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Ramedes glared but allowed us to pass. Then, as fast as I could, I ran with Nathan on my heels. We raced back to the entrance and found ourselves facing a gate of stone. It was a solid wall, and to open it, I would have to put Rahmon on the ground.

Ramedes appeared and chuckled.

“Decisions, decisions Vam’pir. What do you do now? To put Rahmon down will allow me to take him, and you’ll need two of you to open the gate. They’ll die one way or another, so why not let me save them?”

I cursed loudly as Ramedes laughed even harder. The bitch! Ramedes knew that she had us trapped and, at the same time, guessed I wouldn’t kill them.

Then, the decision was taken out of my hands. Kit opened her eyes and blinked.

Kit smiled as if she recognised me, and I heard her heart begin to slow.

Ramedes leapt forward, her hands outstretched.

“I can save her. Give me Kit,” Ramedes said urgently.

I peered down at Kit’s face and at Nathan, tears in my eyes.

Nathan shook his head. “You have to do it, Jaq. There is no other way. They are dying.”

I screamed aloud, full of pain, lowered my head, and bit Rahmon.

I have described the ecstasy of drinking, but here was no pleasure. This fulfilled a duty, not a need. I acted accordingly. Biting into my wrist, I forced the blood down Rahmon’s throat.

Ramedes began to scream and fell to the floor, clutching her stomach. I ignored her and turned away as Nathan lay Kit down at my feet as he moved to help the vampire being newly born.

I stared into Kit’s face and cursed myself a thousand times over before biting her, too. When I finished, I threw myself from them and let Nathan help.

I glared in hatred at Ramedes and realised that she was feeling everything that they did. They were linked! I rose and laughed in Ramedes’ face. But it was hollow laughter; I had not won. Not truly.

I had lost, Pal and Mera had lost, but maybe they would understand why I had to do it.

If I had taken two corpses back, then it would have broken their hearts, especially as Kit and Rahmon were so young.

Nathan soothed the twins as they moved through their deaths, and I thanked him for I would not have been able to. It had been bad enough watching Mihal die.

I could not watch their change, and I kept my eyes firmly on Ramedes as she cried aloud with them. I had not realised that Ramedes would be linked to this, and I hoped she experienced everything that they did.

She who had forced me into this. My hatred towards Ramedes reached its peak.

Chapter Seventeen.

There was no sympathy for Ramedes as she squirmed about on the floor, and I wished her pain would last forever. Mine would, and the task of telling Pal and Mera remained.

Let’s not forget Inka.It was easy to guess what Inka would assume.

In emotional turmoil, I turned to face Nathan as he called my name. Before me, in soiled clothing, stood the two children I loved.

Rahmon looked smugly triumphant, and I understood why.

He and Ami could now be together indefinitely. Nothing could come between them, and I noticed a bite mark on Nathan’s wrist. Agitated, I glared at Nathan, and he shrugged.

I guessed what he’d been thinking: better to make them strong with the blood of two, for Kit and Rahmon would need it. Rahmon grinned and stretched. He was feeling the connection and awareness of life surrounding you. For a Vam’pir, everything seemed brighter, clearer, and more connected to the environment.

Slapping Rahmon felt tempting but offered little benefit. Rahmon was enjoying this, and he would, because it awarded him Ami.

“Are you happy? Do you know what this has cost me?” I snarled at Rahmon.

The little shit shrugged.