14. Montana

Julius had been deep in thought ever since Nightmare had spoken to us. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions, and so far, all he’d done was spew curses whilst pacing back and forth around the top of the bell tower. I’d given up trying to speak to him and descended deep into my own thoughts.

I had no idea what Nightmare had meant by its words, but the fact it had said I was ‘walking the path of salvation’ had to be a good thing, right? But that didn’t shed any light on what Nightmare had in mind for me. Or Erik.

What the hell was I supposed to do from here?

I was stuck in a tower with a guy who had a thousand-year-old vendetta against Erik, and nothing was going to make him forget about his father’s murder. Why should he? If Erik had really killed him, how could Julius ever see past that? I knew the ache of vengeance, how keenly I needed to see Wolfe die for stealing my own father from this world. Julius had a right to secure his vengeance too. I just felt so damn conflicted about the vampire he was hunting. It should have been black and white as it had always been with the creatures who ruled my kind, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t so simple anymore.

My heart was heavy with all of it, and I kept thinking of Dad, my thoughts always ending with him. I so wished to speak to him now, because he’d know just what to say to make everything right. Then the knowledge that I would never again hear his voice left me with such a cloying sense of loss that I withdrew deeper into myself, burying my face against my knees.

After a while, a distant howl caught my ear, and both Julius and I stiffened as my head snapped up. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled to attention as another howl joined the first and soon, an entire chorus filled the air.

“Fuck. Give me your coat,” Julius demanded, striding toward me with purpose.

“Why?” I balked, but he didn’t stop coming, bending low and wrenching it from my shoulders. “What the fuck?”

“Fabian has a pack of familiars. Dogs. He’s been trying to catch me with them for weeks. But I’ve laid my scent all over these ruins for miles, they can’t find me. But your scent will lead them right here. I’m such a fool, I should have laid the trail earlier.”

I drew in a breath, rising to my feet, the fear of being caught again hitting firmly home. Erik was still hunting for us, his parting promise to find me echoing in my mind. And it looked like Fabian was helping him.

“What are you going to do?” I asked as Julius tied my navy coat around his muscular waist.

“I’ll lead them astray and I’ll kill as many of them as I can.”

The barks of the dogs drew closer, and my heart stuttered with anxiety as Julius took up his bow and tied a rope to an arrow. He stepped up into one of the arched windows and tied the rope off on a broken metal railing jutting from the wall. Lifting the bow, he aimed at the building opposite, tugging his arm back and pulling the string taut. He let it fly and the arrow sailed through the air, burying itself in a wooden awning on top of the building’s roof. Satisfied, Julius promptly shouldered the bow and quiver.

“Right.” He turned to me. “You’re not going to do anything stupid like run off.”

“Of course not,” I said, though I wasn’t yet decided on how long I was going to keep my word on that. There was no reason for me to stay here now, my only plan was reuniting with Callie. I just had to figure out how to find her.

“No, I know you’re not.” He grabbed my wrists, dragging me towards the wall.

“Hey, get your hands off of me,” I hissed, trying to break his hold, but he was far too strong.

He used the loose end of the rope that was tied to the railing to tether me in place, binding me there while I fought to get free.

“You asshole. Let me go,” I ordered, keeping my voice low as another howl pitched through the air and set my pulse racing.

Moving back to his bed, he picked up a sock among his things before returning to me.

“No screaming,” he warned.

“Don’t you dare put that thing near me,” I gasped, jerking away as he grabbed my jaw, forcing my lips to part. He stuffed the thing in my mouth, then tied the ends behind my head.

I grimaced at him, praying the sock wasn’t dirty as he stepped away, admiring his work.

“Lucky for you, I found a bunch of clean linen in the ruins a couple of days ago.” With a grin, he took off his belt and looped it over the taut rope stretching between the buildings.

I scowled, a heated anger flowing through me at how quickly he’d made a prisoner out of me. Which made him a damn hypocrite considering how pissed he’d seemed about the vampires keeping me captive. I swear this world was full of motherfuckers who wanted to steal away my freedom, and I was so fucking sick of it.

Julius gripped the ends of the belt tightly, then launched himself out of the window.

I gasped against my gag, leaning as far forward as I could to watch as he slid down the rope at high speed, landing with silent grace on the building opposite.

He vanished down a set of stairs and I turned my attention to the street, frantically searching for any sign of the dogs.

