Page 14 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

EVANGELINE

T he dining hall of Laith Castle was colder than it should be in May, but I was finally in clean—if ridiculously expensive—clothes, my hair neatly braided down my back, a knife hidden in my boot, poking at the food on my plate.

The meat was lamb, with potatoes in a buttery sauce that should have been the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.

And, after ten wonderful hours in bed with Blake and Riordan, I should have been starving, but every time I looked down, all I saw were the hideous veins beneath my skin.

Were they getting darker? Longer?

Was I being poisoned from the inside out?

All those little, insignificant differences were now insidious problems, from the coldness of my skin to the way my bones felt heavier than before. That sense of foreboding grew and grew, until I could hardly concentrate on anything else.

Light from the high arched windows spilled across the stone floor, the long dining table, the heavy scent of limestone and iron and woodsmoke clinging to everything—as if the smells were so firmly engrained in this castle, no amount of cleaning would ever get rid of them.

Finn stood at the end of the long table, large enough to seat all of us, his uniform jacket half-unfastened, cell phones and laptops and half eaten food littering the table in front of us as he went back over the plan.

All of us gave Finn our full attention, except the one person who this whole venture centered around. The one who chose to remain in the shadows.

Who wouldn’t so much as meet my eyes this morning.

And maybe I should feel guilty about spending last night with Blake and Riordan, but…I couldn’t. Yesterday I’d been so sure I could make this work between the four of us, and today…I was doubting everything.

“This won’t be a clean entry. Chateau des Ombres éternelles layout has changed significantly since the explosion, so we’re working off old intel.

There could still be some thralls, and the rift will pose a significant danger.

But we’ll land in waves—once my Knightsguard secure the lower area, Blake and Nash will take point, since they're the last ones who’ve been there. ”

“And me,” Riordan pushed to his feet, chair legs squealing as they dragged across the floor. “I’ll be going in with everyone else.”

I saw the look Finn exchanged with Blake, the argument poised on his lips, and while part of me wanted to get a bucket of popcorn and watch the show, we were under the gun, so to speak.

There was a frantic sense of urgency to the morning, and while I was being kept in the dark about the purpose of the mission, I could read a room. Time was of the essence.

My gaze drifted back over to Malachi, barely indistinguishable from the shadows in the corner of the room. Was he running out of time? Or was the rift deteriorating faster than I’d been told?

Despite the danger, I hoped it was the latter .

“King Riordan will accompany Marten and Nash,” Finn corrected himself, without missing a beat, “followed by Malachi, and…” his blue eyes landed on me, his mouth tightening.

I held his narrowed gaze, practically daring him to make that argument and see where it got him.

“Evangeline. When everyone is in place, we’ll begin dematerializing up to the Keep, once we’ve ensured the area is secure and free of threats. ”

Blake snorted. “Good fucking luck with that.” He muttered, Nash nodding in agreement.

Fiona was staying behind to tend to Eldric, who was grumpy the healers wouldn’t release him in time to make this excursion, though I was secretly grateful we wouldn’t be scraping him up off the ground when this was over.

“I’ll be going in with Riordan and Blake,” Nikolai said, tapping his finger on the table.

Finn threw up his hands in disgust. “Bloody fucking hell, why don’t we all just fucking go?”

“Because someone has to stay here and make snacks for when you return.” Ash strode in, dark curls bouncing, her tattooed sleeves on full display, a gorgeous mix of red roses and dragons and piles of… books ?

“Stop being such a grump, Finn.” She winked at me as she pushed up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Everyone could follow your plan to the letter, and it wouldn’t matter.”

“And why is that, sweet girl?” The big warrior growled, his indignation clear. “This is a well thought out plan, I’ll have you know.”

Ash shook her head, “because I give you ten minutes before everything goes to shit. The more firepower you take with you, the better I’ll feel about this entire thing.”

“The thralls aren’t the real threat. Ravok might have left some traps, and you haven’t seen the rift…

or the broken ley li ne. The entire place is a powder keg waiting to blow.

