That’s the only warning they have. The old woman drops to the ground, her neck at an odd angle and blood dripping from her torn out throat.
Even with my immortal senses, I never saw Cain move.
The vampire reappears beside us once more, looking completely unfazed by the entire thing as he dusts imaginary lint from his suit.
“Foolish humans,” he scoffs. “Let that be a lesson to them.” He glances at the silver coffin again. There are slight clinking sounds coming from it now, the occupant growing in strength thanks to our blood. “Get that thing secured. The refuelling station is ready for us, and I have things to do to prepare for her arrival back in Manhattan.”
I nod and help the others strap the silver coffin down to the floor of the aircraft securely as Vane climbs into the pilot’s seat and starts preparing for takeoff.
It isn’t long until we’re in the skies above the forests and mountains of Eastern Europe once more. Back toward the Atlantic Ocean, and then to the bloody heart of Cain’s empire.
New York.
Chapter Six
Evelyn
Something has changed.Cain’s blood—rich and thick—trickles into my mouth.
Light.
He’s never brought light before. He doesn’t need it. Yet, it’s here, burning my retinas through my eyelids.
These people—whoever they are—have brought light, and the moment I open my eyes, it blinds me.
Male voices all around me. Words I recognise. Accents I can’t place. English. They’re speaking English. The taste of more blood, much more than Cain has ever fed me before. Six distinct flavours. A mixture of species. None of them remotely human.
So fucking thirsty. I gulp every drop, cursing the ones that fall outside of my lips and my tongue for being caught behind this horrid gag.
Then I feel it.
Six bonds forcing their way into my chest, taking over the place that once belonged to Frost.
I scream against the silver in my mouth. All that remains of my fractured soul begs for them to stop.
I can’t survive this. Not a second time.
But the blood keeps coming, relieving the burn of my thirst even as it destroys something inside of me. The noise that tears out of my throat is rusty and raw, a primal response from my fractured mind.
Focusing on anything else becomes impossible. My body tenses, bracing for the inevitable pain of them breaking.
That must be why he’s doing this. My physical torment isn’t enough—Cain wants to scar my spirit as well.
My sire is speaking, and pain in my scalp penetrates the fog for a second. But it’s over too swiftly. I can barely process any of it before I’m shoved back into familiar darkness.
But the darkness has changed.
It’s no longer silent and still.
I’m being moved. Surrounded by unfamiliar noises.
Some long-buried instinct for survival surges to the forefront, urging me to think past the burning silver and figure out what’s happening. Why now? What did Cain say?
Why are there six new thrall bonds in my chest?
The thirst starts to invade my thoughts, clawing my sanity away from me. For the first time in too long, I fight against it. I have to know who these men are and what Cain has planned for me.
Yet, no matter how hard I struggle against the burning madness, I lose.
