23. Callie

We followed Julius through the ruins as he led us along a route he clearly knew well. I kept a few steps behind the brothers as they walked together, talking in low voices about people I didn’t know and places that no longer existed.

I didn’t begrudge them their time together, but it sent a pang of longing through my heart. Their bond was so strong and their love for each other so fierce that it was no wonder I missed my sister more than ever while I trailed along in their company. I was something separate to the two of them. They’d found each other but I was still desperately seeking Montana.

“We were hiding underground but I couldn’t resist the pull of the sun, so we came up here,” Julius said, glancing over his shoulder to remind me that he hadn’t forgotten I was there.

I appreciated the gesture, but I knew my presence paled in significance beside that of his brother.

“We?” Magnar asked with a frown.

“Ah yes... Well, she was nothing if not consistent. Always waiting on your return like a good little puppy. And I know what you’re going to say, but she insists she’s on our side, and we need her to keep controlling the weather like this.” He pointed up at the sky and I frowned in confusion. Was he saying someone had made the sun shine today?

Magnar pulled Julius to a halt. “You can’t mean-”

“Magnar?” a light, feminine voice spoke from the shadows and my heart leapt in alarm as I spun towards it.

A vampire stood at the edge of the wide courtyard we’d just stepped into. Her hair was dark and spilled over her shoulders in tumbling waves. She wore a tiny black nightdress which showed a whole lot of her toned body, and her full lips were parted in astonishment.

My grip tightened on Fury, but the vampire made no move to attack us, nor did the sun seem to be bothering her. I frowned in confusion as Magnar’s muscles tensed and his fist closed angrily.

It took me a moment to recognise her. When Magnar had shown her to me in his memories, I’d seen a slayer woman. The figure who stood before us now was clearly a vampire. More than that; she was an Elite.

The air filled with a deep kind of pressure, and I sucked in a breath as I sensed the goddess watching us. Idun’s presence brushed against me, and I felt like she could see into the depths of my soul. Whether she liked what she found there or not was hard to say.

“Valentina?” Magnar asked in surprise, his gaze sliding over her new form with unveiled disgust. “What have you done to yourself?”

“We are betrothed, Magnar,” she said, her voice silky as she stepped closer. “And yet you chose to sleep for a hundred years. How else could I have been there when you woke? You made a promise to wed me.”

Tinkling laughter filled my ears and I sensed Idun was still close, amused by their interaction. The sound set my teeth on edge and the hairs raised along the back of my neck. I wasn’t sure if the others could hear her or not. None of them reacted to the laughter if they could.

“I presumed that you would live out your years while I slept,” Magnar growled. “I hoped you’d find love with someone else.”

“Someone else? But I made a promise to you, Magnar. It’s etched into my skin.” She brushed her fingertips across a tattoo that curled above her heart and I realised it was a twin to the one Magnar hated on his own flesh.

“You cannot think I would still marry you?” Magnar asked in disbelief.

Julius released a wolfish laugh. “You say still as if you might have gone through with it once. I don’t think that was ever the case.”

Valentina’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Julius schooled his expression, though amusement still danced in his eyes.

“You swore an oath to me. Or have you forgotten that now you’ve found a new toy to play with?” Valentina’s gaze landed on me, and a cool breeze gusted around us as if the wind itself agreed with her less than appreciative opinion of me.

“I’m not anybody’s toy,” I growled.

I didn’t trust this bloodsucker no matter who she’d once been, and I didn’t like the way she was looking at Magnar as if he belonged to her.

“I hope you don’t feel special.” she sneered, and her gaze dripped over me, full of disdain. “You won’t be the first whore I’ve had to chase from his bed.”

My gaze slipped to Magnar briefly, but I simply scoffed. “I’m not his anyth-”

“You won’t speak to her like that,” Magnar growled, cutting me off.

He drew Tempest from his back and stepped towards Valentina, clearly intending to end her now, whatever past they held meaning nothing to him in the face of what she had become.

“We need her, brother,” Julius said softly, laying a hand on Magnar’s arm to stop his advance.

“You think we should trust one of them? She’s a parasite now; there’s only one thing they desire and only one thing to be done with them.”

Fear flickered in Valentina’s gaze, but she fought hard to cover it, raising her chin defiantly.

“Wait,” she breathed, raising a hand as Magnar advanced on her. “Do you really intend to break your word to the goddess?”

“I swore to marry a woman, not a bloodsucking leech. I also swore to destroy every vampire in existence,” he replied, his voice dangerously low. “I ended my own father’s suffering in much the same way. What makes you think I’d stay my hand for you?”