All was quiet, but trepidation niggled at my gut. They couldn’t be far…

Julius reappeared on the street below, his hood pulled up as he moved into a shadowy alley opposite the tower, rubbing my coat across the wall as he went.

My breaths came quicker as he headed away, and I tried to wriggle my hands free from the rope. It was no good. He’d tied it too well, leaving me trapped here.

Rage coiled in my gut. How could I have thought for a second that I was actually free? Now I was just someone else’s damn prisoner.

Eyeing the sharp piece of railing extending from the wall, hope filled me, and I clambered up onto the stone ledge, resting the rope against it. I started rubbing it back and forth, determined to liberate myself.

If any of those dogs found me, who knew what they’d do? I didn’t trust Fabian one bit, and even if he hadn’t been responsible for Faulkner’s death, someone had still tried to kill me just days ago. I sure as shit hadn’t ruled him out, so I wasn’t going to be a sitting duck if his familiars tracked me down.

The howls drew closer, and I worked harder to break my binds, rubbing them back and forth while the rope frayed. With a snap, it fell loose, and my heart swelled with triumph. Ripping the sock from my mouth, I knelt down on the ledge of the closest window and gazed out at the road below.

The pounding of paws carried this way, and I ducked low in fright as the first of the creatures arrived. A huge black dog appeared with drool foaming at its mouth, its soulless eyes seeking its prey between the shadows. The beast’s powerful jaws looked capable of crushing bone, and I shrank further into my hiding place as it padded alongside the tower, not daring to breathe.

One second passed, then two, each moment dragging into the next.

The dog lifted its head, sniffing the air, and I was sure it was about to discover me. But with a bark of excitement, it darted down the alley Julius had taken, and I released the breath trapped in my chest.

My pulse hammered in my ears, adrenaline thick in my blood.

What would I do if the slayer was caught? Run from here? Or go back to the city?

I racked my brain for answers, wishing Julius hadn’t taken Nightmare, wondering if it might have any more words of wisdom. Though, honestly, the riddles it spewed didn’t make any sense to me. Monster made? Was that something to do with the vampires? Was it referring to Erik?

My thoughts tumbled over one another, and I wished I had more to go on. Julius had refused to share his thoughts with me on the matter, and I hated being kept in the dark. He knew something about those words that he wasn’t saying, and I was desperate to learn what he was hiding.

Though I was free, I hadn’t considered leaving the tower. I’d made up my mind. I’d wait for Julius to return and force answers from his lips.

* * *

Hours passed and the sun sank low behind the haze of clouds, lighting them in pink and amber tones. It wasn’t long before darkness engulfed the world, but my eyes soon adjusted to the dim space around me. An icy wind was picking up, and without my coat to keep me warm, I soon buried myself in Julius’s blankets.

After a while, a huff of exertion carried to my ears beyond the closest window. My heart clenched, but a moment later, Julius hauled himself over the ledge and my fear ebbed away.

“Shit. Where are you?” he growled.

“Here,” I said, sitting up from the pile of blankets to reveal myself.

He sighed his relief, moving toward me and kneeling down. “I should have known I couldn’t keep a woman of slayer blood bound with rope. But I’m glad you’re still here. You trust me then?”

“Not in the slightest. But I have questions, and you’re going to give me answers to them.”

He grunted, then prodded my side. “Move over. It’s been a long time since I had someone to share warmth with.” I didn’t miss his suggestive tone but wondered if he could see the glare I gave him in the darkness.

I shifted to give him room and he pulled the blankets across both of us, snuggling up close beside me.

“Are they gone?” I asked, shamelessly huddling against him, the heat of his body like a godsend as the cold drilled into me.

“I laid trails all over the ruins and back into the city. They’ll be chasing their tails until sunrise. Most of them will be anyway. One of them got Nightmare in the eye.”

I sucked in a breath as he pressed something warm into my palm.

“Calm down, it’s just the blade.” I could hear the grin in his voice as my fingers wrapped around Nightmare’s hilt and a soothing energy rolled into me.

“Lucky for you,” I reminded him.

“Ah, the dick rippage. I haven’t forgotten. Give me a bit of credit though, damsel. I have more tact with women than sticking my cock in their hand and hoping for the best. I think I would have lost my dick long ago if that was my signature move.”

I snorted a laugh and he chuckled, the sound vibrating through me, though I kind of wanted to kick him for continuing to call me damsel.

