His chest deflated with a heavy sigh. “Thatwas your lords, princess.”
Part Three
ECHOES OF THE PAST
Memory
300 YEARS AGO…
It took every ounce of courage to make my way through the halls, stopping just before his doors.
“Kaiden?” I called inside.
“Stay out!” he yelled, making my chest sink even further.
“Kaiden, please.” I ignored his demand, opening the doors and walking into the room only to stumble on my own feet at the sight of him.
Kaiden leaned against the wall, his face clammy and ashen.
“Kaiden!”
As I ran to him, he threw his hand out to stop me. “No! Stop! I… Fuck,” he hissed under his breath. “I can smell you. I can’t…”
“What’s happening to you, Kaiden?”
He looked as if he was dying. He can’t die… I…
“Please, let me help you,” I begged, cupping his chilled face in my hands.
“You don’t understand.” His breaths felt ragged against my chest. “She… She did something to us… I don’t… I can’t…”
Rosina. I knew she had been… changing people. It began with the beasts. They were mortal like the rest of us until she…
“You’re sick, Kaiden. Tell me what to do,” I insisted.
“I can’t ask it of you?—”
“You can?—”
“I’ll be a monster?—”
“Kaiden…”
“I can’t?—”
“I love you.”
Those three words made his body still enough to break him from his panic.
“I love you, Kaiden. Whatever it is—if it will help you—I can handle it.”
Before he could respond, I noticed the small canines beneath his lips sharpening like two tiny blades. Oh my gods… He moved faster than my eyes could register, and pain pierced my neck, plummeting me into darkness.
Chapter 28
TRISTAN
The room was dark, a never-ending abyss of emptiness dragging me into its void.
