37. Callie

Iraced towards the doors at the far end of the cathedral and wrenched them open as the roof began to fall in lumps around me. Torrential rain poured from the sky and battered me, carried on a freezing wind. I took a step into it, but a cold hand landed on my arm, spinning me around.

I flinched away from Fabian, raising Tempest a fraction higher but unable to convince myself to strike him.

“Don’t go after him,” he breathed, his hand gripping my waist, his gaze boring into mine. “Stay with me.”

For a moment, I longed to give in to his request, the magic that was driving me towards him begging me to do so. Heat flared along my skin where his hands met my flesh, desire driving me close to madness as my focus dropped to his mouth, the way his shirt was clinging to his body in the rain...

I shook my head hard, pushing off those thoughts and shoving him back so he was forced to release me. I raised Tempest between us, the tip of the blade pressing to his chest right over his unbeating heart.

“This is madness,” I told him over the roar of the rain. “You have to see that. You don’t know me. You can’t love me.”

“If this is madness, then I’d gladly choose insanity,” Fabian replied, his voice rough as he held his ground, Tempest burning a hole through his shirt and scorching his skin where I kept it pressed to him. “I can feel more while I stand here looking at you than I have felt in centuries. I haven’t wanted anything like this in so long that I can’t remember ever feeling desire like it. You’ve awoken something in me, Callie, something that won’t rest until I make you mine entirely.”

“This wasn’t awoken, it was planted,” I spat.

My chest ached from this distance I was maintaining between us, my need for him sharpening to the point of pain. I wanted his mouth on mine again. I needed to feel the weight of his body pinning me down and the bite of his teeth against my-

I jerked back as that invasive thought pressed its way through my mind and was joined by another; a memory of Wolfe lunging for my throat, his eyes feral with the need for my blood, the scream ripping from me when I realised he’d taken my father instead.

Dad.

The grief I felt for him overrode all else. He had been stolen from me by the monsters this man ruled over. Our entire lives had been dictated by this creature and the vampires he called siblings. I didn’t lust over him, and I sure as shit didn’t love him. He was my enemy, plain and simple.

My grip tightened on Tempest, the urge to thrust it forward spinning through me as the blade roared for the death of a Revenant. But even with the blade helping me clear my thoughts and the sharpness of my grief anchoring me inside my own skin, I still couldn’t bring myself to do it. The pain I felt at the idea of a world without Fabian in it was too much to bear. But that didn’t mean I was going to let him drag me back to his castle either.

“You’re mine, Callie,” Fabian called over the rain. “Every piece of you feels the truth of that. I know you do. Lower the blade. Let me hold you. Let me kiss those-”

A cry escaped me as I launched myself at him, Tempest swinging wide, giving me room to twist closer. I threw a kick at his side, knocking him off balance, the element of surprise buying me a couple of seconds which would have to be enough.

I used the momentum to continue my spin, whipping Tempest around with as much strength as I could muster before cracking the hilt of the blade against Fabian’s temple hard enough to crack bone.

A choked sob caught in my throat at the thought of hurting him, but he was falling, stumbling to one knee with bright red blood spilling from the wound to his skull.

I met his dark eyes as he stared up at me in shock, an apology clawing its way up the back of my throat which I refused to let pass my lips.

“This is how it is,” I breathed before launching myself away from him and racing out into the rain.

“Elder?!” I cried as I sprinted through the storm.

The rain saturated me, plastering my hair to my scalp and my wedding dress to my body.

The clash of steel drew me further into the darkness and I charged towards it, needing to get far away from Fabian and the unnatural pull I felt towards him. I should have plunged Tempest into his chest. Why the fuck had I left him breathing?

I ran down the rain-soaked alley, following the sounds of fighting, Magnar’s battle cry leading me closer.

“Callie!” Fabian roared behind me, and I upped my pace.

I needed to get away from him, and I absolutely wasn’t slowing down in the hopes that he might catch me and take me away from here. Fuck.

I tightened my grip on Tempest, absorbing as much of its hatred for the Belvederes as I could, increasing my speed again. It urged me onwards, and I made it around the corner of the enormous cathedral.

I staggered backwards as Magnar crashed onto the ground in front of me. No, not Magnar; Julius. They were so alike in their battle leathers that I’d mistaken him for his brother. He tumbled over and over before pushing himself upright and raising his sword.

“Julius?” I gasped. “Have you seen-”

“Not right now, beautiful,” he grunted as he sprinted back into battle, Clarice racing to meet him with fangs bared and fury etched into her stunning features.

