10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Eldrick

W ind gusted by with the vampyr’s words.

War. The term was like a bucket of ice over Eldrick, chilling him stone-cold to the bone.

“You’re a liar,” he hissed.

Everything Eldrick had known about vampyrs suddenly replayed in his mind. Every scáth he’d fought. Every detail he’d read in missives. Every defense he’d planned against them. And even the day he’d watched them overtake his mother and kill her.

“I know you’re kind,” he said.

Indignation flashed in her jade eyes. With considerable strength, she pushed against him, but Eldrick held his ground, not daring to let her out of his hold.

“Perhaps there are things you don’t know about us,” she said.

Us. She admitted it proudly, as if it weren’t a death sentence. As if it weren’t wrong. His blood heated, and Eldrick snapped.

His axe met her throat again, ready to slice up and to the side, a clean cut to the vein pulsing in her neck. It wouldn’t kill her, but it would be enough to disarm her and deliver a death blow to her head or heart .

Yet, she didn’t beg, didn’t falter.

Eldrick egged himself on, but those jade eyes enchanted him with a sensation he couldn’t shake. His body was taut against hers, adrenaline rushing with each rise and fall of their chests in unison. It was a feeling—it meant nothing.

She’d entered his village and put his pack in danger. Who knew why she was here, what her intentions were. Yet, sense and reason sparred in Eldrick’s mind. What if she told the truth and he caused a war?

He’d followed her out of the Shield-maiden because he’d smelled the enemy—that awful, familiar scent he associated with death, with the vampyr. Sharp, acidic. Her fluttering hair left a trail of it. At first, confusion had frozen Eldrick in place. Had no one else detected it?

But now, up against the alleyway wall, there was no denying it. Past plum and lilac, there was something cutting, like the white of a lemon. No black spidery veins rimmed her jade eyes, and no talons jutted from her delicate fingers. Yet, two needlelike fangs flashed in a snarl, challenging him—challenging everything he knew of vampyrs.

They raged and ravaged, slaughtered, and sucked their victims dry. They didn’t walk the streets in a hurry. They didn’t walk in the sunlight . They weren’t so… beautiful.

Her eyes, the lightest shade of green, were like the first signs of spring. Saplings, flower buds, blades of grass sprouting from dirt. Winter, spring. Ice, warmth. Everything all at once. She held him under a spell.

Like a queen.

A vicious, bloodsucking queen.

Hate had wormed its way into Eldrick’s heart long ago for the creatures that destroyed their continent—yet why was it so difficult to kill her and have one less vampyr roaming his homeland?

He growled, pulling away from her. Facts, data, logic. Though he didn’t trust it, this princess hadn’t demonstrated a wish to harm anyone in his village. She hadn’t even fought him. Eldrick’s anger and hatred drove him to end her, not reason.

Perhaps there are things you don’t know about us.

He grabbed her wrists. “You will say nothing between here and the fortress, do you understand? Or I swear, I will kill you.”

She gritted her teeth but nodded.

Eldrick dragged her down the back alleys to Lār, sticking to the shadows and corners so none of the Drengr pack saw them. She’d made it past the gates and into the village undetected, and he wanted to keep it that way. If anyone else discovered her, there’d be chaos and uncertainty. Her presence would strike fear into his pack, and he couldn’t afford to fracture the little peace they had compared to the other packs in the Vadon Mountains.

To his surprise, she complied the entire way, not saying a word or putting up a fight. He led her to a side entrance into Lār and pushed her through, making sure not a single guard or warrior spotted them.

Eldrick urged her forward, down a hall, and up and up until they stood outside the main foyer. Voices murmured inside, and Eldrick hoped his father and uncle waited. Together, they could learn more about this Tovi Verena and figure out how to proceed. He thrust open the doors, axe still at the ready, and threw her to the ground—

Eldrick stilled.

Across the foyer, standing by the fire with Aramis was his brother.

“Kade.”

