Page 14 of Fated In Blood (Nocturne Vampire Clan #1)

14

BLAKE MARTEN

B ile clogged my throat at what I was about to do, but I was the girl’s best chance.

Tyrell would give her to Valaine, who would turn her death into a gruesome spectacle. The sick fuck would draw her suffering out as long as possible, and only when she stopped screaming, when her torment ceased to be amusing, would the bastard allow her to die.

I’d never shied away from violence, had done terrible things to protect my family and my species, but Valaine possessed a special kind of depravity, even amongst our kind. I knew from experience how twisted that monster was, better than anyone in this room.

I stepped away from Riordan, intending to help the girl to her feet, when she moved faster than I’d ever seen a mortal move. She reached down to push herself up, but instead, a blur of silver swept across her pale throat, and a sheet of blood painted the room red.

Bosch’s mouth dropped open, even Tyrell looked shocked, and the blond on his arm sank to the floor, her blue eyes wide with horror.

I knocked the knife from the girl’s clenched hand, her defiant gaze locking with mine for the final few seconds she had left on this earth.

Her mouth worked to get something out, some last plea, but only a froth of blood issued from between her lips, her broken fingernails dragging down her neck before she pitched into my arms.

For the first time since I’d known him, Laurent was at a loss. “How could she still have a weapon? You didn’t search her?” Beneath the coating of blood and dirt, Bosch turned ghost-white.

“I thought she used everything. Angel took her?—”

“Shut up, you fool,” Laurent snapped. But I barely heard him, too fixated on watching the girl fight to die, every bit as hard as she’d fought to live.

“I’m right here. I’ll be with you until the end.” She loosed a frothy sob, fingers digging into my forearm as if she was trying with all her might to stay with me, her broken wrist limp beside her.

My gaze wandered to the bloodstained blade.

The girl knew exactly what her fate was.

She’d understood her choices clearly enough to choose death, so death was what she’d get. I wouldn’t force the change on her, but I wouldn’t let her die alone in this fucking mausoleum. I pushed her tangled hair back from her face. “Almost over now, just a few more seconds, love. I know you’re strong, and brave, but you can stop fighting.” Christ, she was light as a feather in my arms. “Just let go, and this will be over in a few seconds.”

The comforting words I would have told my sister if I would have gotten to Cassmira in time. The words Cass would have deserved to hear, if I hadn’t been five stories below, trapped in Tyrell’s prison cells, waiting to die.

Her full lips parted on her final breath, a constellation of freckles standing out on her pale cheeks as the life flickered out of her face. She was lovely in death, peaceful, drained of all that consuming rage, sagging limply in my arms, those astonishing blue-gray eyes staring up at me the entire time, like somehow, we’d made a pact.

“Laurent.” The beautiful blond crumpled at his feet wept. “You said she’d become one of us. You can’t let her die. Please .”

“Turn her,” Laurent ordered harshly. “Or I’ll have Valaine do it. He’d enjoy having her as his, I think. She might even be strong enough to survive him.”

I cradled the girl closer, a growl rumbling in my chest. “That fucker so much as lays a finger on her, I’ll rip his arms from his body.”

“This is over, Tyrell,” Riordan hissed from behind me. “Whatever the fuck this is, it’s over . Your control only stretches so far, and you fucking know better than to push us right now.” Riordan’s voice was harsh, cruel, and absolute. He’d go up against Tyrell, but not for this girl…for me.

Just like before.

“There will be a day when you challenge me, pup, but not today. This is my castle. My kingdom. My game. Angel, my pet, go find Valaine. Tell him I have a special treat for him.”

The blond blinked up at Tyrell, her face a mask of confusion. “Is that the only way? I know I brought her here, Laurent, but Valaine…” She bit her lip. “Is he the only choice? She’s my sister, after all.”

“Stop. I said I’d turn her.” Riordan made a disappointed sound, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t go back in time. I couldn’t save my sister or any of the others, but I could make this one thing right. I could spare this girl the hell Tyrell would gladly deliver her into.

“Blake,” Riordan muttered warningly. “Don’t do this.”

Maybe I should obey my king. I didn’t fucking want to turn anyone vampire, but my warped sense of honor demanded I save this girl. But I wasn’t doing tricks for Tyrell’s entertainment.

“Fucking get out.” Books tumbled from the shelves at the force of my rage, ink-black shadows crawling over the blood-soaked floor. “I’ll turn her, but I’m sure as fuck not doing this in front of you.”

I wanted to rip that pretentious smirk off the Ancient’s face but could barely close my hand into a fist to strike him. That was how much power this bastard had over me.

Over all of us.

“See that it’s done,” Tyrell commanded Riordan breezily, ignoring me altogether as he swept out of the room. “Neither of you are leaving this castle until she’s turned and I see the results with my own eyes.”

“Do we even know her name?” Riordan crouched down beside me, his gaze fixed on the girl’s face. “Where did she come from?”

I shook my head. “Her name doesn’t matter. She’s just an innocent caught up in Tyrell’s depravities.”

My king’s expression darkened. “She might be innocent, Blake, but she infiltrated this castle by herself. Blew up an entire wing with explosives.” He dropped his voice. “She’s the one who killed Spencer and the others, and you know what that means. She’s here for a reason. Maybe something to do with her sister? Or to stop the auction?”

“Good. Someone needs to stop this fucking nightmare.” I regretted the words the second they came out of my mouth. “Fuck, Rohr, you know I didn’t mean that. You’ll find a way to get rid of Tyrell, you just need more time.”

For ten years, my friend and I had been working to stop Tyrell, and all we’d managed so far was disrupting his drug supply lines, confiscating some weapons, and freeing a truckload of blood slaves. We had few allies, and even fewer friends.

“It’s not too late to stop this, Blake,” Riordan finally said. “Turning her won’t bring back your sister. This won’t change anything.”

“Maybe not, but I can’t let Valaine lay a finger on her. Once I turn her…she’ll be my responsibility. For as long as she lives.”

That crushing sense of foreboding crushed down on me, the same heaviness I’d felt when Cass had disappeared, when we’d gotten the news Tyrell was holding her in this godforsaken castle. When I saw her body.

Air started sawing in and out of my lungs, my head suddenly light.

“Blake.” Rohr laid his hand on my arm, using the same tone I’d used a hundred times before. Level, steady, calming. I fucking hated the sound of his voice right now. I fucking hated all of this. We were nothing more than puppets dancing at the end of Tyrell’s strings.

“Fuck it. Give her to me.” Riordan’s jaw was set like stone. “This responsibility isn’t yours to bear. You’ve already given enough.”

My king—the only male I trusted—tugged the girl’s limp body out of my arms, my hands slipping off her torso as he stepped away. I couldn’t explain why I felt like I was losing an opportunity, why my chest felt so empty without her.

“I’ll turn her.” His voice was hard, his eyes like flint. “I’m not tangled up in emotion and grief right now, so this is a strategic decision. I’ll save her, then at dawn we’re leaving this fucking place.”

“And her?” I nodded toward the slender form cradled against his chest. “Is she coming with us?”

His narrowed gaze slid up to mine. “Only if we have no other choice.”