Four
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Dianna. 182 Days
I swiped at the loose strands of hair that danced across my cheek as the
ocean breeze passed, heralding in the night. Heels at the beach was a
terrible idea, my feet sinking further into the sand. No birds or mortals murmured nearby. The only sound was the lapping of the waves. The sun, a fiery beast, cast the clouds in a pink and yellow glow as it set. I squinted behind the shades I wore, the sunlight already starting to give me a headache. Nightfall was on her way, the breeze growing a fraction cooler as I felt her call.
I closed my eyes, that voice whispering back to me as my grip tightened on the urn I carried.
What do you think about going back to Sandsun Isles? They have a secluded, unmarked part of the beach I found while I was in hiding. They have cliffs we can dive off of, and it’s so beautiful. We haven’t been to a beach together like that in at least thirty years. I won’t even invite Rick. It will just be a nice, relaxing, fun sister trip. Let’s make it our first vacation.
Please, please, please.
My eyes snapped open as her voice faded, my fingers digging into the urn lid.
“Not the ideal vacation, but this is where you wanted to go. Better late than never,” I said, glancing at the black and gold urn in my hands. Camilla had found it, and I had scooped every bit of her ashes into it. The Ritual of Havlousin had to be done. It was what our father and mother had taught us.
Our culture demanded it to ensure a final resting place beyond the stars, although now I didn’t know what I believed in. Paradise seemed like a joke, yet here I was, scattering her remains so every part could be reused. Our
parents taught us that the body was just a vessel. Only a shell remained when the soul, the most essential part, left. Maybe that was why I felt what I did. Was I just a shell now? My chest felt as if a thousand rocks were crushing it. There was no movement, no life, not anymore. I knew I should cry and scream, but nothing came.
“You needed me, and I wasn’t even there. I was so distracted with…”
My throat closed as I pictured his face. Samkiel. Another emotion hit me, making my gut turn. I shoved it down, another lock forming in my head, on my heart. “I should have just left with you. We could have hidden, let them fight each other over that stupid book. I’m so sorry, Gabs.”
I paused, searching for words. My fingers brushed the lid, the relentless waves lapping at the shore, the steady beat filling the quiet.
“You know, I thought about it. Maybe it would have been better if we had died in Eoria. I should have just stayed with you there instead of begging whatever god that would listen to save you. Then, Drake wouldn’t have found us, and we wouldn’t have ended up before Kaden.”
My lip curled, remembering that very day. Mer-Ka was my birth name.
Ain was Gabby’s, and Eoria was the home where we knew peace so long
ago.
Shattered.
“Follow me this way.” He tipped his head toward the flap of cloth that acted as our door. He carried her in his arms like she weighed nothing.
How strong was this strange man? I swallowed and nodded, following along. As long as he had Ain, I would do whatever he said and follow him anywhere.
I exited our home, my feet barely a whisper behind him. He didn’t check to see if I followed, moving silently and quickly as if he were walking on air.
We passed empty stone homes left and right. Half of our village had left the second the pieces of the sky fell. They knew something bad was coming, but my parents didn’t listen. They didn’t believe the danger existed. Now, watching Ain cough, I wished I would have pestered them more.
“W-where are you taking us?” I asked, my voice sounding every bit as scared as I felt.
He turned slightly, offering me a small smile over his shoulder. “I have a friend who may be able to help.”
I nodded again to avoid his eyes. They seemed to dance with molten fire, and the gold edges were unnatural. He was beyond gorgeous, with
dark curls that framed his face. His skin was the same shade as Ain’s and mine. I had never seen another that looked like him. Maybe he was from another world, too. I had begged for a savior. Maybe he was mine. He did look like the pictures my mom had shown me of the winged angels she believed in. She’d told me stories about how strong and powerful they were, and this man certainly seemed to be. He carried my sister without effort.
Not that either of us had much weight on our bodies at this point. We had run out of real food weeks ago and had been living off what rations I could find. I gave her the most, even when she fought me, but I had promised my mom and dad I would take care of her. She was my baby sister. I wouldn’t let her starve.
I watched the back of his dark curls as we walked, heading toward an abandoned part of the city. Unease shivered through me when he stopped before a broken and misshapen temple that was half collapsed. He started down a brown stone stairway, the statues on either side chipped and worn beyond recognition.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “We can’t be here. These are closed off because they are unstable. They are not safe. We could get crushed.”
He turned, looking at me as if I were insane. “Wait here. I need to speak
to them. I’ll return for you.”
I gasped. “Them? How many are here?”
“Just wait.” He smiled as if he could hear my thudding heartbeat and sought to calm my fears.