“So, are you ever going to share your thoughts on what Nightmare told us earlier, or are you going to continue being a cagey shithead?”

Julius scooted somehow closer, and it was hard not to melt into the heat that radiated from him as the wind picked up. “Do you know about the prophecy?”

“The what?” I asked, my brow furrowing.

“Hm,” he sighed. “Alright, let’s start from the beginning.”

“Tell me everything,” I urged, curious to hear his story.

“A god called Andvari is responsible for the vampire curse,” he revealed, making my heart pound out of rhythm. “Long story short, the Belvederes’ parents royally pissed him off and he cursed their children to hunger for human blood forevermore. But in order to do so, Andvari stole from a goddess called Idun. He fed the Belvederes her immortal fruit to create the curse.”

“Okay...” I breathed, trying to let myself believe such things.

Julius went on, “So Idun created us in retaliation. The slayers. We’re born to end the curse Andvari made. Which either means we have to wipe the vampires from the face of the earth, or we have to break the curse by figuring out the answer to Andvari’s prophecy.”

“Which is?” I pressed, a creeping sensation inching through me.

Nightmare vibrated in my palm at his words, encouraging me to believe every one of them.

He took a breath. “A warrior born but monster made, changes fates of souls enslaved. Twins of sun and moon will rise, when one has lived a thousand lives. A circle of gold shall join two souls, and a debt paid rights wrongs of old. In a holy mountain the earth will heal, then the dead shall live, and the curse will keel.”

A shudder went through me as a ripple of power emanated around the space, and I swear the wind howled even louder. I recognised some of the words from those Nightmare had spoken to me, but I didn’t understand my involvement in it all.

“What does it mean?” I asked in a hushed tone, and Julius took my hand, squeezing my cold fingers, and I couldn’t deny myself the heat he offered.

I turned to him in the darkness, finding his eyes twinkling at me as the low light of the moon fell across the tower. “I don’t know. But I have some questions since Nightmare spoke to us earlier. It called you Moon Child...do you know why?”

“No,” I breathed. “I mean…the only connection I can think of is that my parents used to call my sister and I their sun and moon.”

“And you mentioned she’s your twin,” Julius murmured thoughtfully, his grip on my hand growing firmer.

“Yes,” I said as I realised what he meant. “Do you think we’re the twins of sun and moon the prophecy talks about?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, his tone dark. “But maybe. It is possible you and your sister play some part in breaking the curse.”

The weight of that prospect settled on me, and I turned the words of the prophecy over in my head, trying to work out what they could mean. “It says the twins will rise when one has lived a thousand lives. Could that mean…when one of us is immortal?” I shuddered at the thought, and I felt Julius shrugging his shoulders.

“Perhaps. There is only one part of the prophecy my brother and I were ever clear on. The holy mountain is a place of the dead. We called it Helgafjell in my time. I suspect this curse must be broken there in some way. A debt paid...” He shook his head, having no more answers.

Silence pooled between us, and Julius reached into his pocket, taking out a phone.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked in surprise.

“Stole it off that guard I killed.” He grinned mischievously, but as I thought of Faulkner’s final screams and the pain in Erik’s eyes when his guard had turned to ash, I didn’t find it all that amusing. “This is connected to cameras in the castle grounds.” Julius pressed a button on it, showing me the screen. “Every blind spot, every weakness the royals have in that place is right here in my hand.”

My mouth parted in shock as I leaned forward, eyeing the live videos playing in tiny boxes on the phone. Julius tapped on one and it expanded, showing the steps leading up to the castle. A couple of guards were standing by the road beyond them, looking around and sharing the odd muttered word with one another.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Now, we wait for the Belvederes to show up,” he said, and my heart thrashed at the prospect.

The minutes ticked by, the silence broken only by the roaring wind and the odd howl pitching away into the night. The minutes turned to an hour, and in all that time, nothing of note happened but a change of guards.

My mind began to wander, fantasy lands calling to me, promising me escape from my own thoughts. But for some reason, I didn’t want to shy away from the world anymore. I didn’t want to forget the pain caged in my heart over Dad, or how I longed for my twin. Because those things might have been raw and crushing, but they were vital pieces of me that tied me to my family. I realised since I’d been stolen away into the clutches of the vampires, I might not have been free, but I had been wide awake, aware of life in all its beautiful brutality. And I didn’t want to shut myself off from it anymore.

