Chapter 39

Adrenaline surged as Sam let his demonic instincts consume him. He pushed Selene behind him and roared. The vampire had caught him by surprise, but the need for vengeance focused his mind. Time to end this.

"Hello again, little abomination!" Zaybris called, pausing to brush dirt from the shoulder of his velvet cape. "Queen Thema failed to mention it would be you bringing me my prize. Look how you've grown! Yet you still have your mother's eyes." He waved a hand at his guards, "Restrain him."

Six guards jumped down from the rock ledge to lunge at Sam simultaneously. They tried pushing him to the ground, but Sam was too strong. His fists shot out, punching and tearing at whatever body part he found. The vampires clawed at his bare chest, but he refused to move. If they took him down, Selene would be exposed. He tried to get a hold of their heads, but battling six opponents at once was difficult. Vaguely, he was aware of Zaybris coming toward them.

"My, you are lovely," the vampire said to Selene. "So fresh, so full of life."

"Don't touch her!" Sam shouted.

"Such protectiveness," Zaybris said.

"Run!" Sam said to Selene, but she was cornered between Zaybris and two boulders.

Zaybris looked toward his guards and made an impatient noise. "Surely you should have taken him down by now. What's that cloth around his horn? Go for that, you fools."

Sam couldn't keep the panicked, "No!" from escaping his lips. He head-butted the first vampire that reached for his horn, but another one leaped on his back. Sam moved to shrug him off, but not before cold fingers curled around his injured horn. The pain that shot through him was so intense he cried out. Stumbling, he heaved his back against the rock wall, hoping to dislodge the vampire.

It was then he heard a SNAP.

White-hot misery coursed through his body. Throbbing, savage agony. His knees met the cavern's floor before he fell facedown into the dirt. A scream sounded behind him. His eyelids slid shut as blackness threatened to overtake him. He fought it back. Must protect Selene. Rolling to his side, he watched helplessly as his greatest enemy approached his mate.

"Well done, let him suffer!" Zaybris said to his guards. "He'll be dead in minutes without that horn. Leave us now. My prize and I will be traveling a different route." He said, fingering the white stone suspended around his neck.

The vampire guards drew back, leaving Sam collapsed on the ground. One of them tossed something long and pointed at him, which landed near his head. In his delirious state, Sam first thought it was a tree branch. When he realized he was at eye-level with his own horn, revulsion set in. He fought back the nausea, along with the emptiness nudging at his consciousness.

Through blurred vision, he saw the guards run toward the cavern's exit then disappear. Sam tried to focus on Zaybris, who was speaking to Selene with impatient gestures. Even though she must be terrified, she wasn't cowering. Shadows swirled around her as they argued. The vampire reached out to grab her arm, but Selene pushed him back. The motion sent a whiff of Zaybris's scent toward Sam—the unforgettable odor of rot and dust. It filled Sam's senses, instantly bringing him back to the night he was kidnapped.

He remembered the fear, confusion, and terror he felt when he saw a vampire standing over his bed. Selene would be suffering those same emotions right now, plus the pain of his own betrayal. He had been a fool—a greedy, selfish fool who didn't deserve a mate such as her.

Voices drifted toward him. Selene's then Zaybris's, but he could only make out snatches of what they were saying.

"Get away from… "

"Margery's clothes… your scent drew me… "

"I won't leave… "

"Savior of my people… "

"Sam… "

"…my castle… to serve… "

Their bodies swam in and out of focus, and Sam gave himself an inward shake. The enemy was here, within his grasp. He couldn't lose now. Zaybris needed to die for vengeance, but more importantly, Sam needed to protect his fated mate.He had already caused enough pain, and he wouldn't fail her again.

Drawing from the depths of endurance, Sam felt around the dirt until he found his discarded horn, then gripped it tight. It felt dead in his hand and very wrong—like holding one of his own limbs. Though his strength was failing him, now he had a weapon. This wasn't over yet.

Give her what she desires most.

Weakly, he sat up, just as Zaybris was telling Selene about all the fine gowns she would be allowed to wear. Sam focused on the vampire's black shape while he climbed to his feet. Then quickly, before he let his weakness and pain consume him, Sam lurched toward the two of them and tackled Zaybris to the ground. It was more of a well-aimed fall than a strategic attack, but it achieved its intended effect. Restraining the vampire with the weight of his body, Sam tightened his grip on his broken horn before lifting it high. Then, calling on every last reserve of strength he possessed, drove it down into the vampire's chest.

Zaybris screamed and bucked, but Sam didn't move. He twisted the horn, relishing how the vampire's face contorted with pain. Zaybris coughed and panted until finally, his undead body stilled. Sam watched as his eyelids slid shut, and his pale face relaxed. He savored his bittersweet victory for only a second before gripping the traveler's stone and looping it off Zaybris's neck. Sliding off the vampire's body, Sam collapsed on the ground.

Instantly, Selene was at his side, and he smiled weakly. He had done it. Protected his mate, found vengeance from his greatest enemy, and claimed the traveler's stone as his own. Yet he could not bask in his victories yet. There was one more task he must complete.

He pressed the traveler's stone into Selene's palm. "Take it."

When she only gaped at him, Sam thought perhaps she didn't hear him. He tried speaking louder, even though the effort pained him. "The stone is mine now, but I gift it to you. Take it!"

"Oh, Sam, I—" she cried.

"Go home. To Gaia," he interrupted. "I'm sorry I tried to force you. To be with me. It was selfish. And cruel," his words were starting to slur now, but he wanted to make sure she understood. "I don't care about… Thema's sister. The stone is yours now. Touch it and think of your home. Go."

"But—"

"Hurry," he whispered. "Before more vampires come. Be happy. I love you. I'm sorry."

Her beautiful face was marked with anguish. It was becoming harder to keep his eyes open, and her image wavered in front of him. Suddenly, her body was jerked back. Panic flooded Sam. He looked up to see Zaybris standing over him, one arm banded around Selene to restrain her. Sam's own black horn protruded from the vampire's chest. He watched Zaybris pluck it out as if it were only a thorn.

"Ouch! You're lucky I don't breathe," Zaybris said, before tossing the horn clear across the cavern. He coughed then said, "Did you think your filthy horn could kill me? Wood is the only thing that can stake us, made from Earth's creation. But only when it hits a vampire's heart, hell-spawn, not a lung."

Zaybris then used his free hand to pry the traveler's stone from Selene's grip, though she didn't make it easy for him. Once the stone was free, Zaybris looped it around his own neck then laughed. It was a vile, slippery sound.

"Aww, poor demon! Isn't this poetic? What agony to be parted from your beloved!" Zaybris bent to lick Selene's neck, making her shudder. Sam made a strangled sound as he tried to grab at Zaybris's boot. The vampire quickly stomped down on his hand, breaking several small bones.

"What's the matter? You don't like having something dear taken from you?" Zaybris's smirk shifted to fury. "This is the misery I live with each day! Now, you can feel the pain I felt when Lilith left me to be with your father. And why I went all the way to hell to try to retrieve her!"

Then with a triumphant smile, Zaybris closed his eyes and squeezed the traveler's stone. In an instant, he and Selene disappeared.