Page 48 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)

Eliza

I was used to worst-case scenarios in my line of work. When one’s job includes taking deadly risks, preparing for the worst outcome was a must, or you’d go insane.

But no amount of preparation could’ve braced me for the chaos that ensued in the Hecatomb arena.

From my hidden spot near the exit of the arena, I watched as the scenario I feared most came to pass.

Atalon killed Ragnor.

My friend. One of the few people on this damned planet I actually trusted.

Despite our recent arguments, and many differences, I cared for Ragnor deeply. He was like family. Like the brother I never had.

He was also one of the strongest men I’d ever known.

And yet he was killed right before my eyes.

And unfortunately, the disasters only kept coming from there.

A scream cut through the air. It was bloodcurdling and full of agony, as if the woman who screamed was dying.

I whipped my head in the direction of the scream, seeing Aileen Henderson in the gallery, standing, seeming as if she was being killed over and over again.

Instincts took hold of me just then, and I burst into the arena, running at full speed toward Aileen. A bad, ominous feeling filled my stomach, as if my senses caught on to something my mind didn’t, and I knew better than to think twice.

But before I could reach the gallery, Atalon was there, taking hold of Aileen so fast, no one could stop him.

I saw some of Ragnor’s vampires trying to move into action, but Atalon was unnaturally faster, holding Aileen—who’d stopped screaming and now lay in his arms, too still for my liking—and running toward the exit.

Changing direction, I ran after him, wishing I could be faster, but I was no vampire, and certainly not a vampire Lord.

I chased after Atalon as he exited the arena through the dark corridors, but I lost sight of him soon enough. Still, I didn’t relent, the foreboding feeling propelling me forward, telling me that if I didn’t get Aileen away from him, the thing I’d been trying to prevent would come to pass.

But even after I ran out of the arena, Atalon was nowhere to be found, Aileen gone with him too.

“Fuck!” I snarled as I ran through the streets of Houston, trying to look for any trace of Atalon, but to no avail.

It was all in vain.

So at some point I stopped, fighting to catch my breath, dread cascading through my body.

I had to do something, but what could I do? My own powers were still depleted after I’d overexerted myself. I was in danger too.

And yet, if I didn’t find Aileen, if what my instincts were telling me was true, then soon, none of it would matter.

Because the world as I knew it would be over.