“After everything we’ve been through together?” she asked, backing away from him. “This is how little you respect your word to Idun?”

“It is you who has disrespected their oath. You swore to remove vampires from this earth, not add to their numbers.”

Magnar lifted his sword, but he froze suddenly. It was as though his muscles had seized up and he’d lost control of his body. Julius attempted to move towards him, but he froze too, a look of panic gripping his features. My heart leapt as I tried to step towards them but found myself rooted to the spot.

A feeling like icy water ran along my limbs and I couldn’t lift my blade or raise a fist. I couldn’t so much as turn my head. All I could do was stare in horror at Valentina as she padded towards Magnar on bare feet.

Idun’s grip on my soul tightened like a fist was squeezing my heart.

“I told you, Magnar, you must fulfil your promise to me before I will break your betrothal.” Idun’s voice echoed around us, and a shiver raced down my spine.

Valentina’s mouth lifted into a radiant smile as the goddess protected her from Magnar’s wrath. She closed the distance between them, pushing up onto her tiptoes as she ran a hand along the side of Magnar’s face. Anger prickled through me as I was forced to watch her paw at him like he was her property, all of us unable to do anything to stop her.

“I loved you so much,” Valentina breathed, gazing into his eyes like a lovesick puppy while he simply glowered back. “We could have had it all. I gave you my heart, Magnar Elioson, but you broke it time and again. This was your last chance.”

“I never wanted you when you were mortal, Valentina,” he growled. “And if you truly thought for a second that I’d want you like this, then you are utterly deluded.”

She hissed at him, baring her fangs and revealing the monster behind the mask. “Did you think I would just let you leave me alone, shamed and abandoned while you ran off to chase glory in the future?”

“I didn’t much care what you did. So long as it wasn’t with me,” Magnar replied, and I couldn’t help the surge of pleasure I felt as the sting of his words hit her.

“Well, as you have taken so much from me, perhaps it’s time I returned the favour,” she whispered, placing her hand on his chest. “Goodbye for now, husband.”

She pressed closer to him, leaning in until her lips met his. I could see the rage dancing in his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck, moulding her body to his.

A feral kind of anger built in me, and I longed to rip her off of him and smash her beautiful face against the sole of my boot.

A breath sighed across the back of my neck, releasing my muscles from Idun’s control.

Power flowed through my body as rage flooded me, and I ran at Valentina with Fury raised to strike her un-beating heart.

She heard me coming at the last second and turned just enough for my blow to catch her shoulder instead of ending her. I buried Fury deep into her flesh, and she spun away from me with a cry of outrage.

I caught her long hair in my hand, yanking her back before she could escape but I lost my grip on Fury as it remained lodged in her back, so I threw my fist into her face instead.

Magnar and Julius remained frozen in Idun’s grasp, forced to watch as our battle played out, and I could sense the goddess’s delight as I fought to destroy the vampire who had once been a slayer.

Valentina howled like a banshee and threw her arms around my waist, tackling me and sending us both crashing to the ground. I yanked on her hair and ripped a chunk of it out at the roots before punching her hard enough to break her damn nose.

Valentina cursed, managing to get on top of me and squeezing with her thighs to keep me beneath her.

Her fist slammed into my face, and I tasted blood as my cheek collided with my teeth.

I punched her solidly in the stomach, forcing her to double over so I could get my hands around her neck.

I was going to kill this psychotic bitch.

I squeezed so hard that something popped, and she threw her weight back, breaking out of my grasp and leaping to her feet as she coughed.

I scrambled upright too, spitting the blood from my mouth as I prowled after her, the knowledge of my ancestors tumbling through me.

Valentia ripped Fury from her back with a hiss and threw it at me. I twisted aside, managing to catch the loyal blade as it passed my ear, a savage grin tugging at my lips.

Kill her, it urged, longing to pierce her heart.

“How did you learn to fight like that?” she demanded, but I ignored her question, tightening my grip on the blade and lunging at her again, aiming for the heart.

Valentina’s eyes widened with fear, and she turned to flee.

I raced after her, my feet swift over the crumbing debris that lined the ruins as she sped away between the wreckage.

Magnar called out to me as I left him behind, frozen alongside his brother. But I couldn’t let her get away. She needed to pay the price for what she’d become. She would die for abandoning her vow and joining the bloodsuckers. I couldn’t stop, couldn’t think of anything other than ending her. It was like a drum had started up inside my skull and I was powerless to do anything other than move to its beat. Some small part of me knew this was insanity, understood that I needed to stop, but whether it was the power of the gods or simply the instincts my vow had placed within me, I couldn’t listen to reason. I just needed to end her.

