Page 23 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

I caught my breath, staring at the blank wall where the archway had been before I’d been cut off from Blake and Rohr. They were still out in those tunnels, searching for a way back to me, and I squeezed my eyes closed.

My love for them spanned this entire realm, but Malachi…he needed me.

Blake and Riordan would take care of each other, like they always had, they would keep my sister and everyone else safe, and when I returned—and I had to believe I would—I would beg their forgiveness for leaving.

The smart play was to retreat.

But I couldn’t escape this room. Ravok would already be healing, and once he recovered, I would never beat him.

Staring into that abyss, I knew with crystalline clarity that I only had one option.

Every moment Malachi spent in that hellscape would push him further from the male he had chosen to become and closer to the god he was slowly turning into.

“You know nothing about loyalty,” I said quietly, my voice carrying clearly in the chamber's acoustics. “You know nothing about love.”

“If you think you’ll survive what’s on the other side, you’re the fool.

” Ravok's expression shifted, a flicker of pain crossing his face as he hefted the athame, keeping his other hand pressed to his belly wound.

“Love is an illusion. A chemical reaction designed to ensure the continuation of the species. Nothing more.”

“Love is what separates us from monsters like you.” I took another step toward the portal, feeling that inevitable tug. “Love makes us willing to sacrifice everything for someone else. It's what makes us mortal.”

“Love makes you weak,” Ravok snarled, one hand pressed against the wound, trying to stem the fountain of thick, black blood seeping down the front of him. “Allow me to demonstrate?—”

But I was already moving, diving toward the portal with every ounce of speed and desperation I could muster. Ravok swung that silver blade, the keen edge passing so close, all I saw was the bright flash of metal, but I was committed.

There was no turning back.

I love you both so much , I sent the thought out into the world, hoping wherever Riordan and Blake were, they might hear me.

Don’t come down here. Go back to Ireland and lock the castle down, keep everyone safe.

And tell my sister she’ll be a great mother, I’m only sorry I won’t be there to help her.

In the split second it took to fly across the threshold, the wall where the archway had been exploded inwards in a shower of dust and stone, Ravok screaming?—

But I was already inside the vortex, caught in the chaotic maelstrom of shadow and shrieking wind that separated the mortal realm from the Underworld. The darkness closed around me like a fist, and suddenly I was thrown down, into an endless void where up and down had no meaning.

The transition was a violent rush of opposing forces, and I was caught in the middle.

Even the tunnels felt warm compared to this devouring coldness, the way icy darkness flooded my veins, my lungs swamped with frost as I tumbled—up, down, sideways—legs and arms twisting.

This was like existing everywhere and nowhere, ears popping, muscles groaning, that fucking knife branding itself into my palm.

I landed hard on what felt like solid ground, though the surface shifted, living shadows writhing around me, making it impossible to get my bearings in a sea of endless black.

I held my breath until my lungs ached, then sucked in a quick inhale, expecting the worst. The air was thick with the eggy taste of sulfur… but not instantly poisonous.

I cracked open one eye. I had actually survived.

My vision eventually adjusted to the murk; my head stopped spinning.

Struggling to my feet, I looked around at the hideous landscape, a twisted parody of what should be physically possible.

Shining black stones emerged from the ground like enormous teeth, the tips disappearing into the roiling black clouds, reflecting occasional flashes of crimson lightning splitting the sky.

But I hadn't come here to sightsee.

I climbed to my feet and peered at my scorched palm, at the markings branded into my skin. Every rune on the hilt of that blade was there, in perfect relief. Backwards of course, but I was already healing over. I nudged the dropped knife with my boot.

Ravok had given this knife a name… cold iron .

The weapon was clearly dangerous, but was also my one and only means of defense.

I tore a strip of fabric off the bottom of my shirt and wrapped the hilt, covering every bit of exposed metal, burning my fingertips plenty in the process, then stuffed the blade into my back pocket.

I checked The Book and the key, making sure they were secure. Behind me, the portal shrank, reality bending around its edges as that hole closed, until only a sliver of light leaked through.

I had no food. No water. Nothing on but my once-again soaked clothes. A Book, a key, a rusty knife and no idea what to do next.

The Underworld stretched out before me, vast and terrible and probably full of horrors that mortal minds weren't designed to comprehend. But somewhere in that infinite darkness was the male I loved, fighting to hold onto his humanity against forces that had been ancient when the Earth was young.

I took another step forward, then another, toward whatever future awaited us both.