“Looks like we’ve got some movement,” Julius said, and I perked up, focusing all of my attention on the screen to keep the grief at bay.

Headlights spilled over the guards at the base of the steps and two cars arrived. I held my breath as the guards hurried forward to open the doors, but Erik stepped out before they got there, still wearing the casual clothes I’d last seen him in. Fabian, Miles, and Clarice all appeared after him dressed in their royal attire, exchanging worried glances.

Erik led the way as they marched up the steps, his expression taut with rage, and my stomach tightened. He looked fit to destroy the world, his ashen eyes ablaze and his jaw flexing with every step he took.

Julius shrank the image, clicking the next one which enlarged an office with a circular glass table at the heart of it.

“I had to hack into the camera in this room.” Julius tapped his temple. “Security access is only given to a few Elite. When I first awoke from my sleep, this world had changed so much, and I had no idea how to use vehicles or computers. I knew I needed to understand these things if I was to stand any chance against the Belvederes, so I begged Idun for help. Luckily, she was feeling generous, and she gifted me all the knowledge I needed and more. She’s got a soft spot for me, I reckon. And who wouldn’t? I am a hero after all.” He beamed and I shook my head at him.

“You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

“Delusional confidence is the key to life,” he said brightly. “If you call a duck an eagle often enough, people tend to start agreeing.”

“So, you’re really just a duck posing as an eagle,” I taunted.

“No, no, you’re missing the point. You become the eagle too, see? If you delude yourself hard enough, one day it just comes true. Great, isn’t it?”

“What if I think you’re a duck?”

“I’m an eagle.” He gave me a sharp look. “Fucking ca-caw. Now look.” He tapped the screen. “They’re almost at the office.”

“Can you watch everything from here?”

“Only where there are cameras. I couldn’t see into your bedroom, in case you were wondering.”

I sucked in a breath, realising something. “Then surely someone saw the vampire who attacked me a few days ago. Why haven’t the guards identified the culprit if they can see all this?”

“Attacked you? When?” Julius demanded, seeming agitated.

“Four days ago,” I said, my brows pinching together. “They must have seen them on here.”

Julius frowned. “The system went down around then. Nothing for hours into the night. I thought it was a glitch on my end. The next morning the streams were live again.”

“Damn, who else has access to these? Who could have done that?”

Julius thought on it. “It would have to be someone with a lot of power, or the royals themselves.”

I pursed my lips, thinking it over, but Julius nudged me, pointing at the screen as the royals marched into the office, taking seats around the table.

My heart skittered at the sight of Erik’s fierce expression. He looked ready to murder someone, and I had the feeling that someone was Julius.

“My familiars have traced them to the Bronx ruins,” Fabian spoke, and I was startled as the sound was fed back to us, clear as day. “Their scent is all over that place, but the hounds haven’t yet narrowed down their location. I’ll send a couple of birds too. Their keen eyes will spot them if they make a move toward the city again.”

“Thank you, Fabian,” Erik said tersely, fisting his hands on the table.

“Fuck,” Julius growled, and my heart stammered.

“Should we be concerned?” Clarice asked, running her fingers over a golden plait down one side of her neck. “If there is a slayer of old in New York, there could be more. And how is it possible that he still lives after a thousand years?”

“I don’t know the answer to that. But there is only him. I believe it is Julius Elioson. I’m sure you all remember him,” Fabian said, his rust brown eyes flicking left and right.

“I’ve still got the scars to prove it,” Miles growled, turning over his arm to reveal a silvery line on his skin.

Julius chuckled in my ear. “I almost took his hand off that day.”

Fabian nodded, looking grave. “I became aware of his presence several weeks ago. I’ve been trying to track him down covertly.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Miles hissed, baring his fangs.

“I didn’t want to start a panic,” Fabian muttered. “Just days ago, he set a bomb that killed those two courtiers. And I know how attached some of you get to them. I didn’t see the need in worrying you.”

I looked to Julius with my heart thundering. “Did you do that?” I demanded, pulling away from him.

He shook his head fiercely. “Of course not. I’d never kill an innocent.”

“But it was intended for Erik,” I hissed, panic rising in me. Was I sitting beside the man responsible for killing Joshua and Brianna?

“I didn’t do it,” Julius swore. “A bomb wouldn’t kill a Belvedere anyway. I am not a fool. Slayer blades are one of the few things capable of vanquishing the vampires.”

