Blood.
The dagger clattered to the floor. I wrenched his head back again, and sank my fangs deep into his throat.
Keradoc cried out in pain, but he didn’t resist. Didn’t struggle as I began to drain the life from his body.
And oh, that sweet, perfect taste.
I was drunk on him, quickly falling under the heady influence, the taste of that blood even more seductive than the Black coursing through my system. Keradoc’s muscles relaxed, his body sagging against me, no longer able to hold itself upright.
If I didn’t stop soon, I’d kill him.
I didn’t care. Two birds, one bloody stone, far as I was concerned.
A moan of pure pleasure vibrated through my chest, and I took another deep drink, savoring the salty tang as it slid down my throat, and then…
A flash tore through my mind, splitting my skull in two, a rush of memories spilling forth.
The flicker of silver eyes, the flutter of silver hair in the breeze.
A laugh like the tinkling of bells, two boys stealing golden nectar from the yellow-and-white sun blossoms growing in their mother’s garden.
A laugh like the tinkling of bells, two boys giggling behind the hedges.
A laugh like the tinkling of bells, and a whisper like a ghost in the graveyard, calling out across the realms…
Look what I found, Evander…
Come play with me, Evander…
Come back, Evander! Where are you? Why have you left us?
Evander, no! Evander…
“Elian,” the whisper called, the name changing. “Elian.”
The voice was louder now, but still soft. A voice I remembered. I voice Iknew—the only one with the power to reach through the all-consuming haze of my bloodlust, my fury, my fantasies, my memories, my regrets…
And blow them all away like dust.
Sparrow.
My fangs receded. I squeezed my eyes shut. Counted to ten.
And when I opened them again, the haze of the past had cleared, and the man leaning against me was Keradoc once more.
Not the silver-eyed fae who haunted my past. Who lived as a ghost in my heart.
“Elian,” she whispered again, reaching up to cup my face, her gentle touch as soft as her voice. “Please don’t do this. You have to let him go.”
Blood still coated my fangs, sliding down in fat, delicious drops on my tongue. I wanted to obey her, to give her what she wanted. But…
“Keradoc deserves to die,” I protested.
“Keradoc deservesworsethan death,” Haley said, her voice turning icy cold. But the look in her eyes was warm and devastated, fresh tears shining on her cheeks. “But the man in your arms isn’t Keradoc.”
That man and I both stared at her in silence, awaiting the drop of the guillotine.
“Elian,” Haley whispered, scattering the last of the haze from my mind like a child blowing away the dandelion seeds. “He’s your brother. He’s Evander of Autumnshire.”
