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My hand clutched the amulet in my grip as I considered my sisters’ fate.
Her eyes tracked me with curiosity before her gaze narrowed on the amulet. “This talisman was crafted by my sister many years ago,” she said, resting her forehead against the bars. “I feel her magick within it. The magick filled with all her hopes and fears for our future mere days before Alistair’s attack. I thought it lost forever.”
The amulet responded to the witch’s sorrow.
“Blanca,”I whispered.
At the mention of her sister, regret, deep and painful, contorted the pretty witch’s face, much like Blanca wore that night in the basement. “She was the lucky one. One of Alistair’s generals killed her, her soul spirited away before she learned of my imprisonment. It has been torture being separated from her for so long.”
“That’s not entirely true.” I took a deep breath, recounting my attempts to summon the caster who created the amulet. As Vera learned of her sister’s restless fate, spent wandering Bled Island as she awaited Vera, misery etched into her expressive face.
“But,” I continued, coming to my knees, the amulet falling past my fingertips. “If I can figure out a way out of these dungeons, maybe I can defeat Alistair and free your souls to join the Beyond. Freed from Gaia once and for all.”
Vera’s face lifted from where it drooped to her chest, the bitterness fading with the light of hope. “These relics belonged to us before the vampires stole them.Corruptedthem with their evil.” She stared at the onyx gem as if hypnotized. “We knew toying with magick from both Hecate and Nyx would be dangerous, so we imbued a fail-safe curse within the talismans. Should any of our people die from another’s pursuit of the talismans, the magick within would turn on the attacker. Alistair hasn’t been able to touch them for decades, and itinfuriateshim.”
My tongue suddenly felt tied, uncertainly flowing through me. “What about his daywalking ring?”
She spit out a curse, clicking her tongue angrily. “A gift my Coven foolishly created for him in the hopes of a mutually beneficial union. Because it was created specifically for him, the power within it couldn’t be corrupted by his treachery.”
But sunlight wouldn’t save the Vampire King from my wrath. I wanted to make Alistair pay for his crimes against my people. I wanted to watch himburn.
“Peklenski ogenj!” she shouted, jumping from the floor with surprising agility. “I sense the vampire’s approach through the shadows. Prepare yourself, young witch. Alexei may have extended your chance of survival by offering his blood and the talisman, but the road to your escape is not paved with certainty.”
I hid the amulet back underneath the cot, the spirits of Alistair’s victims fading. I stood just as Alistair and Silas rounded the corner.
The vampire king took one look at my inflamed neck and the wobble in my knees, and he grinned. “It seems my son can stomach what needs to be done after his time away from Slovenia. I’m impressed.”
“As I’ve told you,” Silas intoned, sounding bored, “Alexei only needs the right motivation.”
I fought a sneer as I surveyed the two vampires, but the magick pulsing from the amulet kept me from lashing out prematurely, even when I heard Alistair’s boots stomp closer.
Alistair lifted a finger through the bars to push my chin up to his face, calculating.
“Vampires will begin arriving for the Wild Hunt in mere moments, my king,” Silas said as Alistair's hands drifted to my neck and squeezed.
My lips trembled with fury, but he took the glistening tears for fear.
“You’ve disappointed me, witch. After our celebrations tonight, I believe I will travel to Greece and Louisiana to kidnap all three of your sisters rather than offer you another chance. I want you to listen to their screams—watch their lifeblood drain from their cold, dead bodies—while you ruminate on how your adamant refusal led to their doom.
He released me, and I gasped, sucking in air with a sickening sludge of dread.
Silas gave me a final, unreadable look before he left.
Goddess, I hated them. Not even the simmering love I still felt for Alexei could staunch the need to raze this castle to the ground.
As I pulled the amulet around my neck, I felt my resolve strengthening. I needed to protect my sisters and my Coven. And most of all, I needed to protect my heart, which Alexei could shatter to pieces if I gave him the chance.
“Perhaps my vengeance will come sooner than expected,” I whispered, smiling in the darkness.
30
As I fled my father’s dungeon, abandoning Jade to his wrath once more, I fought to keep her precious blood inside me.
The ancient texts hadn’t lied; drinking from a mate provided a vampire with an unmatched strength I’ve never known before. It felt as if the stars had aligned to fuse our souls together so perfectly, I couldn’t ascertain where my heart stopped and hers began.
And yet, what should have been a declaration of my love had become something cruel.
A punishment doled out by my father that I was helpless to refuse.