I wanted to help him somehow, but the two of them were like a force of nature. They collided with enough impact to rattle the ground beneath my feet, and I was certain I would only get in his way if I tried to assist him.

I looked around wildly. Julius should have had my sister with him, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Montana?” I called, frantically searching the shadows for any sign of my twin.

There was no answer.

The rain slammed down so violently that it was hard to see anything more than a few feet away, but I was sure if she was near, she would have answered my call.

Panic built in my chest and my heartbeat thundered in my ears. I had to find her. We couldn’t have gone through all of this for nothing. If I couldn’t get her away from here now, then Erik Belvedere would take her to his bed and force her to have his demon children.

I turned back towards the cathedral and started running even faster than before. My stilettos weren’t made for sprinting, but with the use of my gifts, I managed it.

“There you are!” Fabian caught up with me, the wound to his temple already healed, the blood washed away by the storm and his abs incredibly visible through his saturated white shirt. I raised Tempest, warning him back.

“Please stop chasing me,” I begged.

I knew I should be plunging the blade into his chest, but my muscles wouldn’t obey the command. It was all I could do to keep myself from leaping into his arms and ripping that shirt right off of him.

“I can’t.” He stared at me like I held the world in the palm of my hand and it was mine to offer.

“Try harder,” I growled, because this wasn’t fair, I was trying as hard as I could to keep on hating him, but when he looked at me like that, it chipped away at my resolve.

Fabian stepped closer, the tip of my blade touching his chest right above his heart once again as he held his arms wide.

“If you don’t want me, then you might as well kill me,” he breathed, his voice barely carrying over the storm. “My life is yours, Callie. I don’t know why, but it’s true. I can’t bear to be without you. If you don’t end me, I won’t stop coming for you. I need you to be mine.”

I gritted my teeth as the part of me who had been born to end the vampires battled against the part which lit with joy at his words. I wanted to drop my sword and rip his clothes from his body and... stab him, stab him, stab him!

I screamed as I pressed Tempest forward and a line of blood stained his white shirt. He didn’t move to stop me, but I couldn’t force my arm to continue.

We stared at each other, neither of us understanding what we were now. Neither of us able to move away.

A tremendous roar made me turn my head half a second before Magnar collided with Fabian, knocking him away from me and sending the two of them crashing into the street.

Venom was strapped across his back, and he fought Fabian with nothing but his bare hands. Magnar’s fist slammed into his face, and I winced as the impact was followed by a horrible snapping sound.

Fabian struggled beneath the bulk of the enormous warrior, and I almost wanted to step in and help him. I shook my head angrily. I didn’t want to help Fabian, I wanted to help Magnar.

As I hesitated, Fabian managed to get his legs up between them, kicking Magnar off of him with enough force to send him rolling across the concrete.

Magnar was on his feet again in moments, charging at Fabian again, death written into his features.

My heart tumbled over. I wanted to join the fight, but I didn’t think I could trust myself to help. What if my involvement caused Magnar’s death? Or Fabian’s? I wasn’t sure I could bear that either.

“There she is!” a female voice cried.

I turned at the sound of excited shouts behind me and found Valentina pointing me out. She gave me a dazzling smile and my eyes widened in horror as a horde of vampires swarmed for me, salivating like I was a freshly baked pie.

I swallowed thickly, raising Tempest between us and reaching for my gifts. Valentina was lost to the swell of the crowd, but I couldn’t spare any attention for her with the swarm of bloodthirsty monsters coming for me.

I had half a second to prepare myself before the hungry crowd fell on me, but that was all I needed. Maybe the gods had fucked me up and made it impossible to strike at Fabian, but I had no reservation at all about cutting through these beasts.

Tempest burned with pleasure in my palms, hungry for the battle, and I swung it before him as the first of them made it close enough to me. Blood flew, splattering my white dress, and I hefted the blade again, ending three of them in a ferocious strike that carved through blood and bone.

More piled into their place, surrounding me as they tried to get close enough to bite, every one of them feral with the desire to sink their teeth into me. I smiled like a savage at the vampires who thirsted for my blood, Tempest purring hungrily in my hands.

Let’s carve them from this earth, little warrior, it cooed. Give me a taste of their demise.

They came at me in a rush, but I didn’t falter, my grip on the blade unyielding, my need for survival undeniable.

I refused to let them have me. My blood was my own, and I’d carve through a thousand of them before they would ever take it.