Elena knelt and released my shackles. “I think I’d like our reunion to be somewhere a little more private. Wouldn’t you like that too, my love?”
Not waiting for an answer, she picked me up as if I weighed nothing and carried me from the room. At the end of the hallway, she opened the door to what had to be her private suite, based on its size, opulence, and the heavy shutters over the windows.
She laid me on the canopy bed, and I tested my strength, which was slowly returning. If I’d been taken alone, I’d wait until was I strong enough and try to fight my way out. Or at least cut the head off the snake. But I couldn’t risk Sara’s life. There had to be a way to get her out of here.
“Alone at last.” Elena knelt on the bed beside me and forced my arms above my head. Cold metal closed around my wrists as she secured me.
She sat back on her heels and ran a hand across my chest. “I love my children, but being a parent can be so unbearably tedious at times. I do what I can to amuse myself. I’ve lost count of the lovers I’ve had.”
She smiled. “Are you shocked to hear that? Even women have needs, Nikolas. I prefer the blood of human girls, and I like my males strong and virile. But not one of my lovers could ever compare to you.”
Her hand slid down to my stomach and trailed along the top of my jeans. I swallowed down my abhorrence of her touch. The longer she was distracted with me, the longer she’d leave Sara alone.
“I want you,” she murmured, kissing my jaw. “But as much as I enjoy a reluctant male, I want you willing when we consummate our bond. It’ll be so much more pleasurable for us both.”
“How can there be a bond without our Mori?” I asked as if I cared, when all I wanted to do was keep her occupied as long as possible.
She waved it off. “When two people are meant to be soul mates, the bond will always be there. You’ll see.”
I thought about Sara and knew Elena was right. No matter what happened to me, I’d always love Sara. My Mori could die, and I could be trapped in a vampire’s body, but my heart and my soul would always belong to her.
“Before we can bond and begin our life together, you have to be reborn as my mate.” Elena rose up over me, straddling my hips. “I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long. It’s hard to believe we are really here.”
She rubbed her hands against my chest. “You look so calm, so brave. Such a warrior. I’ve made hundreds of vampires, and they all begged for their pathetic human lives before the change. You won’t beg, will you?”
I met her stare. “No.”
“Good. Let’s begin then, shall we?”
I closed my eyes and thought of Sara. I love you.
“No. Look at me,” Elena ordered. “I won’t have you thinking about that half-breed when I make you. I’m the one you will see.”
I opened my eyes and stared defiantly at her. She had me at her mercy, but she would not break me. She might be the face in front of my eyes, but it was Sara who filled my heart and Sara’s touch I felt on my skin.
She leaned down and turned my head to one side. I braced myself.
“I wish I could tell you this won’t hurt.” She licked the bite mark she’d made earlier. “But you haven’t felt pain until you’ve felt your Mori die. All I can promise is that it will be quick. Most vampires take days to change, unless they are made by a Master. Our blood is much stronger, and it will make your vamhir grow quickly. Tonight you will be reborn.”
I knew it was coming, but I still wasn’t prepared for her strike and the awful pulling sensation of her drinking my blood. She lay on top of me, writhing with pleasure as she drank until I was sure she had lost control and was going to drain me dry.
When my heart slowed and my vision darkened, she lifted her head and smiled. “Perfect. Now you’re ready.”
She bit her wrist and held it over my mouth. I pressed my lips together in a last attempt to fight her, but she pinched the sides of my jaw with her other hand and forced my mouth open.
I gagged when the warm blood hit the back of my tongue and ran down my throat. I tried to cough it up, but there was too much, and I couldn’t move my head to spit it out. Despair rose up in me, for Sara, who would be alone in this hellish place and who would be forced to see me become the thing she despised the most.
“There.” Elena removed her wrist and wiped away the blood that had run down my chin. Her eyes glowed with excitement when she smiled at me. “Soon, it will begin. But don’t worry, my love. I’ll be with you through it all.”
She curled up against my side with her head on my shoulder. Her hand stroked my chest as she told me what our new life would be like.
“You will be insatiable at first, but I will provide you with all the warm bodies you can drink. I want my mate to be strong and happy. Then you will lead the army we’ll build against the Mohiri. You know all their locations, their defenses, and how they think. And you are a magnificent fighter.”
“No,” I slurred.