“You are not taking my sister, gods know where, without me.” I stepped closer, looking between him and the empty, dark hole in the ground. I would fight him if I had to, even knowing I wouldn’t win. His muscles were apparent through the thin garbs he wore. The unusual fabric crisscrossed over his entire frame, faithfully clinging to his physique. He must have read my expression because he smiled soothingly once more.
“Look, I appreciate you trying to help, but she,” I pointed toward my sister as she leaned on him and coughed once more, “can’t be alone in there. I don’t know who you are, but she barely breathes as is.”
“My name is Drake.” He smirked. “Now you know who I am. Please wait here.”
I started to protest, but his eyes shone a shade brighter. My mouth closed, and the anxiety left my body. Maybe it was a good idea. “Okay, I’ll wait here.”
He smiled once more, then turned, disappearing down the stone steps and out of my sight.
I paced despite my exhaustion, twisting my fingers as I waited.
And waited
And waited.
I stopped and stared at the stone staircase and sighed. Wait here, he’d said. I had to wait here, but why? My heart thudded. He had my sister, and he was going to help her. I needed to wait, but why again? I moved my foot, tapping it on the sand, my body resisting the order he’d given me. I flexed my hands once, twice, my stomach lurching. I needed to get to Ain. He’d taken her, and I didn’t know him or who else was down there. What had I done? Wait here. No. I couldn’t wait for her. I moved, my feet scraping on the sand. I didn’t think about anything other than getting to Ain as I started down the steps.
I splayed my hands against the walls nearest to me, trailing my fingers along the dirty stone as I carefully started my descent. It was pitch black, and I couldn’t see anything. This was a bad idea. I knew it, but what choice did I have? The walls ended as my feet made it to solid ground. I outstretched my hands in front of me, trying to grasp onto anything.
“Drake?” I whispered, trying to get the beautiful stranger’s attention, but I heard nothing. “Drake?” I whispered once more.
I heard a rustling near me as if something slithered across the sand. I’d forgotten about the sand vipers that loved the dark, cool places. What was I thinking? Okay, okay, I could do this. I could do this. It was for my sister. I took a deep breath, making sure I avoided the area where I’d heard that little movement, and turned toward the opposite side. I kept my hands outstretched, not wanting to run into anything as I walked slowly but surely forward.
A solid wall finally met my fingertips, and I sighed in relief, tracing the uneven texture of the wall and the symbols carved into the stone. I kept walking, keeping my hands on the wall. Gods, I wished I could see. It was still so dark. How did he see anything? My rambling thoughts stopped as I heard voices. At first, they were soft murmurs, but the closer I got, the louder they grew. Someone was arguing.
“We don’t want a carcass that’s decaying from the inside out. I’m not going to eat that,” I heard someone say, and I gulped.
“She is not to eat. I brought her for Kaden.”
“You intend to feed me scraps then, vampire?” A deep voice replied.
Vampire? What was a vampire?
I shuffled closer, and their voices grew. I saw a dim light ahead and breathed a sigh of relief before dropping my hands from the wall and stalking forward. It wasn’t a lot of light, but enough to draw me to them. It spilled out at the end of the temple, casting dancing shadows across the far wall—lots of shadows.
“No,” the curly-haired angel said. “I intend for you to save her. I know
you can.”
“And why would I do that?”
There was a slight pause as I drew closer. “Maybe another person to help you with your plans.”
I stopped in the doorway, afraid to interrupt their conversation. “Hmm, I don’t need anymore. Kill her.”
My heart dropped, and I didn’t think before running into the room.
“No!” I screamed, skidding to a stop in front of Ain. I spread my arms wide, trying to protect her with my body. Ain clutched her arms around herself, frozen in fear.
Terror swept through me. I hadn’t just walked into a room with two men talking. I’d walked into a room with more than a dozen people. They were all dressed in various colored garbs, and they were all staring at me.
“You’re the travelers they spoke of. The ones who crossed the desert on foot and made it in one piece.”
“Is that what they call us?” The large man in front of me laughed, and a few others around the room joined him. I gulped, staring up at him. He was taller than me, and that was saying something. My eyes trailed from the thick black sandals he wore to his pleated skirt and over the wide expanse of his muscled chest. His skin was darker than mine, not like the sands of my home, but richer. The red garbs that covered his shoulders and part of his chest contrasted beautifully with the rich tones.
This had to be their leader. The power radiating from him was nearly physical. He’d woven his dreaded hair into a thick braid that disappeared down his back, the sides cut so close you could see his scalp. He was breathtakingly beautiful but deadly, like the colorful sand vipers that could strike at any moment. His hazel eyes met mine.