I eyed him with concern but could see the truth in his gaze. Was Fabian lying to cover his tracks? But if Julius knew the bomb wouldn’t kill Erik, then why would Fabian set it? Unless the bomb really had never been intended for Erik.

My eyes whipped back to the screen as the royals’ voices rose with anger.

“You had no right, Fabian!” Clarice snapped. “We should have dealt with it together. What were you thinking?”

“Enough,” Erik growled before Fabian could defend himself. “Fabian has been a fool, yes. But we have more important matters to discuss now.”

“Like?” Miles asked, sitting back in his chair and sweeping a hand through his sleek blond hair.

“Like finding Montana, for one,” Erik snarled. “And apprehending the slayer who took her.”

“You mean executing him, surely?” Fabian interjected.

Erik’s mouth twitched with anger. “Eventually, of course. But we must learn what he knows. If there are more slayers-”

“There are no more slayers,” Fabian spat, slamming his hand down on the glass surface. “The remainder of them died off a thousand years ago.”

“Unfortunately, brother, that is not true. I too have been harbouring some secrets, but it is time they were brought to light.” Erik took out his phone, placing it at the centre of the table and playing a video. I couldn’t see what it showed, but Erik explained anyway. “General Wolfe encountered a slayer in the blood bank south of Realm G. He said his name was Magnar Elioson, Julius’s brother. Marla sent me this video which clearly shows it is true.”

A hushed silence fell over them all, and Clarice took up the phone, gazing at the screen in fear. “Magnar is still alive? Who’s the woman he’s with?”

“Montana’s sister, Callie Ford,” Erik revealed, and my heart rioted in my chest.

Miles stood abruptly, glaring at Erik. “You know, don’t you? She told you.”

“Who told me what?” Erik replied calmly, but his eyes shone with a dangerous glint.

“Montana’s blood is stronger than the others we’ve found. She has the potential to be a full slayer,” Miles announced, and Clarice’s mouth parted.

Fabian gazed at the blond prince, his eyes narrowing.

“I saw her mark,” Miles went on. “She hasn’t taken her vow, of course, but what difference does it make? If she’s with another slayer now, what’s to say she won’t take it and they’ll band together against us?”

Julius tossed me a pointed look and I firmly ignored it.

“When did we all start keeping secrets from each other?” Clarice scolded. “We’re family. We have always worked as a unit.” She sighed and the others looked a little guilty in the face of her accusation. She turned to Erik with desperate eyes. “Is it true what Miles says?”

Slowly, Erik nodded, and my heart crumbled to dust. They knew. All of them knew. And surely that made me a threat worth eradicating.

“Montana has slayer blood stronger than any of the courtiers brought here in the past,” Erik said carefully. “She is also a twin.” He took his phone back from Clarice, tapping the screen. “Look at her. Her colouring is as light as Montana’s is dark. Night and day. Twins of sun and moon.”

Miles and Clarice shared a look of fear, and that same fear twisted through my chest.

“The prophecy, Erik? Are you really spurting that at us now?” Fabian drawled.

“It is our salvation,” Erik barked at him. “We have been wrong, all these years. Forcing humans with slayer blood to have children with us to try and bear twins. But like I always said, it was just another of Andvari’s lies. Warrior born but monster made does not mean we are supposed to have children with those of slayer blood.”

My thoughts muddled together as I processed what he was saying. They were trying to solve the prophecy. They thought bearing twins with a slayer was the answer. But it wasn’t. It was us. Me and Callie. At least, that was what all this seemed to be pointing to.

Julius pressed a hand to my spine, lending me comfort, but there was no comforting me from this.

I focused my thoughts on their conversation, not wanting to miss anything else.

“We’ll double our efforts in finding Montana’s sister,” Miles said keenly. “She must marry one of us. A circle of gold will join two souls.”

Erik glared at him. “You are entirely dismissing what I just said.”

“But perhaps we need to bear children with a true slayer,” Miles suggested. “It’s not like I want to, we just have to consider the possibility. We could test your theory too. How can we retrieve both twins swiftly?”

“I’ve already sent several Elite to find Montana’s sister,” Erik snarled. “But this.” He bashed his fist against his phone. “Shows how deeply the rebels have gotten into our ranks. One of my own sirelings bit her. I cannot send a team after her if they will not follow basic orders. My own general is a fucking biter. And he murdered their father after I explicitly ordered for him to be released from the blood bank. It is unacceptable.”

