Page 128 of Vervain

My stomach sinks, burning with acid, and I lift my arm to reach for my sword when Serun grabs me by the waist, pressing my back against his chest. His mouth is close to my ear, and he murmurs, “I need a drink, darling.”

He wants my blood. The Nightwalker Lord, who can slaughter thousands, needs it, which means he thinks this creature is a threat. Which means I don’t stand a chance, and I especially can’t use my magik around the nightwalkers I want to protect.

I expose my neck and breathe, “Not a drop more.”

As the creature rises, a broad grin on its face and insect noises coming from it, Serun drives his fangs into my neck, biting me for a moment with one long, hard suck, then spins me around. His mouth nuzzles my ear, a quick nip, as if he thinks this is all a playful game before I stumble back, hitting the doors we were trying to enter, and catch my breath.

Serun inhales, fingers to his lips, and red returns from his clawed fingertips. “Decadent.”

The creature launches at Serun. As it runs along the side wall on all fours, my brows furrow at the sight of its chest. But before I can think, Serun raises his arm. The creature’s tail flicks up, and a choked gasp escapes me as Serun’s arm flies from his body, splattering near my feet.

What the fuck!

I reach for my sword when Serun hitches a breath, sadistically cruel. In the blink of an eye, his hand and forearm burst from the wound, appearing once more in a bloody, black splattering mess.

As the creature moves to fall back, Serun grabs its face, launching it into the ground with a resounding shudder that cracks tiles and lifts debris. His other hand rises, and his sword materialises, driving into its chest, splitting the creature’s belly and letting the organs wash across the floor. Black worms squirm around its intestines.

“The power of your mate’s blood,” Reyes grumbles from behind me. “Can any of you give me a hand? I doubt I can walk on my own.”

Serun saunters over, saying, “Was this pathetic creature the one who turned you over like a pancake, Reyes?”

“My wife doesn’t enjoy being bitten,” he says as Serun grabs him by the wrist and pulls him up. “I respect her wishes.”

Serun speaks in Daryun, irritated, while Reyes rolls his eyes. “You could have died because of your morals.”

“Brother.” Serun lets Reyes settle it across his shoulder. “You must remember you are a vampire lord for a reason. My struggles will never be yours.”

I stand over the creature. “It wasn’t the same monster.”

“What do you mean?”

My hands ball into clenched fists. “The creature who attacked my brother should have a scar, or something, considering I stabbed it with a stake, searing its skin with light.”

Serun looks away quickly, his ears pricking, and mine do too at the rush of footsteps coming our way. I jump back, only to slide across the slippery ground and land on my side. The mask falls away, skidding across the ground. I reach for it when Serun grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet.

Reyes leans against the door while Serun faces it. Serun’s claws rip the steel apart, moving an inch as Serun struggles to open it. Magik tingles my fingertips, and the whispers of pir avacen return, only for Serun to shoot me a warning look, as if he knows what I want to do.

“Get in, my kamai,” Serun grunts, nodding towards the sliver of a gap. Looking back at the shadows coming around the corner, I ball my hands into fists and slide through to the other side. I huff a breath, and when I straighten, the doors tremble shut with a resounding thud. Serun appears beside me, shadows already spilling outwards towards the horrified white coats inside.

But while Serun moves in a blur, my focus lands on the centre of the room. Every follicle of hair shivers towards the tank, where a creature floats in the substance. Long, claw-like fingers, translucent in design, with red veins spider-webbing across its entire body. Above is Cole’s feeder number: 009.

My body moves mechanically—whether by will or desperation, I don’t know—and I make my way towards it. Someone in a white coat races towards me, as if to stop me, but ribbons sprout from the tiles, wrapping around his body and twisting. Pieces of him fall apart like butter left out on a warm day.

Around me, others fall. Shadows and white ribbons rip them to shreds, and their agonised cries of desperation burn until only Serun’s voice remains. “Feast, brother.”

Stepping over coloured wires, I stand before the tank. My hand presses against it as pain splices through my temple. I stand in a red room, and Serun floats in the tank. Then it flashes back to this room I am in now. Wires connect to Cole’s skin, and he floats in the substance. “Cole,” I whisper in a strained voice. “What have they done to you?”

Raw muscle and veins are visible through his almost translucent skin, woven throughout his body and fed by whatever the fuck is connected to him.

“That creature must have infected him, and instead of curing him, the white coats saw him as a weapon.” Serun rests his hand on my shoulder and squeezes tight. “Again, seeing life as something to abuse and take…”

Turning to Serun, I say, “We need to get him out of here! We will take him with us and… teach him how to be normal again. It will take time, and we will have to keep him isolated, but we can’t⁠—”

“Saya,” Serun says sharply. “If we disconnect him, he will die. We have to take the tank with us somehow.”

“What…” I follow the wires attached to Cole’s skin. It leads out of the tank, connecting to the machine beside him. Green lines spike with every heartbeat, a label above reading “stable connection.” “What do you mean?”

Reyes groans. From the corner of my eye, he rises, blood soaking his naked body. “They will keep him alive to experiment on him. It’s what they do—what they are known for. It is best to put him out of his misery.”