Eldrick’s brother rushed towards the drawing room’s entrance, but not to him. Kade’s hair had grown, half pulled into a bun. Time at sea had tanned his skin while worry plagued his amber eyes, an expression he’d never seen so deeply etched into his brother’s expression. He collided into Tovi, grasping her shoulders.

“Be careful!” Eldrick gripped his axe, moments away from attacking. Screw reason and logic, Eldrick needed to protect his brother .

Kade paid him no mind, and a tinge of hurt grated through Eldrick.

“I heard her through the mating bond,” Kade said, his chest heaving. “She’s in the castle. In a tower.”

Mating bond? Tower? Stars above , Eldrick spun with questions.

Tovi nodded, her attention fleeting between Kade and Eldrick. “Kade…”

His brother blinked, finally focusing on Eldrick and pulling Tovi behind him, shielding her—

“What is going on?” Eldrick let his alpha baritone bleed into his voice. “Kade, are you aware she’s a vampyr?”

His brother shut his eyes and grimaced. He whispered a curse. “It isn’t as it seems.”

Silence fell, aside from the crackling fire. As if the Vadon Mountains sensed the unease brewing between brothers, too, a gust of wind passed the window. The forest to the west swayed back and forth, waving in warning as the threat of the unknown neared.

Eldrick didn’t care how it seemed. He had the facts. Tovi Verena was a vampyr. The type of monster that killed their mother. He’d never imagined this sort of reunion with Kade, one where he stood between Eldrick and one of their enemies.

Feelings, ghastly and strong, rippled through Eldrick and seized his heart. A year, a damn full year since he’d seen his brother. They’d never spent longer than a month apart. Brothers and best friends. Moons , the gods and goddesses knew how much he’d missed Kade, and standing in the foyer with a threat to his pack present, it clouded his judgment.

One, two.

Eldrick steadied his breath, and one blaring question shot through him. Stepping farther into the room, he said, “If you are here, where is Evelyn?”

His brother’s entire body turned rigid, his shoulders taut as his jaw ticked. He swore guilt, perhaps sadness, flashed through his eyes.

“She’s been captured by the vampyrs. ”

“What?” their father growled. His cane banged against the stones as he approached closer. “I don’t recall that being in your grand tale of finding your mate.”

More silver lined their father’s hairline than a week ago, and he’d lost additional weight. His tunic swallowed his thinning torso, and his knuckles were like knots on tree branches, bulging and swollen as he grasped his cane with both hands, hunched over as he peered up at them all. With each day, with each sign of decline, Eldrick was reminded of his past mistake.

He shook his aching head. Focus. A vampyr who walked in sunlight. His brother home. Now, Evelyn was a captive of the vampyrs. He’d also never heard of a witch and werewolf sharing a mating bond. Eldrick couldn’t keep up. He gripped his weapon to steady himself.

“If the vampyrs have Evelyn, why is she here?” He cast a glance like a dagger at the vampyr princess.

His father held onto the armchair for balance, his stern stare boring into Eldrick. “Why are you convinced she is a vampyr?”

Eldrick tried to dismiss the doubt in his father’s question. Why couldn’t he trust his judgment? He smelled it on her, sharp and lemony against the plum, stone fruit of her scent. How could they not? It clotted the air and fought the burning wood at the fireplace.

“I am a vampyr, Alpha Drengr,” Tovi said. “The Princess of Drystan. I’ve agreed to guide Kade and his team across the Void and through Drystan in exchange for an alliance with the werewolves.”

Cold fury froze every fiber of Eldrick’s being. “Werewolves don’t ally with bloodsuckers.”

“Eldrick.” Kade held out his hand, attention flicking between his axe and stance. “Tovi’s brother, Riven, plans to use Evelyn’s blood in a spell that allows vampyrs to walk in sunlight. We need Tovi.”

The vampyr nodded. “If Riven succeeds, the darkness you all know will spread farther than it ever has before. ”

Eldrick lowered his axe stomaching clenching. “Are you suggesting vampyrs like you would walk amongst us?”

Tovi nodded. “Yes.”