As Valentina tore away from me, she weaved from side to side, grey clouds began to fill the sky and thunder boomed loudly overhead. I glanced up, missing the feeling of the sun on my skin as the unnatural storm built in intensity, the wind whipping around me, specks of rain dashing against my cheeks.

It made no sense, the change in the weather stirring from nothing, but I couldn’t think on it, my entire focus fixed on ending the immortal life of the monster I was chasing.

I rounded a final corner and skidded to a halt as I found Valentina standing in the centre of a wide open space between the decaying buildings. A male vampire stood beside her, his mouth parted in a deadly smile which revealed his sharp fangs. If it was possible, he was even more stunning than the Elite, his beauty beyond breath taking. His brown hair was pulled back into a neat tail at the base of his neck and his black suit was immaculate, at a sharp contrast to the crumbling destruction surrounding us.

My gut told me what he was, fear coiling through me like a viper waiting to strike.

I was standing face to face with one of the Belvederes.

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes stayed fixed on his ethereal beauty. Something like him shouldn’t exist. He was unnatural, enticing and terrifying all at once. I wanted to turn and run screaming from him, but he held me utterly captive in his gaze. And I was struck with the sense that it would be far more dangerous to run from him than it would be to stand my ground.

“How nice of you to save me the trouble of hunting you down, Callie,” the man purred with a voice as slick as silk. “Valentina’s Familiar told me where to find you, but I didn’t expect you to come running to me like this,” he purred, and his voice was smooth and alluring.

A little bat fluttered around his head and came to rest on Valentina’s outstretched hand for a moment as she smirked at me.

A trap. This was a trap which had been laid out before my feet and I’d stumbled into it like the foolish novice I was.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the one hunting you,” I replied, my voice low and filled with a confidence I wasn’t sure I felt.

“So it’s true? You’ve taken your vow?” His eyes were alight with curiosity as he took a step closer to me.

Adrenaline spiked through my veins but I held my ground.

“Maybe you’d like to see how my training is coming along?” I offered as Fury practically vibrated with the desire to kill this vampire who called himself royal. I widened the channel that connected me to my gifts, letting them flow into me like never before as I prepared to take him on, wondering if the combined memories of my ancestors would be enough to match this monster.

“Maybe you can show me once we’re wed?” His eyes glittered as they slid over me in a way that made me feel naked. I wanted to hide from his gaze and hope that he would forget he’d ever seen me at all.

“I’d sooner die,” I growled.

Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the crumbling buildings. More vampires than I could count lay waiting within each window and doorway, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Fear flickered through me, and I wondered if I might stand a better chance if I ran after all.

“You are quite the specimen,” the Belvedere said as he began to prowl towards me. His movements were fluid and feline, his powerful body a machine honed to kill. I planted my feet in anticipation of a fight I wasn’t at all prepared for. I wouldn’t let him take me. No matter what happened, this monster wouldn’t get his hands on me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful human. Wouldn’t you agree, Valentina?”

Thunder crashed violently overhead.

“She’s nothing special, Fabian,” she sneered dismissively but I didn’t miss the irritation flashing in her eyes at the comment.

“Come now, jealousy doesn’t suit you. Look at the colour of her hair. At those stunning eyes which just want to drink in the whole world. And her mouth... I could take a lot of pleasure from that mouth alone.”

Thunder boomed again and the wind picked up furiously. I shivered in my thin shirt, cursing the loss of my coat as rain flooded down from the heavens.

“I get it. You want to fuck her. You don’t have to pretend she’s something unique in the process.” Valentina glared at me as if I was responsible for the things he’d said, and I swallowed back the fear that grew in me. I was a slayer. I didn’t need to fear the likes of her.

“Cat got your tongue, Callie?” Fabian asked.

He ignored the pounding rain as it drenched him, sliding his jacket from his shoulders and tossing it aside. The water quickly turned his white shirt transparent, and it clung to his muscular frame indecently. I got the feeling that was meant to be for my benefit and my lip curled back in disgust.

“I have nothing to say to you, bloodsucker,” I growled.

His eyes burned with excitement, and he smiled at me in a way that seemed like it was meant to be flirtatious. It only made me want to stab him more.

“Hurry, Fabian,” Valentina interrupted anxiously. “Who knows how long the goddess will hold the brothers? My bargain with Idun won’t buy us much more time.”

“It would be my pleasure,” he replied hungrily.