“Only those blessed by the gods could cross the great sands and survive,” I whispered, glancing around the room.
The others in the room looked between us as if just waiting for his command to kill Ain and me.
“Blessed by the gods?” He gave a sharp bark of laughter as he glanced at the others behind him. They either snickered or stared at me. He turned back around, shrugging slightly. “I guess it depends on who you pray to.”
Drake stepped forward. “Kaden, I apologize. I compelled her to wait outside. I don’t know how—”
Kaden, the scary, beautiful man, turned toward him and lifted a brow.
Drake lowered his head and stepped back, stopping near another man that looked strikingly similar to him. The others in the room looked at each other, whispering together.
Kaden focused on me again. “Compelled, and yet here you stand in front of me,” he said. I moved closer to Ain and wrapped my arms around her. They spoke back and forth above our heads. I glanced toward the misshapen door. I could try to run with her. Maybe we could make it before —
“Excellent.” Kaden clapped his hands, drawing my attention back.
“She stays. She is mine now.”
His words hit my skin like acid, and something inside me snapped. Not caring that I was outnumbered and, in a room filled with people that could kill my sister and me, I reached down and unsheathed the small dagger hidden against my inner thigh. Kaden watched, seemingly unconcerned.
My father had given me the blade when he showed me how to defend myself. At the time, I didn’t understand why he was so insistent on the instructions. But once the sky fell, I wondered if my father was blessed with the sight the high priests always murmured about. Had he seen what was to come and wanted us safe? It didn’t matter. I thanked the old gods for those
lessons because I needed them now.
“I belong to no one.”
I remembered my father’s words about where to hit and how to hurt even the biggest opponent. Groin, throat, or go for the eyes and gouge them out. I held the hilt sideways, the blade at an angle, keeping it in front of me.
He looked at me, his smile growing wider before he erupted into laughter again.
“Oh, feisty. I love it. Tell me, do you keep all your weapons between your legs?”
His comment was crass and crude, but I didn’t falter. My father taught me not to play into the tricks and words of an enemy.
“Come closer, and I’ll show you.”
His smile didn’t fade as he took a step closer. “Like this?”
I lashed out, swiping the blade across his face. Eyes in a variety of colors lit the room. Several men raced forward faster than I could track.
Kaden’s eyes no longer gleamed hazel but had turned a pure blood red. The cut on his cheek stitched itself closed, and I gasped, dropping my blade and stumbling back to stand over my sister. Monsters. I was in a room full of monsters.
“Oh, feisty indeed,” he said, wiping the blood from his cheek as if it meant nothing, but the murmurs behind me told me otherwise.
“What are you?” My voice was barely a whisper.
He crouched and reached one massive hand toward me. I scooted back, blocking Ain’s body. He grabbed the dagger I had dropped, placing the tip against his finger. He twirled it, the blade shimmering in the dim light of the cavern. It had reminded me of glass when I’d received it, but now it shimmered like a gemstone.
“This is lovely. Where did you get this beautiful one?”
“My father,” I said, unsure why I even answered.
He said something in that foreign language, and a woman with hair as red as blood shuffled on her feet. Another man, far too tall and thin, repeated the words, and then a hush fell. Kaden nodded and held the dagger over his shoulder. A man covered in garbs, his face and hair hidden, stepped forward to take it. Kaden folded his hands and studied me.
“What are you?” I asked again, my voice trembling.
“Something that can help your sister.”
My heart thudded. “No, I heard you. You threatened to kill her.”
“True.” He didn’t try to lie. “But I have since changed my mind. Now
you have something I want.”
“And what’s that?”
His eyes roamed over me, and as innocent as I was, I had my answer.
“You.”
“For what?” I gulped.
He smiled once more, glancing at the creatures behind him before looking back at me. “Drake was not wrong. I do need more people for what
I am building. Your sister is weak, dying. She is useless to me. But you? You are perfect.”
My chest hurt at how he spoke of her. I knew how close to death she was, which meant I had no time to waste.
“Can you save her?” I swallowed, knowing I would give myself up to these creatures, these monsters if I had to. For her, I wouldn’t even question it. How could I?
“Tobias,” he called, waving a hand but not looking away from me.
“Alistair. Take her sister downstairs, please.”
A man emerged from the shadows. The bronze of his clothes cast a beautiful glow to his dark, rich skin. He wore his hair in a shorter version of Kaden’s. Red tinged his eyes as he focused on me, his face a mask of unreadable emotions. He prowled toward me, followed by a second creature. This second man’s complexion was as pale as moonlight, but the most striking thing about him was the color of his hair. It was the pure white of sugar, and he wore it in a mass atop his head. I had never seen a shade so pretty.
