Page 14

14

FELIX

Creeped out beyond belief, I stare at the ancient tome spread open before me, its pages brittle and yellowed with age. The ritual is complex, requiring precise timing. Blood rituals always do, even though I’ve studied them extensively. Knowing I’ll be the main ingredient makes it worse.

I’ve been here for hours, memorising every detail, every word, every sigil. If I’m going to die—temporarily or permanently—I want to know exactly what I’m getting into.

“You look like shit,” Dante says, sneaking up on me.

Well, okay. He’s probably being normal, but that vampire stealth will take some getting used to when I’m the one doing it.

“Thanks. Always nice to hear when you’re preparing for your own sacrifice.”

He slides into the chair opposite me, his blue eyes assessing. “Have you slept?”

“Sleep is for people who aren’t about to have every drop of blood drained from their bodies and then maybe turned into a vampire.”

“Fair point.” He leans forward, glancing at the book. “Found anything useful?”

I rub my eyes, fighting exhaustion. “The ritual is specific. Sigils, full moon, all that jazz. But I have to hold the sword as I bleed onto it. I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to do that, seeing as there are exactly two creatures who can wield it and I’m not one of them.”

“Three.”

“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “Forgot about him.”

“He’s hard to forget when Gaida is mooning over him.”

“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow.

“He is her fate, and he will die once Mashtar does, apparently. She’s taking it hard.”

“He will die… that might be something useful. Why am I only finding this out now?”

“Only just found out a bit ago. And then what happens?”

“And then I die,” I say it matter-of-factly, though my heart races at the thought.

Dante sits across from me, his eyes searching my face. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“About dying? Constantly. About becoming a vampire? I don’t know. It wasn’t exactly in my life plan.”

“And what was on your life plan?” he asks quietly.

I snort. “Graduate. Become the youngest Magister in a century. Eventually, earn a seat on the High Council of Sorcerers. You know. Usual stuff.”

“And now?”

I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant despite the knot of anxiety in my stomach. “Now I’m about to die, so a sword doesn’t destroy the world, then hopefully come back as a vampire sired to the woman I love, who also happens to be sire to my ancient cousin from another world.”

Dante’s laugh is soft, but there’s no humour in it. “When you put it that way...”

“How’s she doing?” I ask, unable to keep the concern from my voice.

“Confused. Scared. Determined.” He pauses, studying me. “She was with Luke and me earlier.”

“I figured.” I try to keep my tone neutral, but something must show on my face because Dante raises an eyebrow.

“Does that bother you? Because if it does?—”

“No,” I cut him off. “It doesn’t. Not in the way you think.” I close the book, needing to focus on this conversation. “What bothers me is that I might never get to experience that with her. That I might die and stay dead, and all I’ll have is the memory of lying in her arms.”

Dante’s expression softens. “She won’t let that happen. None of us will. If things go awry, Luke or I will step in. Probably me first. You know, so it’s less weird.”

“No offence, but if Gaida can’t turn, you won’t be able to.”

“By awry, I meant, if something happens to her and she can’t.”

“Oh…”

“We won’t let you die, Felix. You are stuck with us, like it or not.”

Something about that ride or die attitude warms the coldest part of my soul. I never thought I’d have that with anyone.

I swallow hard, touched by their loyalty. “Thanks. But I’d still prefer Gaida to do it. No offence.”

“None taken. I’m just the backup plan.” Dante taps his fingers on the table. “When is the full moon?”

“Tomorrow night.” I trace the moon phase diagram in the book. “And it needs to be at midnight, of course.”

Dante smirks. “Ancient blood rituals have a flair for the dramatic.”

“Exactly.” I stretch, my back cracking after hours hunched over the tome. “We need to prepare the ritual site. Somewhere secluded but accessible. And we need the sword.”

“Which is currently MIA.”

“It’ll return to Gaida. It always does.” I sound more confident than I feel. “The trouble is, how do I get my hands on it?”

“Maybe by fooling it into thinking you are Luke?”

My gaze shoots to his. “You might be onto something there. But not Luke… Gaida.”

“Meaning? I figured Luke because you are cousins.”

I shake my head. “That won’t be enough. But if I consumed enough of Gaida’s blood prior to the ritual, it might fool the sword enough for me to get a grip on it.”

“Plus, it will give you the added advantage of Gaida’s blood already being in your system,” he says, his eyes lighting up.

“Precisely,” I say. “It’s win-win.”

“Okay, so now you have to drink blood as a non-vampire.”

“Yeah,” I say, feeling quite ill at the thought. “And a lot of it.”

“Better run this past Gaida before we get carried away. But she’ll probably be on board. How much are we talking?”

“More than a sip, less than enough to drain her so she can’t complete her part.”

“Helpful,” Dante mutters.

Gaida walks in a second later with Luke close behind her. My heart does that annoying little flip it always does when I see her. Her eyes find mine immediately, and I can see the worry in her gaze.

“You look like you haven’t slept,” she says, coming to stand beside me.

“I’ve been studying the ritual.”

“And?” Luke asks, his gaze falling to the open book.

“It’s complex but doable,” I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel. “There’s just one problem.”

Gaida frowns. “What problem?”

“I need to hold the sword during the ritual. And last I checked, I’m not on the approved users list.”

Luke crosses his arms, his expression thoughtful. “There must be a way around that.”

“There is,” I say, meeting Gaida’s eyes. “But you might not like it.”

She sits down beside me, her cool hand covering mine. “Tell me.”

“I need to drink your blood before the ritual. Enough to fool the sword into thinking I’m you.”

Her eyebrow shoots up. “Okay, that’s not weird.”

“It’s not like you aren’t going to give it to me anyway, just after I’m drained dry,” I point out.

“Yes, but that is with you out of it and dying. Not alive and well and aware of what you are drinking.”

Dante leans forward. “This also might have the added benefit of making the transition easier. Your blood will already be in his system when he….”

“You can say it.”

“Nearly dies.”

It hurts. I can’t deny that.

“And you are willing to do this?” she asks.

“If it gets my hands on the sword, then we have no choice.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Then, we are screwed.”

“Great,” she mutters. “When?”

“Tomorrow at midnight.”

“Where?” Luke asks.

“I’m thinking at the stone circle in the forest.”

He nods. “Agreed. Apart from the sword issue, do you have everything you need?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we reconvene in the forest tomorrow at ten. It gives us time to prepare.”

“Until then,” I say, rubbing my temples to ward off the headache building behind my eyes, “I need to rest.”

Gaida nods and stands up. I notice the way Luke’s eyes follow her movements, possessive and protective. The sire bond between them is striking, an energy that crackles in the air. I wonder what it will feel like when—if—I share that connection with her.

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Dante offers, and I nod gratefully.

As we leave the library, I glance back to see Luke and Gaida with their heads bent together, speaking in low voices.

“You know,” Dante says as we walk through the quiet corridors, “this is going to change everything.”

“You mean me dying or me becoming a vampire?”

He snorts. “Both. But I was thinking about the sire bond.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, his gaze fixed ahead. “Luke and Gaida, it’s like they’re two halves of the same person now. And soon, you’ll be part of that too.”

“Does that bother you?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“No,” he says after a moment. “The question is, will you have a problem with me?”

I think about that for all of a second. “I have no right to have a problem with you, regardless of anything. She is yours. You are hers. It’s nothing to do with me.”

“Good answer,” he murmurs, and we walk the rest of the way in an easy silence.