“Shhh. You will feel different about it soon.” She kissed my chest. “If you’d like, we can change some of your friends. Maybe even Tristan. Would that please you? Actually, I like that idea very much. I’d love to be reunited with my dear brother. And the three of us will hunt down Madeline and make her pay for the trouble she’s caused me.”
She sighed happily. “It will be the perfect life. And we’ll celebrate every victory with our sweet little Sara. I plan to keep her around for many, many years.”
No, my mind screamed because my voice no longer worked. Sara? Sara? You have to run. You have to get out of here.
There was no answer.
Then the pain hit.
My Mori screamed as blinding, white-hot pain unlike anything I’d felt before shot through my head. I couldn’t breathe, my throat and chest felt as if they were on fire, and I was sure my eyes were going to burn in their sockets. My body arched off the bed, but there was no escaping the agony consuming me.
Something moved beneath my ribs, and cold tentacles reached for my heart. I fought my bonds, but my body was too weak.
The pain subsided, and I dropped back to the bed. Sweat coated my face, and my eyes hurt so much I couldn’t open them.
“I’m here,” Elena crooned, touching my face. “I know it hurts, my love, but it will pass.”
The vamhir demon moved in my chest again, and my whole being recoiled at the thought of having that thing inside me and of what I would become.
Fight, I ordered my Mori. Don’t let it take us.
Elena and her Mori were young when she was changed. My Mori was old and very strong. It would fight the younger demon and win. Elena would realize she couldn’t make me into a vampire.
Too soon, the next wave of pain crashed over me, and I lost all thought. My Mori’s screams echoed in my head as it fought the other demon invading our body. My body convulsed, and I thought the pain would never end.
A hand brushed damp hair out of my face. “Don’t fight it, my warrior. You will only prolong the pain.”
I shook my head weakly at her words. Not your warrior. I belong to Sara.
This time when the pain came, I screamed Sara’s name.
And then, blessed darkness came for me.
* * *
Pain woke me. I opened my eyes and stared up at the night sky in confusion. I was outdoors, lying on something cold and hard. Stone. I tried to move, but someone held my arms above my head. I tilted my head and saw a female vampire in a red dress. Another female, similarly attired, held my feet. In my weakened state, it didn’t require much effort for them to restrain me. I looked down at my body now dressed in a black tuxedo.
“You’re awake at last.”
Elena came into view, wearing a white dress and a tiara with a veil attached. A wedding gown. We were dressed as a bride and groom, and we were surrounded by vampires dressed like wedding guests.
She leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. “You’re doing so well, my love.”
“Sara?” I croaked.
Elena’s mouth hardened. “She will be along shortly. She is my wedding present to you, after all.”
Nikolas?
Sara’s voice filled my head, and I felt her coming toward me.
Sara. No, she couldn’t come here. It would kill her. I don’t want you to see this.
Warmth and love flowed through the bond. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.
I felt her fear but also her courage as she drew near. My Mori called to its mate as the crowd parted for her.
“Oh, God,” she cried.
I turned my head to see her. She was dressed in a flowing emerald dress, and her chestnut hair lay around her shoulders in soft waves. She was a vision, an angel in the midst of hell.
“My beautiful little warrior,” I said in a voice raw from pain. Look away, Sara. Please.
Elena clapped her hands, drawing all eyes but mine to her. I watched Sara.
“My children, we are gathered here for a very happy event. Tonight, I will take a mate.”
The vampires applauded and cheered. Sara stood frozen.
Elena called for silence. “The transformation has begun, and in a few hours my mate will be born.”
Sara stared at me. “No,” she screamed, her pain slicing through my own. She fought against the red-haired female holding her arm. The vampire released her, and she ran to me.
Her hands cupped my face, and I sighed at her touch.
“I’m here, Nikolas. I won’t leave you.” Fight it. Your Mori is strong. You can defeat this thing.
I felt the next surge of crippling pain coming, and I tried to close off the bond and block her from it. But I couldn’t hide the tremors that racked my body or keep the grimace from my face.
She wiped the sweat from my face. Listen to me, Nikolas. I’ve seen vamhir demons, and they’re weak. They control through pain. Fight the pain, and you’ll beat it.
I opened my eyes to look at her. I had to prepare her for the worst. She already knew I loved her, but I had to make sure she knew I would never stop.
“I’ll fight until my last breath for you. But if this thing takes my body, I want you to remember that my soul belongs to you. No matter what the demon does or says, I love you. I will always love only you.”