“That would be a grave turn of events. We’ve relied on our advantage of day and night for centuries.” Aramis shook his head, his weathered frame trembling.

An hour ago, Eldrick hadn’t known there was a vampyr princess and prince, now he had to comprehend an unfathomable, devastating future as well.

He studied the enemy standing in his foyer. Tovi wasn’t like the vampyrs that slaughtered his mother, but he still saw her as a killer, and perhaps what made her different made her more dangerous than a scáth.

“Kade, how are you certain she isn’t a part of the plan?” Eldrick asked. “For all we know, she’s luring you to Drystan so Prince Riven has both the Daughter of the Goddess and Son of the God as his prisoners.”

His brother shook his head. “No, Riven had his chance to capture me. I’ve been in Callum, on the continent of Torren, and weeks ago, I received a missive in your hand, stating father was dead and I was to return home at once.”

“It was forged,” Tovi whispered.

The hair on the back of Eldrick’s neck rose.

“I believe Riven did it to separate me from Evelyn.” Relief flashed over Kade’s face as he glanced back at their father. “He knew how to send me home without a second thought.”

“How would this Riven accomplish such a thing?” Eldrick shook his head.

“He has allies,” Tovi said. “Perhaps ones amongst the werewolves.”

For a moment, the missing werewolves crossed through Eldrick’s mind. That morning, he’d thought it time to consider one of their own as the culprit. He shook away the notion, refusing to believe it. Not a single fact pointed to a werewolf. Nothing pointed to the vampyrs either, but they were the enemy. His own people weren’t.

“I know it may be difficult to see past that Tovi is a vampyr,” Kade said. “But she is on our side. ”

Eldrick scoffed. He’d never dismiss the facts. How could his brother? Her kind had killed their mother. They were monsters, blood-hungry parasites that invaded their homeland. He didn’t care how alluring she seemed, the way his pulse quickened when their eyes connected, or the fact she challenged everything he knew about his enemy.

“Are you sure?” Eldrick asked. “The vampyr king is dead, and she is the rightful heir. I believe her motives are selfish.”

Kade stilled, shooting a glare at Tovi. “Is this true?”

Tovi shut her eyes and grimaced. When they sprang open again, they never left his brother as she said, “It didn’t seem relevant to mention.”

Kade growled. “Relevant? If you are the rightful heir, then march into Drystan and stop your brother! Why all this secrecy, all this plotting?”

“I can’t!” She stared at each of them. “Werewolves have female alphas, do they not?”

Eldrick’s brows pinched. “Of course.”

“It isn’t the same for vampyrs. Females are regarded differently. By right, I am the firstborn. The time separating our births is mere hours. Many believe I should step down or abdicate the throne because he is the male.”

“Simply because you’re a female vampyr they question your ability to rule?” Kade asked, shock ringing in his tone.

The vampyr’s nostrils flared as she sighed. “Yes. It is one of the reasons my brother and I are at odds. It’s why I need allies. To secure my throne. Trust me, I am a far better choice than my brother as king. You don’t want him ruling Drystan.”

Eldrick shook away the lick of sympathy he had for her—to simply not respect her because of sex angered his inner wolf—but she had already withheld information. What more was she not telling them?

“Kade, you can’t trust her,” he said.

A low noise rumbled in his brother’s throat. “I don’t, but Evelyn is my mate, and I will do whatever it takes to get her back. ”

The severity in Kade’s words made Eldrick pause. Never had his brother held so much resolve, so much emotion. Yet, that was the issue, wasn’t it? Eldrick understood the way of mates. Werewolves celebrated the bond. He’d witnessed the beauty and power of it between his parents, but he’d also witnessed its downfalls, how the bond consumed and overrode reason, ruining body, soul, and mind.

Eldrick understood it more than anyone else.

The sight of his father—once a proud, strong man with a boisterous laugh that filled a room with joy—reminded Eldrick of the day he’d convinced his brother to skip training and trail their mother’s unit across Sorin to Morrow. They’d led the vampyrs straight to their mother’s stronghold.