The one called Tobias stepped around me and reached for Ain. I shifted, moving to protect her. In the next breath, I was on my feet, held in a vice- like grip. Kaden lifted me high and turned me away from the two men as they picked my sister up by her arms. She groaned, trying to keep herself awake. She reached for me, and I her, our hands stretched toward each other. I struggled against Kaden as they took her away from me.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, trying to calm me, but all I saw was her leaving.
I looked up at Kaden, my panic a living thing inside of me. “What are
they going to do to her?”
“Nothing,” he paused, “yet.”
I struggled harder in his grip but only managed to bruise my arms more. He was strong, too strong, but I should have known by the red glow of his eyes that I was dealing with something… else.
“You liar!” I snapped. “You said you’d help her.”
“And I will, but first, I must ensure this works. Otherwise, there is no point.”
I stopped struggling. “Make sure what works?”
“You will have to want it.”
Kaden smiled once more and shifted his hold. He held me easily with one hand and brought his wrist to his mouth. I watched in horror as fangs like a sand viper descended. The sharp tips pressed into his skin, and I grimaced. He held his hand above my face, blood, darker than I had ever seen, falling toward me. I turned away, but he grabbed the back of my head, keeping me still. I opened my mouth to scream, and he shoved his wrist against my lips. Warm liquid filled my mouth, my throat, and my lungs. It tasted like poison, burned like acid, and made me scream against his flesh.
More and more spilled down my throat as I thrashed. The harder I struggled, the brighter his eyes glowed. He leaned closer, resting his head against mine as he fed me. My stomach rolled, the blood making me want to vomit.
“Shh, think of your sister. How much you want her to live. How much you need her to live.”
I stopped thrashing, stopped struggling, and he leaned back. He knew my weakness. He had already figured out what it would take to control me. I wanted Ain to live. How could I not?
My hands reached up, grabbing at his arm and pressing his wrist deeper into my mouth. I sucked hard, forcing more of that terrible liquid down my throat. I did want it. If it would save Ain, I wanted whatever he gave me, even if it felt like my insides were being ripped to pieces and remade. His eyes met mine, the taunting humor dying as I took more. My grip tightened, squeezing as much out as I could. He’d said if it worked, I’d have power, and power was what I needed. If I had enough, no one could ever hurt Ain or me again.
I felt something in me shift. A part of me cracked and died while something else awoke and crawled beneath my skin. The burn slowly eased, twisting and turning into something else, something darker. The candlelight in the room flickered, and the creatures watching us shifted restlessly.
Kaden’s smile widened as if he realized something I did not.
He ripped his wrist away. I coughed and almost fell to my knees. I struggled to breathe, my lungs and chest feeling as if they were on fire. He grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet and steadying me.
I watched as the skin knitted together on his wrist and wiped my face.
“How do I know if it works?” I asked, my voice a raspy mess as if the blood he gave me had claws that ripped it apart.
“You will have the kind of power you have only ever dreamed of,” he answered, reaching up to stroke his fingers over my cheek and settling his hand against my neck. “But that’s only if you survive.”
That was the last thing I heard before he jerked my head to the side. It was merely a snap, and yet my world changed forever.
The memory faded, the harsh light of reality coming back as my hands began to heat. The sun dipped into the ocean slowly, sucking the light from the world.
“I was so selfish because I couldn’t imagine a world without you in it, and then Kaden gave me no choice. Just like I gave you none. Maybe I am just like him.” Flames flared around my hands, the jar cracking. “So be it then.”
The flames roared as I concentrated, the urn turning to fiery dust and releasing her. I stood there watching her ashes dancing and twirling around me before drifting into the starry night sky. The crescent moon reflected off the water, softening the unrelenting darkness. I stayed until the last bit of embers floated far enough away that I couldn’t tell them apart from the stars. One star seemed to glow a bit brighter, twinkling merrily at me as if it
were waving.
A flash of emerald appeared behind me.
“It’s done,” Camilla said.
“Good.”
I could hear Camilla’s heartbeat quicken. I could hear a lot of things now. Far more than I used to. Every sense I had was heightened. I hadn’t realized how much I had been suppressing my true nature. I stayed silent,
gazing intently at that twinkling star.
“And now?”
“I don’t remember you being this cowardly before.” I turned toward her and rolled my eyes. “Calm your stupid heart. I’m not going to kill you. You brought her back to me. As long as you do what I say, you’ve just earned yourself immunity.”
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