Page 184 of Vameer

Their hearts have stopped for the third time.

It all unfolded as it was meant to.

The angry one slept. And the beautiful one woke him.

The brother forgave. And the message from long ago was remembered.

The Dreaded One did what he knew he must.

He showed The Nightmare the skill he will one day be hunted for.

But the vampires do not move.

The timing. It may have been too late.

The druid stands.

His bones feel heavy with the knowledge of what he has risked.

His young life has come with much responsibility.

But even now, he does not leave them.

He exhales flecks of gold, looking up to the stars.

Unaware of the test he just passed.

But a thousand miles away, a bedroom glows gold.

Chapter 106

Dread

Careful to avoid touching the venom, I maneuver Rune so she’s lying chest to chest with Vameer. Then I grip his ankles and pull.

He doesn’t even budge.

I drop his feet. “How are you this fucking heavy?”

The big vampire who wants to fight me doesn’t answer.

Because his heart still isn’t beating.

Sorrow tries to tug me into the earth.

I push it into a metal box. Lock it. And toss it into the corner of my mind.

Emotions can wait.

Ideally forever.

I step back, and my eyes glow as magic crawls off me and through the grass. It slides under the pair, knitting together into a solid surface. Slightly longer and slightly wider than the Killer of Evil.

I create another box of magic under my feet. Slightly wider than my shoulders.

Hands at my sides, I turn my wrists.

Beneath us, the edge of the magic stays gold. But the center turns black.