Chapter 69 Lennox
LENNOX
Adreona screamed as she stared at her hands.
I threw a dagger from my side, sending it toward Adreona’s chest. She fell to the ground with a grunt, my blade stuck in her shoulder.
The flames around Keziq grew higher, encasing her in a ring of fire, only the top of her head peeking out.
A ball of flames rushed past my head, ruffling my hair. I whipped my attention back to Adreona in time to dodge another ball of flame from her fingertips.
Their magic—how was it back already? Panic clawed up my throat.
I glanced around—Luce—what had happened? It had only been a few minutes—how was magic back already? Where was she? I couldn’t stop Keziq with her still connected to Luka.
“Bring me the vampire.”
Keziq’s eyes had gone wholly black. Blood dripped from her palms, from her fucking eyes.
Two Blood Court soldiers brought forward a young male, tears streaming down his face as they held him tight between them. He sobbed as they pushed him on his knees into Keziq’s ring of fire.
“Don’t do this!” I screamed. Keziq didn’t even look my way, her gaze fixed on the young vampire as I took off toward her.
A hoard of soldiers surrounded me as Dhampirs appeared from the trees, closing in—preventing me from getting any closer to Keziq—to stop her from doing this.
Blood rained as I slayed them with my sword and my magic, my body running on autopilot as I kept one eye on Keziq. My throat rubbed raw from screaming. My pleas were ignored as she pressed her palms to the male’s chest.
Her eyes went wide, blood continuing to drip from her eye sockets as a scream tore from the male’s throat.
His chest heaved—it looked—it almost looked like his heart was trying to wretch itself from his body.
“STOP PLEASE!”
Tears slew from my eyes as I slayed another solider, my sword slicing across his neck as Keziq’s voice rose, the ferocity of her chanting increasing. I threw out a burst of magic. It was sloppy, but anything, I’d try anything to stop her.
No, no, no. I had to get to her. I had to stop her.
My sword found home in another soldier’s gut, clearing my path to Keziq.
Everyone else was gone, the remaining soldiers, the Dhampirs, even Adreona was nowhere to be found. Only Keziq and the vampire remained.
I struggled to catch my breath as I ran toward Keziq. The vampire went still, blood bubbling from his lips and nose as he lay in Keziq’s circle.
Keziq removed her hands from the male’s chest, her eyes flying open as her body sagged.
The flames from the candles extinguished. A slow smile crept up her face as I fell to my knees next to the male’s body.
“No, no, no,” I murmured.
My hands trembled as I searched for his pulse, pressing my fingers to the side of his neck.
“Please,” I pleaded. “Please be alive.”
My heart ricocheted in my chest as my own pulse thrummed violently.
The vampire’s chest didn’t rise. His pulse didn’t flutter under my fingertips.
No matter how much I pleaded, there was no reversing it.
The vampire was dead.