Page 62

Fifty-Seven

ALEC

The scents track to the abandoned cottage he once lived in with Cora. It’s a disintegrating mess after centuries of lack of care, but the one place he always returns to, trying to keep her memory alive.

I’m not surprised this is where he brought Harlow.

I enter the cracked doorway slowly, catching their quiet hum of conversation. Of him announcing I’ve arrived, taking away any element of surprise—not that I didn’t believe I’d get one with him. Centuries of friendship allows him to know how I move, act, and think.

Harlow resting against one wall knocks against my empty chest cavity, just the sight of her filling what hasn’t been alive in a very long time. But the feeling quickly dissipates when I take in how she looks. Her skin is pale beneath the smudges of dirt, her normally vibrant hair lies limp around her shoulders. The wall seems to be keeping her upright. Her eyes flash between her witch purple and vampire red, confirming she’s in transition.

You’re alive, I throw down the connection, praying it’s fused together enough she can hear. It’s packed with desperation she never leave again, and relief at finding her alive.

Not without difficulty.

My witch tries to stand, determined to be strong even now, but she doesn’t have to prove shit. The fact she’s made it this far speaks volumes. In her attempt to get her feet beneath her, her hair shifts to the side and I catch the faint imprint of five fingers around her throat.

Murder runs through my veins, but it’s centuries of self-control that keep it tapered while I take in the other person here. My oldest friend. My brother in every sense of the word.

“Alec,” he greets in a friendly tone. “Took you long enough.”

“Cedric. Thank you for unburying Harlow. I saw the destruction left behind.” I go for cordial, hoping, fucking hoping , this isn’t what it seems like.

“I was on my way there anyway.” He clamps his hand on her shoulder, fingers digging in until she flinches, but I hold my ground until a prime opportunity. “Had business with the witches.”

I tried, her voice comes through. I tried to fight, but my body is weak. The magick I used, dying, it’s too much.

I got you, Hellion. Just hold on a bit longer.

“Hope it got completed,” I say to him. “I’ll be taking Harlow now.”

He smiles, but it’s nothing like the ones I’ve gotten from him over the years. It’s the one he gives his prey right before devouring them, when he’s always chasing the freshest blood, no matter who he destroys to get it.

“Oh, but she’s part of my business, old friend. It’s simple, really. You murdered the woman I love, so I’ll be taking your Bride.”

Of course, it’s about Cora. It’s always been about Cora.

My eyes flash to Harlow again as I step deeper into the room, keeping my distance. I know Cedric. The way he hunts, tortures, and plays these kinds of games. I know how he fights, what his weaknesses are.

But he also knows mine. And he’s presently holding onto my newest and biggest one yet.

You’ll be okay, I tell her.

“You’re punishing me because you blame me for Cora’s death, but you think I haven’t been paying for it every second of eternity? She was my sister , Ced. My baby sister, who I did everything to protect.”

“You protected her until you didn’t,” he says cryptically, his grip on Harlow making her flinch. Her transitioning strength is meager compared to a vampire with centuries of power within him, and if wasn’t bad enough, he makes it worse by dragging her in front of him, placing her on her knees facing me.

It hurts. Everything hurts. My throat is like a desert. My gums sting.

“Let her go, Cedric. You know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

Her eyes flick to the fireplace across the room. There’s blood in the cup.

You’ll be okay, I promise. We’ll get you out of here and we’ll get you blood. Do you have magick?

A witch transitioning into a vampire is something I’ve never heard before. Witches generally avoid getting attacked and vampires couldn’t be bothered. If she is the first of her kind, then everything’s on the table. Everything’s unknown.

I don’t know. I’ve tried to call on it, but I’m too weak.

“I could,” he muses. “Or I could force you to witness her slow demise as she dies without the ability to complete her transition. She’ll die as neither a witch nor a vampire, and we both know an unchanged vampire’s death is slow and excruciating. Hours filled with agony. Or...” He slides his hands around her head, touching my mate. “I can snap her neck and be done with it. You’ll remain alive just long enough to witness her death before succumbing to your own.”

“It’s a lot of effort to go after her when you had a lifetime with me.”

“You’re right,” he replies, his tone slow and thoughtful. “You fucked it up the moment you decided to keep this one alive. Then you went and mated her and…” He chuckles. “I can’t let you have your woman.”

“I don’t deserve her, yes.” I test taking a step nearer, forcing my attention onto him rather than Harlow though it fucking pains me. “We’ve had spats before, brother, we can figure this out. Let her go. Let her drink.”

“Brother.” His lip curls. “You lost that right when you chose her over Cora.” He releases Harlow with a hard jerk, and she catches herself, her hair whipping over her shoulder when she twists to glare.

He’s an asshole.

Stay down, I command her. Play weak. Bow your head.

She follows my instructions but not before a quick defiant look my way.

“I’ll do anything, Cedric. You want me on my knees? I’ll get on my fucking knees. You want my crown? It’s yours. Castle, lands, title, everything. She’s all I want.”

“And Cora’s all I wanted.”

“I know.” I step forward again, this time shifting my feet slightly, preparing to attack. Cedric thinks he’s winning, so he won’t let Harlow go. I see that. “If you were anyone else, you’d be dead already. The deep history between us is too important, but this is your only chance, Ced. Let her go or I don’t have a choice.”

“No.”

Stay low and move away.

She doesn’t ask why, doesn’t look at me but ducks and rolls out of the way, mere seconds before I’m on top of Cedric, taking us both to the ground.

Leave! I command, begging for her to run, escape, find blood before she collapses.

Her steps scrape against the cement floor and it’s all I pay attention to before giving the rest to Cedric. He hears her escaping too and roars, kicking my stomach and managing to toss me off him, my back thudding against the far wall, it cracking beneath my weight.

Cedric and I are minutes apart in immortal age, so he’s nearly as strong as I am. But he also knows my tells. A lifetime of friendship rolls into his next punch, and my next bite. Of knowing one another’s incoming move even before it happens.

He lunges, but I reach for his ankle, yanking him to the ground. He yells out, rolling, and forcing me to my back. I reach for his head, intending to yank it off his shoulders.

He blocks every oncoming hit with his own.

On and on it goes. Two vampires battling through the old building, every knock into the wall making it deteriorate more, a testament to the life Cedric once had with my sister.

When he grabs onto me again, the ground shakes.