Straight to her.

All to help his brother feel better.

Eldrick blinked back the memory of that wretched mistake, the knots in his belly tightening into a sharp, severe pain. He’d once let his feelings get in the way of the facts; that had led to his mother’s death, had caused his father’s current state.

He’d sworn to never do it again.

And, moons , Eldrick hated he had to do this. He and Kade had finally reunited, but his brother wasn’t thinking straight. He wasn’t seeing the facts, the logic. But as future alpha, that was Eldrick’s job, and he’d take Kade’s anger in order to lead his pack through this.

“I can’t allow her to accompany you. Nor can I promise an alliance,” Eldrick said. “As of this moment forward, Tovi Verena is a prisoner of the Drengr pack until we decide how to proceed with her offense of trespassing on our lands.”

A growl rumbled from Kade’s chest. “Evelyn is my mate. She might die because of this spell, and Tovi is the best guide we have through a land werewolves have never crossed.”

Eldrick shook his head. “I’m sorry, brother.”

Kade charged, eyes glowing .

Aramis stepped between the brothers, moving quicker than Eldrick had seen him move in years. He rested a hand on Kade’s shoulder. “Your brother is only trying to protect the pack, Kade. We can’t trust her. Not yet.”

Assurance shot through Eldrick, but he couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes—their mother’s eyes—marred with such betrayal.

“What about protecting the Daughter of the Goddess?” Kade shouted. “The prophecy, even!”

His eyes shifted from amber to a blue glow, and both Eldrick and his father froze. What in the stars above was that?

“Kade…” Tovi’s tone was soft, gentle even.

“The decision has been made.” Their uncle’s deep, gravelly voice came from the corner of the foyer as he emerged from the shadows. How long had he been standing there? Sometimes, his uncle’s beastly ability to sneak up on his prey unnerved Eldrick.

Tovi leaned closer to Kade and swallowed, but kept her gaze glued to Eldrick. Unable to handle the sapling green of her stare, he returned his attention to his uncle who strode farther into the foyer. His beefy, calloused hand rested on his axe, the blood of his enemies still staining the blade.

“Claus,” Kade muttered. “This is a matter between my brother and me.”

“Yes, you’re correct, though your brother is the future alpha of the Drengr pack. You may be Son of the God, but you had no right to grant this bloodsucker alliance in the first place. Not to mention your father is the alpha of this pack and has agreed with your brother’s sound judgment.”

Eldrick shut his eyes and grimaced, hating that his uncle had weaved in birth order. Traditionally, Eldrick as alpha outranked Kade as a protector, but as Son of the God, his brother’s title created a gray area. They’d long followed an unwritten rule—Kade stayed out of politics. But more importantly, they’d always acknowledged they were brothers first and foremost. Eldrick swallowed, attempting to squash the guilt souring on his tongue. Today was the first day those lines had been crossed, but he refused to let his own feelings or his brother’ s hurt get in the way of his decision. He had to lead his pack. With everything still to learn about his enemy, he wouldn’t let anything cloud his judgment.

“I’m sorry,” he said and meant it. “You must go after Evelyn and get her back in any way you see fit, but I can’t trust the intentions of the vampyr princess.”

Kade charged towards Eldrick, the blue glow returning to his eyes, hackles raised, and wolf shaking under his skin.

“Unhand me!” Tovi hissed, capturing everyone’s attention.

Claus had reached her, drawing her into a tight hold, her back to his chest as she struggled against his strength.

His brother growled. “Eldrick, see reason!”

“I am. She is a vampyr—”

“You send your brother to his death without me!” Tovi cried. True fear shined in her jade eyes, and for a moment, Eldrick paused.

Was he willing to risk his brother’s life?

He gritted his teeth. Her words were merely that. Words. His brother was the best third-born protector to ever climb the ranks. If anyone could cross the Void, it was Kade. No matter what, Eldrick could never trust Tovi Verena, Princess of Drystan.

“Lock her in the dungeons, Claus.”