Page 20 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

Our tattoos and vampire essences were a union between our maker’s magick and our own, which was why no vampire’s gifts, skills, powers, and appearances were the same. The only constant was our shadows, which I now believed belonged to Hekate—even before she’d formally presented herself through Evie.

The mortals and turned had a goddess on our side, for reasons I was only beginning to understand. I’d always known greater forces were at play, made obvious by the numerous clans of turned rising up across Ravenia, but being a part of something so cosmically grand humbled me.

I’d been keeping careful watch of Evie as she napped on the floor behind us in a puddle of shadows. They roamed over her protectively.

It was fucking adorable.

I wanted her away from Idris, but her spell circle remained steady. We needed the concentration of magick and intention until Idris’s markings were in place.

My own exhaustion was starting to reach me as I carefully needled into Idris’s chest. I’d asked him where he wanted each sigil, and he’d just shaken his head as his brows drew together. I carefully chose for him.

I smiled when one of the sigils’ onyx hues turned midnight purple, like a few of mine.

“Kylo?”

Evie’s groggy voice reached me right on time.

“Angel, I need you to release the circle now,” I said, striking a balance between commanding and soft. I kept my eyes on Idris, watching for a change.

I carefully set down the bone needle and enchanted ink in a box of magickal supplies.

Evie decided to be a good girl, and I immediately felt the energetic shift in the room. There was a sudden stillness when the circle’s misty border evaporated.

At the flash of Idris’s fangs, I executed the correct next steps.

“I’m going to take you somewhere to feed. I’m also going to find some of your turned friends and classmates to be with you.”

Idris needed familiarity. He was a bright kid. He likely suspected which of his older classmates were part of the clan. When I’d blacklisted him from recruitment per Evie’s desperate request, I’d learned he was already on our list of potentials.

He was going to have more support than he knew what to do with. He was going to be okay.

I helped Idris to his feet and supported him as he leaned against me, still half-paralyzed.

Evie was making an admirable effort to stand.

“Stay put, angel,” I said, and this time the command was sharper. “Idris is okay, but if you approach him, he will try to eat you. He has no control over it, and it will be rather traumatic for you both.”

Her eyes scanned Idris rapidly as she swayed on her feet. Tears spilled down her cheeks, her lips wobbling.

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Good girl,” I whispered. “He’s not going anywhere. You’ll be able to see him soon. I’ll be right back.”

I headed to the door. “You can go back to sleep. I’ll carry you somewhere more comfortable when I return.”

Those big gray eyes were wide, her soft pink lips parted slightly.

“Evie, you just rose someone from the dead.Rest.”

8

EVIE

Irose someone from the dead.

I’d heard of such a thing in myths and legends, but never in magickal case studies—never in the realm of verifiable reality. Witches were not meant to cheat death. Not like that. Not after a soul had already been returned to Helia.

It had all been a haze. I’d been almost entirely in a trance state, and it often felt as though other beings had taken up residence in my body throughout the rite. Words and actions had poured from me beyond my conscious awareness.