” Blake explained, tipped back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. Nash nodded in silent agreement, a vicious gleam in his eyes like he couldn’t wait for retribution.

“The Knightsguard will secure the perimeter, but if that rift collapses, or the ley line ruptures, we evacuate, on my order, no arguments…” Finn let the silence finish his sentence.

All around were a series of mumbled agreements, and I folded my trembling hands in my lap, the stone beneath my boots feeling as fractured and unstable as our harebrained plan. How in the hell could we be going back there already?

Why didn’t we get a reprieve, a few days to regroup?

Finn tapped a finger on the table, long enough for the room to quiet.

“I have to voice my objection; I hope you won’t take offense.

” Actually, Finn sounded like he didn’t give a good goddamn if anyone did take offense as he looked directly at Riordan.

“This will be dangerous, and you are not part of the ritual. As king, you should stay here.”

“You can fuck right off.” Riordan’s answer came without hesitation. He tipped his chin up. “You’ll need me on this, and I’m not sitting on the sidelines?—”

“You are the king of your clan. And apparently, every bit as reckless as my fucking brother,” Finn snapped, “I already debriefed Dravin and Wolf. Both of whom are back to fighting condition, thanks to our healers. If Ravok reappears, how am I supposed to protect you when?—”

“I don’t need your protection. This is my responsibility, my family .” Riordan’s eyes landed on Blake and me, and his voice softened, but there was steel underneath. “I’m not staying behind while everyone else walks into the fire.”

“I’d listen to him, Forge,” Blake shook his head with a knowing chuckle. “He’s twice as stubborn as you could ever hope to be, and not only can Riordan take care of himself, I’ll be watching his back.”

“ We’ll watch his back,” I muttered, elbowing Blake in the ribs. “Like always.”

“This is a fucking bad idea.” Finn muttered, the tension between them crackling before he shook his head, defeated. “Fine, but don’t blame me when things go to shit. I hope you can handle yourself.”

“Don’t fucking worry about me handling myself,” Riordan’s entire body was tense and ready, a faint, fiery glow surrounding him like an aura.

I totally agreed with Finn. This was a bad idea. I didn’t want to go back to France, but it made sense—the only place we could reverse Malachi’s transformation was in that pool. I ran my fingers down my arm, swore those veins pulsed in response.

God, what if I was changing not because of the rift, but because of the ritual?

What if Malachi was still transforming, too, in ways not visible to the eye? I glanced over my shoulder, and he was staring right at me.

“You worry about yourself, commander,” Rohr said, chin tipped up, that wickedly arrogant fuck-you smile sending a delicious shiver straight through me.

And that’s when I realized…Riordan is not only my lover, he is not just my friend…

he is my king . Somewhere along the line, Riordan Graves had become my king.

My throat tightened. I belonged somewhere.

Belonged to something huge and important and life changing in a way that felt bigger than myself. Belonged, not to a fucked-up family of cruel, self-serving slayers, but to a clan of formerly-mortal-enemies, and belonging felt good .

Once again, my eyes strayed to the shadowy edge of the hall, beneath one of the towering stained-glass windows, where Malachi crouched like some ancient gargoyle left behind by an older, darker world.

The light slid over the sharp ridges of his monstrous form—curved talons, skin scorched in fire.

His amber eyes glowed faintly, tracking every word, every movement.

Still, he remained alone, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Malachi?

No answer.

Please don’t shut down. Just let me know you're still with me.

Nothing. Not a flicker of acknowledgment. Like a door slammed closed in my mind.

I swallowed, hard. None of this was fair, none of this was what we wanted, but heading back to the pool, to that hideous room, might give him back his humanity. But his silence hurt, and I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t talk to me.

Finn’s voice pulled me back. “We leave in two hours. Prepare yourselves. Rest if you can.”

He didn’t say good luck.

As the others began to file out, I remained behind. I looked to Malachi again, and the monster looked back.

But for the first time, the male I knew—the one I loved—was nowhere to be seen.