“I’ll fight too. I promise,” she whispered.
Her eyes widened, and a burst of excitement came through the bond. Nikolas, my power is coming back. Just hold on a little longer, and I’ll be strong enough for both of us.
My heart leapt. Her power wasn’t strong enough to take on a Master and houseful of vampires, but she could use it to escape. I would die knowing she was safe.
You can’t save me and fight Elena. Use your power to get away from here.
Her eyes widened in horror. No, I won’t leave you.
Get out of here, Sara, I pleaded desperately. Get help and come back for me.
She shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. “It’ll be too late.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Elena grabbed Sara’s shoulder.
“You two have had plenty of time to say your good-byes. It’s time to get on with my wedding.”
“Wait, Elena, please.” I gave her a beseeching look.
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, my love?”
“One kiss before you take her.”
Her face twisted into an ugly snarl. “You’re my groom, Nikolas. You don’t kiss another girl on your wedding day.”
I summoned a smile for her. “Just a good-bye kiss. You will have all the rest.”
“Oh,” she simpered. “Very well. One kiss.”
“My arms?” This would be the last time I touched Sara, and I needed to hold her.
“Fine. Get on with it,” Elena snapped.
“Nikolas, what are you doing?” Sara whispered when I wrapped my arms around her.
I smiled to hide my intentions. If she knew what I planned, she’d fight me. She would never try to save herself as long as I was here. That left only one thing for me to do.
But first, I would hold my beautiful little warrior and kiss her one last time.
I brushed her hair aside and framed her face with my hands, pulling her down to me. Our lips met, and I coaxed hers open to deepen the kiss and to lose myself in her.
She whimpered, her hot tears falling on my face. I wouldn’t give in to my grief over the life stolen from us. This moment was about her. She would survive this, and her last memory of me would be full of love and tenderness.
She stifled a sob, and I kissed away the tears streaming down her cheeks as I memorized her sweet face.
“Shhh, don’t cry. It’ll be okay.”
“It’ll never be okay.” She pressed her face against my throat, and I held her tightly as she cried.
My heart ached, not because of the demon attacking it, but for her. She’d grieve when I was gone, but someday she’d be happy again. Tristan and Nate and all of the people who loved her would be there to make sure of it. The knowledge she would go on filled me with a sense of peace and acceptance.
Elena’s hard voice cut through the silence. “Time’s up.”
Sara started to pull away, but I held her tightly as I opened myself completely to my Mori. Our mate needed us, and we worked for the last time to give her the final gift of our love.
“Be strong, Sara. Live – for me.”
I felt her shock and heard her gasp when I pushed everything I had through our bond. My speed and strength, coupled with her power, would give her what she needed to escape this place. Where I was going, I didn’t need it.
My arms went slack.
She staggered backward, her face drained of color. “What have you done?”
I could barely see her through the dark haze descending over me. I love you, I thought groggily, glad she was the last thing I would see of this life.
My Mori cried out and became silent. In my chest, the vamhir demon surged to claim my dying body. I shuddered and convulsed under the attack, but the demon was too late. There would soon be no life left in this body for it to use.
Someone shook me. From a long way off, Sara screamed, “You promised you’d fight! You said you wouldn’t leave me.”
Hands hit my chest, and my body jerked as if hit by an electric current. The demon in my chest stopped moving.
I felt my heart slow and my breathing grow shallow as coldness spread through me.
* * *
A roar penetrated the cold darkness I floated in. There was something about the sound, a mix of pure grief and rage, that tugged at my chest. Someone was in a lot of pain, and I wanted to go to them. But my body refused to move.
“Jesus, did you see that?”
“I’m not sure what I saw.”
“She disappeared into thin air. What they say must be true.”
“What’s that?”
“That she’s half Fae?”
The voices sounded garbled like I was underwater. That must be why they made no sense.
Why was I underwater? And how was I breathing? But I couldn’t be breathing. I was dead.
“What’s going on out there? Can you see anything?”
“No. There’s some kind of ice wall blocking them.”
“Ice wall? Go check it out.”
“Tristan asked us to stay with him.”
“You think she can kill a Master.”
“After what I just saw, all my money is on her.”
Her? Sara. My beautiful little warrior. I would have given anything to stay with her. But I had to leave so she could live.
Hearing she was with Tristan sent warmth through my cold body. She was safe with the people she loved.
