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“One always changes during the first test, Locke,” Asher commented. “Don’t know why you expected any different.”
I remained silent for a moment, my brow furrowed. “It’s been ten years. I had hoped…”
“That’s your problem, brother,” Kade growled. “Hoping. In two hundred years, the curse hasn’t changed. Anyone who comes here turns within days. This will be the same as the last time and the time before that.”
“This mountain will always turn humans into monsters,” Darian said with a somber look.
“Remind me, who lasted the longest the last time?” Asher asked.
Kade let out a long breath and took a swig from his goblet before answering. “A human who became a wolf. She lasted four nights before she changed. A new record. Her name’s Olive.”
Four fucking nights.We remained quiet, with only the crackle of the fire breaking the silence. I wondered what abomination the fiery woman with the ludicrously tempting body would turn into. Her amber eyes burned in my mind, and the scent of her still haunted my senses, almost making me drool.Have my brothers noticed how fucking good she smells?
My fangs started to elongate at the thought, and I kept my lips clamped shut. It had been a long time since anyone had almost broken my control. This human didn’t know just how fine a line she was walking. And in that almost see-through dress…
Asher downed the remainder of his goblet and pushed off from the wall. “Better get some sleep. I’m up tomorrow. The humans have no idea what’s coming.” Grabbing a bread roll from the table, he left for one of the adjoining rooms, closing his door behind him.
“Where’s the lovely new vampire?” Darian asked, bringing my attention back.
Irritated, I remembered watching the villagers as they’d fallen down the pit of Reask, their bodies white blurs against the black. I’d been busy staring at the amber-eyed human when another villager had disappeared from my peripheral vision. It was the dark-haired one with an attractive but slightly sour face. Black wings had torn through her white dress, and she’d flown to the top of the pit, instinctively drawn to me. I scowled.
“I sent her on,” I replied as I pulled a small vial from my coat and downed the synthetic blood, ignoring the bitter aftertaste. It did nothing to dampen my craving for fresh blood.
The villager had become one of the worst, unfortunately for her. Having an eternal thirst that nothing could quench made life a living hell. My brothers didn’t know how lucky there were to have turned into other monsters, though I supposed they had their own torments.
The four of us used the term “brother” frequently, but we weren’t brothers by blood. We were just the closest things we had to a real family. Easily more so than the bloodsucking abominations who were my father and mother. “She’s the Taratun council’s problem now,” I said, bringing my thoughts back to the villager. “Taming the first nights of bloodlust from a newly turned isn’t my job.”
Darian hummed in agreement. “And thank the devils for that.”
Downing my second vial of blood, I pocketed the empty glass tubes. “I need a soak,” I muttered, rising to my feet.A fucking cold one.
An image of the amber-eyed human standing defiantly in front of me with her see-through dress plastered to her breasts appeared in my mind.Beautiful.My lip twitched upward. She likely thought I was mocking her with the nickname, but she was fucking sexy. And whatever was drawing me toward her was dangerous. I had enough of my own problems. I didn’t need any more. I needed to get the hell away from her.
I strode toward the washroom but paused when I remembered the pain I’d felt when I was going through portal. It had been brutal but fleeting.
Flexing my right hand, I stretched out my fingers. At first, I’d wondered if the human had zapped me with magic. It was possible she had already started to turn into a monster, and had used her newfound power on me. But when I touched her for the second time, the feeling hadn’t returned.What if the portal’s damaged?Cold dread filled me.
Frowning, I turned back around. “Kade.”
My wolf brother lifted his head.
“When you have a moment, check out the portal. I felt something…strange when we were passing through.”
Kade’s brows pulled low. “I didn’t feel anything unusual.” He paused, and then anger sparked in his eyes. “You think the fae could have messed with it?”
Of course, his thoughts went straight to the fae. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “It could be that the magic of the portal is starting to wane.”
“If the portal closes, we are truly done for.” Darian blew out a breath and popped a grape into his mouth.
Kade nodded. “I’ll take a look.”
CHAPTER 5
~ Raine ~
Iglaredattheclosed door, then turned to face the room. I didn’t want to think about all the horrible things A-One, or Locke, was planning to do to me. What the hell were the monster trials? Was this some sort of game to them? And where were the others from my village? If I stopped to think about it all, I was sure fear and exhaustion would have consumed me, but I had no time for that. I couldn’t let Cara down.
So instead, I focused on the here and now and peered at my surroundings. Small torches of blue fire lined the walls, but they were up too high for me to reach.Shame. I could use more weapons.
