half-hearted watch while Voresta ate voraciously from the female’s flesh, and Killian knew from experience that it was only enough to keep the hunger at bay for a short time.
The situation was relived on night six, and Killian wondered if it would happen again tonight.
But Killian decided not to head to Veldmoor on Ivy’s final night.
He knew that if he saw her emerge from the earth, he’d feel compelled to go to her, and he didn’t want to have to deal with the Idthrakis to get to her.
Her Ascension would succeed, and it would only be a matter of time before she’d be back on the social scene where he could approach her on neutral territory.
Killian was apprehensive about meeting Ivy again—he wondered how she would feel after she emerged from her Ascension.
Their night together in his apartment felt so long ago, and he wondered whether she would even find the encounter as significant as it first felt.
He didn’t know what he’d do if he was to learn he’d passed up his opportunity to free Eryn for nothing.
Instead of pacing his apartment as he waited for Ivy’s Ascension to be completed, Killian visited a bar in Diarom known as The Rough Draught.
He downed enough drinks to stem the flow of thoughts about her before returning home.
But as he stepped out of the elevator on the seventeenth floor, he felt the overwhelming sense that something was wrong.
Killian approached his apartment door warily. It was locked, as he’d left it, but his concern persisted. He moved into the apartment but instead of removing his weapon like usual, he kept it strapped to his thigh, just in case. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The lights should have turned on automatically by the time he approached his living area, but the space was resolutely dark.
He looked up at the ceiling, thinking that the lights must be the source of his worry.
That was until he felt a dull thud against the back of his head.
Killian’s legs went to jelly beneath him.
As he fell, he turned to see a shadow looming over him before the world faded to black.