Fabian shot towards me in a blur of motion that defied all logic and I barely had time to react before he was upon me. He seized my arms, but I’d already prepared for it and I slammed my shoulder into his chest, throwing him off balance.

I gave my body over to the memories of my ancestors as he tried to grab me again and I twisted away from him, slashing Fury at his throat to force him back a step.

Fabian advanced once more, but I ducked low and stabbed Fury at his thigh. He slammed a hand into the side of my wrist, and I cried out as the force of it resounded through my bones, barely managing to keep hold of the blade.

“Callie!” Magnar bellowed from somewhere close in the ruins, and my heart soared as I realised he’d been released from Idun’s grasp.

“Here!” I yelled as I twisted away from Fabian.

He hounded after me with a deadly desire in his eyes, but I managed to evade his grasp again and again, using all of my gifts to simply stay out of his grasp, unable to give a single moment to trying to attack.

He was so fucking fast.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the other vampires flooding out of hiding as they moved to intercept Magnar and Julius, my small ray of hope dwindling as I backed up faster, my heart thrashing with panic.

Fabian drove me back, forcing me further from the other slayers. I screamed my defiance into his face, ducking beneath his arm and throwing myself at him in a desperate bid to land Fury in his chest but he moved so fast that I struck nothing but air.

The rain slammed down on us, running over my face and pooling beneath my feet. I slashed my blade towards his stomach as he came for me again, but he batted my hand aside with a breath of laughter, his hand gripping the front of my shirt and yanking me towards him.

“Come on, you know you can’t beat me, love. You may as well stop this,” Fabian growled, leaning close to kiss me, his words washing over my lips.

I swung Fury towards his throat, the closeness making it easier, and he snarled as he caught my arm at the last second, dragging me against him.

I tried to fight my way out of his grip, but his fingers locked on my elbow like iron, his hold impossibly strong.

“Let me go,” I breathed, and a cruel smile graced his lips as I begged.

“Not likely, love. Stop fighting now and I promise I’ll be gentle with you.”

I stared into his rich brown eyes, looking right at the monster who had caused so much of the ruin which had befallen my kind, and I found no mercy there, no humanity lingering at all. This was a game to him. One he only expected to win.

He tugged me closer, and I forced the resistance to sink out of my body as he reeled me in, letting him think he’d won, allowing him to believe he had me beat.

“That’s better,” Fabian said, his gaze roaming over my face, lingering on my mouth, then trailing to my throat.

The moment his focus locked on the pounding pulse there, I released my grip on Fury from the hand he held immobilised and caught it in the other, driving it towards his heart in a movement so fast that victory sailed through my soul a breath before the blow could land.

Fabian lurched away from me at the last second, throwing off my aim, but the blade still drove deep into his stomach.

Bright red blood gushed over my hand as he shoved me out of his arms. I staggered back but managed to stay on my feet.

“Shit,” Fabian hissed as Fury burned his skin and the stench of smoking flesh filled the air between the rain drops.

I didn’t wait to see him remove the blade, I simply turned and fled.

My boots pounded through deep puddles, splashing filthy water over my legs as I ran as fast as I could, locking my sights on Magnar and Julius where they fought the horde of vampires dividing us. I just had to get to them. They were the only thing that mattered.

I sped towards them, mourning the loss of Fury as I raced across the concrete, flinching as thunder boomed violently overhead, lightning joining it with a feral blast across the sky.

Tempest swung in a high arc above the crowded bodies as Magnar bellowed a challenge and my heart lifted with hope. He was so close. I only had to reach the two of them and I knew we would be able to fight our way out of this, no matter how unlikely the odds seemed.

Out of nowhere, my face collided with something impossibly solid, and I cried out as strong arms gripped me, holding me on my feet.

I fought to free myself, looking up at my attacker and finding another Belvedere staring down at me, curiosity sparking in his bright blue eyes. His blond hair was pushed back in a boyish coif and his lips lifted in an amused smile as he resisted my attempts to break away from him.

“Got ya.” He grinned.

He yanked me against his chest, clamping me in place with one arm while pulling something from his pocket.

I cried out as I spotted the needle and started thrashing against his hold with more vigour, yelling curses at him as I kicked and punched and tried to crack my skull against his nose. When that failed, I bit down on his arm where he held me, tasting something sickly sweet as I broke the skin. I spat to remove his blood from my mouth, and he shoved the needle into my neck in the space between two heartbeats.

“Sorry about this,” he muttered as my limbs relaxed against my will, and my heart thrummed like a hummingbird in my chest. “We’ll break the curse together. You’ll see.”

“No,” I breathed as darkness curtained my vision and he pulled me into his arms. “No...”