It grew quiet again in the blackness. I’d never felt so alone. My Mori had always been a part of me, and it felt wrong not having it here with me. Was this how Sara felt when she wasn’t joined with her Mori? How did she stand the aloneness?
The vamhir demon was dead too, killed by Sara. And I was completely alone. I hated it here, but it was a small price to pay for her life.
The darkness rippled and pulled at me. My head rested on something warm, and a hand touched my face. Her hand. But how could she be here in this place with me?
“Sara, we have to –”
“No. Leave us alone.”
“No one is going to take him from you. Let us move you both somewhere warmer.”
“Nikolas doesn’t get cold.”
“Nikolas would want you to take care of yourself. You can’t stay out here.”
“He needs me. I won’t leave him.”
“Here, little one.”
More warmth wrapped around me. I’m here, Nikolas. I won’t let them take you from me.
The voice came to me, not out of the darkness, but from inside my head. But that was impossible, unless…
Solmi, whispered a voice so faint I thought I’d imagined it. A voice I’d never thought to hear again. Hope flared in my cold chest as I searched for the missing part of me.
I’d known a warrior once who had been so gravely injured in battle everyone thought he was dead. What we hadn’t known was that his Mori had gone into a kind of stasis to regenerate itself.
Sara’s voice came to me again. You would have been so proud of me, Nikolas.
I am proud of you, I wanted to say.
In the back of my mind, something stirred, another consciousness awakening. I reached for it, and it slowly moved toward me. It sank into me quietly, and the loneliness I’d been feeling disappeared.
My Mori was alive.
And so was I.
I’m here, Sara, I tried to say, but no words came. The connection was still there between us, but my Mori was too weak. Like the rest of me.
My heart beat slowly in my chest, and my breath was shallow. My body and my demon had been through a lot, but my Mori was quickly repairing us. With each second that passed, I could feel my Mori growing stronger and the bond opening.
My Mori reached out to its mate. Across our bond, Sara’s Mori answered.
Her hands began to stroke my face again, and her voice came to me as clear as if she’d spoken out loud.
I don’t know if I can bear this. I’m not as strong as you thought I was, Nikolas. I’m so lost without you.
The pain in her voice was too much to bear. I couldn’t move, but I had to let her know I was coming back to her. I imagined how it felt to hold her in my arms, and then I sent that warmth and love to her.
Oh, Nikolas.
Sara, I called.
Nikolas?
My chest tightened. She’d heard me.
I’m here, Sara.
Oh God, I am going crazy, she moaned.
Feel my face, Sara, I ordered softly.
Her warm hand pressed against my cheek. She sucked in a sharp breath and bent over me until I felt her warm breath on my face.
She jerked upright. “He’s alive!”
“No, Sara, he’s gone,” Tristan said in a voice rough with emotion.
Sara moved. I didn’t know what was happening, but Tristan yelled, “Jesus Christ, he’s breathing.”
“Get the healers,” Chris shouted to someone. “We need to move him inside.”
Someone lifted me and carried me indoors to lay me on what felt like a bed. I felt Sara beside me the entire time.
I’m here, Nikolas, she called.
Healers arrived, and I was poked and prodded. The only touch I needed was Sara’s, but I couldn’t tell them that.
After a few minutes, Sara screamed, “Just help him, goddammit!”
I’m not going anywhere, Sara, I said to calm her fears.
If you do, I’ll never forgive you.
A needle pricked my chest. Warmth spread quickly through me and my foot twitched.
“He’s suffered some trauma around his heart, but nothing that won’t heal,” said one of the healers. “He should wake up soon. He’s very strong.”
“Yes, he is,” Sara said.
Someone covered me with blankets, and Chris said, “You two are definitely meant for each other. I don’t know which one of you is more stubborn.”
“Him,” Sara replied. She sat beside me on the bed and took my hand.
A jumble of emotions poured through the bond, and I knew she was crying. I forced my hand to move and cover hers as I sent reassurance to her.
Shhh, don’t cry.
She sniffled. Then you better hurry up and get better, because I’m a bit of a basket case right now.
I tried to smile. I’d heal a lot faster if I could hold my mate.
She let out a small sob and lay down beside me with her head on my chest. Peace washed over me. The only thing that could make this better was being able to hold her.
“Is this real?” she whispered hoarsely. “Because if I’m dreaming, I never want to wake up.”
