Page 167 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

I groaned, raking a hand through my hair. “Is it too late to abandon my virtuous principles and merely lock her in a room until we’ve taken the city and Aster’s head has become a lawn ornament?”

Joking wasn’t providing its usual relief. Now, I was thinking about Aster, and Evie near Aster. In response, shadows leaked from me in vengeful, harsh whispers.

“We unmask in three weeks,” Harmony said. “In three weeks, you won’t have to hold back any longer. You will follow through on the plan you’ve been building for nearly a century. Weallwill.”

“My logical brain understands what you’re saying. My primal, emotional self wants it all. I want to uphold my duty to the realm and its many turned clan allies. And I also want to storm the Nighswander Estatetoday.”

Harmony’s gaze was firm, her warm brown eyes glowing with her gentle magick. “We can’t have it all. We have to choose.”

“I can’t lose her, Harmony. I can’t fucking lose her. And I don’t just mean her life. I also can’t bear for her to learn the hard way what Aster and Conrad are capable of. They want to pluck those pretty stars from her eyes, and I would rather die than let them.”

Harmony’s brows drew in. The room flooded with soft, healing energy. “And I think it’s those stars in her eyes that generate Evie’s greatest strengths and weaknesses too. Her hopefulness makes her brave and resilient, as much as it leaves her vulnerable and blind to danger.”

My heart felt like it was physically cracking behind my ribs. And like a lovesick fool, I still couldn’t help but smile at such a beautiful, tragic description of my soulmate.

“I’m glad you see it too.”

She smiled. “I adore your and Evie’s love. It makesmehopeful. I think it makes us all hopeful.”

I hadn’t felt so human since I first heard Evie tell me she loved me. Or maybe not since the beginning of all of this. The day I died and became reborn.

“On a different note,” I said. “Our allies along the route to Prospyrus are stable now and awaiting word. Last week’s skirmish was contained. As soon as Earle deploys his numbers, our allies will intercept and buy us time.”

Harmony was silent for a moment, assessing my sharp change in conversation topic. I swallowed, looking back to the correspondence before me.

“Can you help me figure out how to handle the shifter rivalry near Morha? It’s starting to trickle into clan affairs.”

Harmony nodded. “Of course, Kylo.”

“Good, Idris,”I said from behind a sparring mat. I decided to spend the afternoon helping out with combat and magickal instruction. That was another thing Princeton would’ve reminded me: Being of service liberated me from the bondage of self.

It was irritating how true this simple advice was. The more I made myself useful, brightening younger clan members’ days with my praise and insight, the better I felt inside my tormented mind.

I’d written to Evie, telling her I was working underground, but she hadn’t responded. And I was having very normal and sane feelings in the wake of her silence.

Idris was battling it out with a fellow newborn. He was agile and precise, exceptionally promising for a young vampire. I tried to keep such comments to a minimum, as I didn’t want to alienate him from his class of turned any more than he already was.

My clan was fiercely loyal and grounded. But we were vampires, and emotions and urges ran high. Especially in the young. Idris’s status as Evie’s brother was both a blessing and a curse to his ability to fit in.

The bearded man he was fighting suddenly took the upper hand, swiping Idris’s legs out from under him. He launched on top of Idris and pinned him with a match-ending hold.

Idris looked stunned, glancing from the man to me as his brow furrowed. He shook his head slightly, stood, and congratulated his opponent.

I was helping a woman communicate with her shadows when Idris found me again, sipping fresh donor blood.

“I hope I didn’t distract you,” I murmured.

The woman before us was using her shadows to move objects around, her forehead creasing in concentration.

“You didn’t. Don’t say anything, please, but… he used his blinding magick.”

Paternal protectiveness flooded me, but I remained outwardly level as I nodded in understanding. Using magick during hand-to-hand was prohibited. It defeated the purpose of honing those particular fighting skills. His opponent had cheated.

“So perhaps I did serve as a distraction,” I said with a sigh. “If you experience any real trouble, come to me at once or tell your superiors. We are nothing if we are divided.”

Idris looked away, frustration and discomfort souring his features. “I need to handle this myself. That’s the only way it ends.” At my imploring expression, he elaborated. “It’s not everyone, just a disgruntled few. Nothing warrants action from superiors. I need to prove myself. To earn my seat at the table like everyone else.” He paused again. “And please, for the love of all that is holy, do not tell Evie.”

I smirked, and my heart panged. “Okay, Idris. I hear you. There’s no reason to tell Evie—for now.”