Chapter 17 Lennox
LENNOX
My mind felt thick.
The memories no longer flipping like the pages of a book but swimming through thick honey.
The claws were no longer there, but the darkness remained. The deep gouges the talons had made cutting holes in my mind like dark pits. Where they led to, I didn’t know. I couldn’t get my mind to see past the darkness.
My eyes remained closed as the memories floated by slowly, their once bright shine now diluted.
I was thrown into another memory, its edges worn, but everything had a shimmering glow to it.
It felt unnatural.
This memory—it was me and—and a male. He was—I struggled to fill in the gaps of the memory. A name tugged at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t pull it free.
Who was he? His silhouette was familiar. His dark hair made my fingers itch. His blue eyes made me feel like they could see me through the darkness.
The male smiled, revealing two elongated canines.
Those fangs—I shuddered. Fangs had pierced into my neck once. It hurt.
It was terrifying. I would have died at the hands of a vampire if my nursemaid, Olexa hadn’t saved me the night my parents died.
My parents had been killed by vampires.
This vampire in my memories—did he want to kill me?
I took a step away—those fangs glimmered, causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise.
You must fight it.
A voice that was not my own whispered into my mind.
You are strong, Lennox. Fight the magic. You know what holds true.
I took a step toward the vampire in my memory. We were in the garden outside the palace. I let the vampire take my hands in his; he looked at our joined hands before turning his attention to me.
He smiled, bright and unabandoned. His smile—it warmed me somehow. Even in my mind, the smile warmed me. I felt it down to my core. Like a thread was squeezing around my heart.
Fight it, Lennox.
It was a male voice this time.
Come back to me.
I met the vampire’s eyes. They were the most vibrant blue I had ever seen, like the shimmering lake in the summer.
Somehow, I knew those eyes. I had seen them before. But where?
Fight it, Lennox, the voice urged again.
Fight what? I pleaded. What was I fighting against? What was I fighting for?
“We’re in this together, Lennox.” The male’s voice was so familiar. Like I had heard it a million times before. “You and me, until the stars turn to dust.”
Magic ripped through my body, tingling through my limbs as more memories with this male assaulted me.
“You and me, until the stars turn to dust, Lennox Adair.”
The page turned faster, my body tumbling through the memories.
“It’s you and me until the stars turn to dust, Sweetheart.”
He linked his hand with mine and set it on his chest. I could feel the steady beat of his heart under my palm.
I stumbled into the next memory.
I met the eyes of the vampire again.
I met Luka’s eyes.
“You and me, until the stars turn to dust, Luka.”
My mate.
Luka.
The thread in my chest tugged. I reached forward, reached for him—
I fell through him.
I hit the ground as the memory shifted, and I was placed into another one.
I was lying on a grassy hill, a blue-eyed, dark-haired male lay next to me.
A bottle of wine sat next to him, the bottle empty.
A tingle scattered up my arm as his fingers brushed against mine.
He turned his head toward me, causing a lock of hair to fall across his forehead.
Whoever he was, he was handsome.
His lips tilted up into a smile, revealing a sharp fang.
I pulled my hand back, scrambling away from him.
A vampire.
He was a vampire.