It’s real. I’m here, moy malen’kiy voin.
“How is this possible? I felt you die.”
There was so much to explain to her. You killed the vamhir demon. My Mori just needed time to recover. You brought me back.
She began to cry once more. “Please, don’t leave me again.”
I lifted my arm slowly and wrapped it around her. “Never,” I promised as I pulled her close.
She cried herself to sleep not long after, and I was happy to lie there and hold her as my strength returned.
Chris came in to check on us and to let me know we’d leave when I was recovered enough to travel. With so many warriors there and the Master dead, there was no fear of any vampires who might have escaped coming back.
Plus, Tristan had to make arrangements for his sister’s body. I didn’t need to ask what shape he was in. My happiness dimmed when I thought about the grief my friend must be feeling.
“Who killed her?” I asked Chris quietly, not wanting to wake Sara. “Please tell me Tristan didn’t have to do it.”
“You don’t know? Shit, of course you don’t.”
“Know what?”
He raked a hand through his hair and pulled a chair up to the bed. “It was Sara. When we got here, she and Elena were fighting. From the look of the place, Sara had already killed a bunch of them.”
He let out a puff of air. “We were stunned when we walked in and saw Elena. But Sara was so calm it was eerie. Elena took off, but she couldn’t outrun Sara.”
“Sara caught up to her?” I’d given her my strength and speed, but even I couldn’t run down a Master.
“Let’s just say Sara’s Fae side came out to play. I thought you in a rage was scary, but you have nothing on her.”
Sara whimpered in her sleep. I stroked her face, and she quieted.
I looked at Chris, who was smiling at us.
“You mated, didn’t you?”
I kissed the top of her head. “How did you know?”
“Only a mated female can get that pissed off. And my little cousin gives the word a whole new meaning.”
“Tell me.”
“Like I said, Elena ran, but Sara didn’t chase her. She transported like the faeries do, and Elena ran right into her.”
“You’re serious?” My mouth was hanging open, but I didn’t care.
He laughed. “I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Sara and Elena were out on the lake behind this place. We went after them, but Sara put up a wall of ice around her and Elena. We tried to get inside, but we couldn’t even put a chip in it. It had to be full of Sara’s magic or Elena would have been able to punch through it.
“They were in there a few minutes before the wall came down. Sara walked out of it, and Elena was dead. Sara cut her head off somehow. I didn’t see a weapon, and Sara was too out of it to tell us what happened in there.”
“Khristu.”
Chris grew somber. “Sara told us Elena killed you. What happened?”
In a low voice, I told him what I could remember from the time I woke up here to when I thought I was dying. The only part I skimmed over was when Elena gave me her blood to start the change. It wasn’t something I wanted to remember, let alone talk about.
He swore softly. “If we’d found this place a day sooner…”
“It’s not your fault, so stop blaming yourself.”
I looked down at Sara. I’d give anything to save her from what she’d suffered here. But she was alive and safe, and the Master was dead. Despite everything, I felt incredibly blessed.
He stood. “You look like you could use some rest too. I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Chris.”
“Anytime, my friend.”
I pulled the blankets up over Sara’s shoulders and held her close, thinking about what Chris had told me. After the torment and grief Elena had caused her, it was fitting that Sara had been the one to kill Elena.
I couldn’t believe all of this had started because of some warlock’s premonition. A premonition Elena had set into motion when she’d killed Sara’s father. By doing so, she had brought about her own destruction. And she’d set me on the path to finding my mate.
Sara jerked awake. “Nikolas!”
I rubbed her back. “Shhh, I’m here.”
“I thought…” She hugged me tightly. “I thought I dreamed it and you were…”
I brushed my lips against her forehead, and she turned her face toward mine.
“I’m never leaving you again, remember?” I said softly. “You’ll be so sick of seeing my face you’ll tell me to go away.”
Her sad smile made my chest ache, and I knew it would be a while before both of us healed from this. But we were together, and we’d create so many happy memories there would be no room for the bad ones. I’d make sure of it.
She looked at the window, and a shiver went through her.
“Are you cold?”
“No. I hate this place.”
“So do I.” I sat up, lifting her into my arms as I stood. My muscles were still a little weak, but I had more than enough strength to carry her.
“What are you doing? You need to lie down.”
I smiled at her. “I’ll lie down when we get home.”
Her face brightened. “Home?”
“Home.”
I kissed her and carried her from the room.