Clarice took a slow breath. “Look…we can handle this. We’ll send only our most loyal followers to retrieve her.”

“These were my most loyal followers, Clarice!” Erik yelled, his anger spilling over and setting the hairs raising on the back of my neck. “I cannot trust anyone. Not even the people in this room!” He turned his gaze to Fabian, who snarled in response.

“You are in dangerous territory, brother,” Fabian snarled. “You have already wrongly accused me of killing your sirelings. You know the slayer, Julius, was the culprit, so why is it you still look at me with distrust?”

“Because there are things you don’t know I’m aware of,” Erik stated. “Montana was attacked by a vampire just days ago. In her bedroom on the castle grounds. Who else could gain access to the royal quarters unless they walked among us freely? Someone allowed an assassin into our home. There are only a few people who could manage such a thing.”

“You think I tried to kill the girl? Why would I want her dead?” Fabian scoffed. “What is it you see in me, Erik? A traitor? Because the only traitor I see here, is you.”

“Me?” Erik snarled. “In what way am I a traitor?”

“You had my men killed in retaliation because you believed I was targeting you. If only you would put your faith in me and stop-”

“Enough,” Clarice stepped in, glaring between the two of them and taking ownership of the room. “If Erik has acted against you, Fabian, you will be compensated. But he made a mistake, and you must let that pass now. We have to unite. If the slayers are rising again-”

“They are not rising!” Fabian bellowed.

“How do you know that?” Miles growled. “We know of four in existence. What if there are more than that? And if Magnar and Julius Elioson are among them, they are Blessed Crusaders. Gifted by Idun herself. How do we know these others are not the same? How do we know we are strong enough to face them? We had to run from them before.”

“Because we have an entire country of vampires at our backs,” Fabian said coolly. “We have nothing to fear from four slayers. They are no more than a thorn in our side. And we will pluck it out and crush it in our palm before any more of our people are killed.”

“Maybe we should consider the positives to this,” Miles said thoughtfully. “If Montana and her sister are of slayer blood, they could bear the twins the prophecy speaks of.”

“It is them it speaks of, you fool,” Erik said in exasperation.

“But how do you know that?” Miles questioned in frustration. “Andvari told us that we could bear children with mortals. That must be important.”

“It’s just another of his tricks,” Erik insisted.

Clarice gazed anxiously between them. “I hate to think we have been wrong all these years. That we’ve made those poor women have children when it wasn’t necessary. So many of them died in the process...”

My heart stuttered at her words. Wives had died bearing their children? It was unthinkable. That ritual of theirs was barbaric enough, and now this?

“It’s a bit late to grow a conscience, Clarice,” Fabian said hollowly.

She scowled. “I’m not the one who bears them. Maybe you should be the one growing a conscience.”

Fabian rolled his eyes. “The humans have never complained about my treatment. My wives adore me. Wouldn’t you say the same of yours, Miles?”

Miles nodded firmly. “I’ve always given them everything they ever wanted. Montana and her sister would be no different.”

“Montana is my fucking fiancée, Miles,” Erik snarled, his eyes flaring with emotion, and my throat thickened. “No one will be touching her. None of you. Not even me,” he added, seething as he stared his family down.

“Well, it’s irrelevant at the moment anyway, considering she is off gallivanting with a slayer,” Fabian remarked. “Perhaps she is fucking him as we speak, preparing to bring more of our enemies into the world.”

Erik was out of his chair in a heartbeat and grabbed Fabian by the collar, hauling him to his feet. “Speak of her that way again and I will ensure you regret it for the rest of your immortal days.”

Fabian shoved him off, brushing the creases from his shirt. “By the gods, Erik, don’t tell me you actually have feelings for a human.”

“Erik,” Clarice whispered, her blue eyes widening. “Do you?”

Erik glared at Fabian for several long seconds before returning to his chair, not responding to Clarice. My heart twisted and writhed in my chest as I stared at him. Whatever he felt for me was dressed in sin and corrupted by greed, but it was also as undeniable as the rising sun.

I felt Julius’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t turn my head to face him, unsure how to express my own feelings under his watchful gaze. I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel anything at all, but Erik’s fervour brought on a quake in my body that I couldn’t deny.

