57. Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Tovi

T ovi and Eldrick fought together like lovers danced. In sync, tempo, and as one.

She bellowed, her next hit with her talons harsher than the last. The vampyr screeched. Spittle dripped from their fangs. Black veins rimmed their eyes. The curse sat in the air, clawing at Tovi. Talons unsheathed, her beastly shift called to the darker side weaved into her blood and heart. She ignored it, trying to fight as hard against it as she fought against her opponent. She lunged, slicing the vampyr’s shoulder open. Blood coated her talons, the liquid warm as it ran down the creases of her palm.

Riven—the coward—had left, abandoning two vampyr guards. Tovi’s animal instincts detected the shift in the team, grief gripping them all. Something had happened. But she had no time to check, not when Sven’s family had run to safety and she’d sworn to protect their home the moment her twin had arrived. Beside her, Eldrick sidestepped and handled his own. The metal of his axe hit the iron of a sword, clanging between them.

Tovi didn’t avert her attention his way either. Her heart hammered. Her breath came out ragged. The spin of her boot against the snow kept her fluid, moving against her attacker .

She stepped back, pivoted and twisted, trying to outrun the eerie whisperings in the back of her mind. Blood seeped into the snow. Friend, foe, enemy, his . The droplets and sprays sang to her, whispered sweet nothings, and reached the part of her she kept buried.

Tovi blinked, and talons whipped across her face. She reared back, the glint of black hovering a hair’s thinness away from her nose.

Death lingered all around her.

It clung to Tovi’s skin like a parasite, spreading the darkness of the curse. It’s fungus-like web dug its roots into her heart and mind, feeding vicious images. Blood on her tongue, dripping over her chin, streaming down her cleavage. Hunger raged in the pit of her belly.

Tovi couldn’t think, the blood curse whispering like an evil sprite on her shoulder.

Hunt. Kill. Drink.

A heartbeat echoed in Tovi’s ears. Her fangs ached to be released, to bite and suck the first drop of blood she could get her mouth on. Inky black began to spread up her arms. Her sight faded to red.

Goddess , she was on the edge of bloodlust.

Eldrick growled in pain. She whirled. The vampyr had swiped the back of his leg, and he’d fallen to his knees. He swung to counter a final blow, but he was flailing. Tovi’s limbs shook. The skin on the back of her neck rose.

No.

Everything turned red. The curse, along with something deeper, rose to the surface. Adrenaline pumped through Tovi’s veins, and she sprang forward. Her talons swiped against the fleshy neck of her opponent and blood showered her face. She didn’t wait to watch as the vampyr dropped dead.

She lunged with a territorial cry at the vampyr delivering another blow to Eldrick. Her talons caught his sword before it fell. A snarl bubbled out of her. Her vision went in and out with each pulsing push of her sharp fangs. They unleashed. Longer, sharper, deadlier. The tips pierced her bottom lip, and her own blood sent a maddening thirst through her, liquid ecstasy driving her to a place of darkness and compulsion.

The whisperings had turned to chanting. A sweet melody of darkness. Thorns pricked her heart. Dark magic thickened the air. But the color of emerald flashed against the red. The need to protect Eldrick eclipsed the need for blood. The two wove together. His attacker became her prey, and Tovi’s caged beast broke free.

She swiped. Up, down. Across. Each blow made contact. Each shredded flesh. Each felt glorious.

Panting, hungry, liberated, Tovi’s chest heaved as the vampyr slumped back, thudding into the snow. She’d done it. Tovi had protected her ma—

“Tovi.”

Her name sounded as if it tunneled through a vacuum. It came and went, loud and soft.

She blinked. Red, black, and green tinged her sights. The scent of blood—a minty spice—increased her hunger. A growl rumbled through her chest like a lioness.

“Tovi.”

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she spun, squatting into a defense. Talons splayed, fangs bared, she hissed. Eldrick fell back, his green emerald eyes widening in horror—he wasn’t afraid of her.

He was petrified.

The sight caused Tovi to stop. Shame washed over her. The sight of him stalled her bloodlust. The red haze dissipated, the green of the forest coming into view, but it only reminded her of Eldrick’s emerald eyes.

He blinked a few times, swallowed.

“Eldrick.” Tovi tasted blood on her tongue when she said the word. She stepped towards him, but he retreated on his elbows. She froze, her own reflection in his eyes stilling her in place. Her talons had turned black, spidery veins rimmed her eyes .

No.

The curse retreated back into her as she fled his judgmental stare, black melting into her pale skin. Something cut across Tovi’s heart. An open wound she couldn’t close.

Understanding flashed across Eldrick’s face and he rose, running his hand threw his golden-brown hair. He reached and grasped the back of his neck.

“Fuck—Tovi… I didn’t mean to—I’m sorry.”

Pity and unease.

Both wafted off him worse than the scent of blood. Tovi’s biggest fear came to fruition. He’d seen her for what she truly was, and he couldn’t accept it. Gone was the want, the intent he’d shown in the room above the stables. Tovi turned away, unable to handle the tightness in her chest, refusing to admit what she felt. This wasn’t pride or hurt feelings. It was far more than that. A man she—

Goddess , she loved him.

Tovi’s world stopped. She’d had one task—to gain an alliance—and she’d allowed herself to get distracted, putting herself on display for him to judge. Like they had in her court all those decades ago. Hurt surged into anger, and Tovi hadn’t the energy to rein it in.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

She moved to walk around him. She needed space. Air that wasn’t filled with blood. A stare that didn’t threaten to break her heart more than it already had.

Eldrick grabbed her elbow. “Wait.”

Except Tovi’s ire had been lit, and she bit back, spinning towards him. “Did you think I would actually hurt you?”

He winced. “You don’t understand. I—”

“I understand perfectly. You’ll never see me as anything other than a vampyr.”

“You are a vampyr!”

Tovi’s heart tore to smaller pieces. She loved a man who only saw her for what she was not who. None of it had mattered. Not her efforts. Skills. Expertise. It was like she stood across from her parents again, begging them to see what she’d built with her own hands, not the promise of an alliance she’d secured by wearing a certain dress or attending some dinner. But it was her own fault. She’d gotten distracted. She’d dropped her poised, proud princess act around him and let him in. And for what? He hadn’t seen her any differently. It had never been worth showing him the real her.

Eldrick shook his head. “All my life, vampyrs have been the enemy. They are my enemy. Your brother attacked us, Tovi!”

“Yes, you’ve made your hatred of me and my people clear. Despite every effort I’ve made to gain your trust, to show you that I am not like my brother, to make you fucking see that I’m different. After everything I’ve done, the things that I have sacrificed…” Tovi shook head, tears unwillingly spilling down her face. “I fought by your side! I guess that means nothing to you. It’s clear your opinion of me will never change.”

Anguish rippled through his emerald eyes. “I’m an alpha, Tovi. I have to hold onto the facts. When I saw you… I wasn’t thinking. I never meant to hurt you—”

Tovi shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Stay the fuck away from me. Whatever this is”—she waved her hands between them—“this stupid, sick game between us is over. I’ll get my alliance with the werewolves without you. Stay the fuck away from me .”

Tovi headed towards the others.

“Tovi!”

He shouted her name into the wind, into the cold and cursed land. She ignored him, refused to face his judgment again, not when her heart was torn to shreds.