"We should focus on her sister then,” Miles said. “One of us will marry her when she is caught and-”

“No,” Erik barked, his gaze like molten lava. “You are not listening to me. The answer is not children. They are the answer. We must figure out what the rest of the prophecy means. We are so close to an answer.”

“Fuck the prophecy,” Fabian muttered.

“What?” Clarice gasped. “How can you say that? It’s what this is all for. We only want to break the curse, Fabian.”

“Well maybe I’m done hearing your complaints about our so-called curse. The prophecy is a lie told to drive us all mad anyway, why not enjoy the immortality we’ve been given?” Fabian offered.

“Why take wives then, Fabian?” Erik growled.

Fabian’s eyes whipped to him. "Because I want to, Erik. Get off your high horse and join us all in the real world, will you? We’re royal. The kings and queen of a whole country. We don’t have to answer to anyone. If I want a human bride, I will have one. And if it solves the prophecy, great. If not, at least I had fun trying.”

Erik’s eyes narrowed sharply. “You have to answer to me, brother. I will always make sure of that.”

"Is that why you went behind my back to have the Realms rebuilt?” Fabian mused, folding his arms.

My lips parted at his words. Erik had done that?

Clarice and Miles shared a look of alarm as Fabian continued, “Yes, I know all about your backstabbing, Erik. The Realms are my responsibility, stick to your own business if you know what’s good for you.”

"I am making them my business because you have done such a terrible fucking job with them," Erik said in a fierce tone. “The Realms will be brought up to the standard of Realm A within the next month, or I will expose your lie to the New Empire and we’ll see what the people think of your treatment of the humans.”

“They don’t care,” Fabian laughed. “I thought they did once, too, that’s why I created Realm A. I thought it was necessary, but it isn’t. Half of the city is vying for the right to bite.”

"You’re wrong," Clarice stepped in. "It’s only a small group of rebels.”

“They’re the ones you see on the streets,” Fabian answered. “But I know that idea lurks in plenty of their minds. Erik, your own Elite are biting on duty. General Wolfe is a prime example.”

Erik’s face contorted with fury. “A man you have insisted be banished for his crimes instead of killed. I’m beginning to suspect you have a higher motive.”

“It is the law,” Fabian answered easily.

“We make the law!” Erik countered. “Why do this, Fabian? Why not provide the humans the resources they need?”

“Because the crops do not flourish, you ignorant halfwit. The land is wasted from the toxic bombs the humans dropped on each other. They brought about this plague on their own kind, not I.”

“There is more fertile land to the north. Efforts must be made to provide more food, more clothes, more comfort,” Erik insisted.

“And will you feel better about draining them then, brother?” Fabian tsked. “They are food, nothing more. So long as they provide the blood we need, it does not matter how well they live.”

“It matters to me!” Erik shouted, and my eyes raked over him, my chest brimming with emotion. He meant those words, every one of them.

"Stop this bickering,” Miles cut in before Fabian could come back. “I vote we locate the sisters and figure it out from there.”

“Yes, and we must speak with Andvari,” Erik said, nodding firmly. “He will know what to do.”

“He hasn’t been very enlightening before now,” Clarice said tentatively. “Do you think he will guide us?”

“If we are on the right track, he has to guide us,” Erik said, though doubt simmered in his gaze.

They all stood, and Clarice and Miles trailed from the room, but before Erik could exit, Fabian caught his arm. “I’m sending my own men after Magnar and the girl. If I get to her first, I will decide her fate.”

Erik bared his fangs at him. “Then you’d better be prepared, Fabian. Because if you touch a hair on her head, my fight will not be with the slayers. It will be with you.”

They exited the room and I stared at the empty space with my heart crashing against my ribcage.

“It seems Erik Belvedere is playing games again,” Julius murmured in my ear. “Though I cannot yet see the purpose behind his actions in convincing the other Revenants that he cares for you.”

“You think that’s what he’s doing?” I asked, my cheeks heating.

Was it all an act? His efforts to fix the Realms, his plight to find me, the way he spoke with passion about me. Was I completely insane to think any of this came from the goodness of his heart and wasn’t some tactic I couldn’t yet see the meaning of?

“Of course it’s what he’s doing. That’s what they all do. Any attachment he holds to you is rooted in power and avarice. It is the way of them. I’ve seen it many times before. Miles acting like some false god, building an army of pious followers out of weak-minded humans, Fabian playing trickster with his familiars, luring hunters to him with a prize stag only to make a meal out of them himself, and Clarice with her harems of men, baiting them for her pleasure, yet no matter how many she claimed, it seemed not even an army of men could satisfy her.” He sneered. “And then there’s Erik, a master manipulator, the most bloodthirsty of them all. To see him disguise himself now beneath a farse of dignity, of civilisation, it sickens me. You should have seen him bloody and draped in death, Montana. Then you would not be so willing to attempt to find the good in him.”

I shuddered, the potency of Julius’s words cutting me to the quick.

“Then you’re not going to like what I have to say next,” I said carefully.

“And what is that?” he growled.

“I need to go to him tomorrow,” I said, my gut knotting at the thought, but this was bigger than me now. “If he’s going to talk to Andvari, I have to be there. I need to know if the prophecy really does refer to me and Callie.”

“If you go back to him, he’ll never release you,” Julius snarled. “And I will not be responsible for that. I cannot let you leave.”

I shifted away from him, anger pulsing through me. “It isn’t up to you what I do. And staying here won’t do us any good. I have to know the truth. If Callie and I can help break the curse somehow, then we have to do it.”

“I didn’t risk my neck just to send you back into the arms of those monsters,” Julius bit at me.

I dropped my head, threading my fingers together as I considered my options. I sure as hell didn’t want to be a prisoner again, but maybe there was a way to prevent that…

“So we get some leverage first,” I said thoughtfully, refusing to walk back into Erik’s chains without an escape route. “A bargaining chip. Something that means Erik has to do as I say.”

Julius’s brows arched with intrigue. “Like a hostage?”

“I didn’t say that-”

“No, but I did.” He smiled wickedly. “I’ll take someone Erik cares about, someone he has to give you anything for.” His voice rose as his excitement at the idea increased.

“Erik doesn’t care about many people,” I said uncertainly. “Apart from his family and…” My heart stalled as a name flitted into my head. Someone more valuable to the city than anyone else. The vampire who could control the weather and keep the sun from weakening the entire population of New York.

“Valentina,” I breathed, turning to him with a rush of my own excitement.

He wrinkled his nose. “By the gods, Erik Belvedere cares about Valentina?”

“You know her?” I gasped.

“Of course I do,” he snarled. “She was a slayer who joined my clan a thousand years ago. She was betrothed to my brother,” he revealed. “When I woke from my enchanted sleep, I found her waiting for me beyond my hiding place. I saw what she had done to herself in an instant. Her face was captivating and deathly pale. She’d become one of them. Our sworn enemies. It disgusts me beyond belief.”

His eyes darkened. “My sword hungered for her end, so I drove it through her without hesitation. But I missed her heart. I was weaker after the sleep and needed time to recover. She begged me to spare her, and I didn’t know what the right course of action was. The only other slayer I’d seen as a vampire had asked for death. So I fled.”

“Did you find out why she became a vampire?” I asked, my voice hushed.

“No…although I have considered confronting her here in the city. I followed her to New York after our encounter. Since then, I have been lost as to why she has accepted their ways. But perhaps this life was forced upon her…”

“She offered to help me once,” I said, rubbing the mark on my arm. “I didn’t know if I could trust her.”

“I am not sure either. But if she is still on our side, she may be a good ally to have. Especially if she is valuable to the royals.”

“She is,” I insisted. “She controls the weather here. She keeps the clouds covering the sun. I’ve seen it myself.”

Julius stared at me in horror. “Then she has retained her slayer gifts...” A slow smile grew on his face as a plan formed behind his eyes. “She is our target. Do you know where to find her?”

I nodded, a thrill rolling through me at the mad plot we were designing. “I’ve been to her apartment. I think I could find it again.” My enthusiasm quickly scattered into a hundred doubts as I realised how impossible it was going to be to move through the city undetected. “But how are we going to get to her?”

Julius gave me a roguish look. “Don’t worry, damsel. I have ways.”

I tried to get more out of him, but he evidently enjoyed keeping me in the dark as he sank into his own thoughts.

I figured I had to place my faith in him, and if we pulled it off, tomorrow I would be facing Erik with a threat up my sleeve. The idea alone set my veins burning with adrenaline. How the hell was he going to react to me blackmailing him?

I pushed away my fears, my heart growing strong walls and sparking courage in my chest.

He blackmailed me first. It’s about time Prince Erik had a taste of his own medicine.