Page 28 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

BLAKE

T here was no doubt the ancient stones of Laith Castle had witnessed countless tragedies over the centuries, but I doubted they had ever witnessed a rage like mine.

I paced the length of the dining hall, my boots echoing against the wood planks in a rhythm that matched the frantic beating of my heart. Riordan sat in the shadows, feet thrown up on a chair, watching, evaluating, probably debating whether to lock me up in a cell until I calmed the fuck down.

I’d kept my shit together long enough to get everyone to safety, to regroup with Finn and Nash, to give Rowan Forge a detailed schematic of the site and a rundown of the events at the chateau. But now I was unraveling, piece by piece.

As for Rohr, he hadn’t said a single word for three hours, not since that explosion when he’d realized Evie was really, truly gone. But what was there to say, really?

Any words of comfort would be a lie, anything else…supposition.

And that supposition was cannibalizing my brain. From the hellscape I’d glimpsed through the open portal, I was busy imagining every horrible scenario my tortured brain could come up with, and somehow, I doubted they were as bad as the real thing .

“She’s still alive.” Riordan finally said when I made another three-point turn at the end of my circuit. “We’d know if she was dead, and I’m telling you now, she is not dead.” He sounded tortured.

“I need you to stop talking.” I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the image that kept looping in my brain, the one where I watched my mate disappear into a swirling vortex of darkness, the portal snapping shut with a finality that made my soul scream.

I slammed my fist down on the massive oak table that dominated the center of the hall, sending gold-rimmed goblets and plates dancing across the surface.

The sound rang out like a gunshot, doing nothing to ease the fury burning in my veins.

Nothing could ease this relentless ache—not until she was back, safe, in my arms where she belonged.

“ Blake Marten .” Aisling’s voice cut through my spiral of rage, and I straightened up like someone had rammed a steel rod down my spine. “Those glasses were my mother’s and if you break a single one, I will put you outside with the dogs.”

“I’m….” Some of the temper leached out of me, seeing her frowning at those damned stupid glasses, like they really did matter. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. Won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t.” She crossed her arms. “I know you’re pissed, but Brendan and Nikolai are calling in some favors, and by nightfall, we’ll have people here, working to reopen that portal. We’ll get her back.”

“That might not be a good idea.” Riordan murmured, and I stared at him like he had two heads. “It’s just…we reopen that portal, and there’s no guarantee we could find he r. No guarantee any of us would survive a single second in there.”

A wave of dread nearly took my knees out from under me. “You’re not leaving her there. You can’t.” I looked to Aisling. “We can’t leave her there.”

“There are many realms beyond this one, Blake Marten, and if your mate is with Malachi, then she has a fearsome protector, indeed.”

Ash peered up at me, no hint of guile in her face. “Do you still feel the bond between you? Is she in danger, has she been hurt?” She asked gently. “Has your mating bond been broken, or is it still intact?”

“It’s…faint, but it’s there. She is not hurt, or frightened.”

“Then she is alive and she is safe, but tell us if anything changes. For now, you two need to come with me. Brendan and Nikolai have made their requests to the proper parties, now we must wait for the response.”

“What the fuck…” I cleared my throat. “What does that even mean?”

Riordan was on his feet, his dark hair catching the light from the fireplace, his expression carefully blank. I couldn’t make the same claim. I was a mess, a shaking, scared mess, and I couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.

“It means we have someone who can assist us, but she can be…difficult. So Nikolai reached out, made his request, and now we have to wait to see if she is willing to help.”

“Tell me who she is and I’ll make her help.”

Aisling’s smile was a little sad. “It doesn’t work like that, unfortunately. Besides, I’m banking on her curiosity getting the better of her and she shows up here within the hour.”

“That’s another hour,” I said, with a calmness I definitely didn’t feel. “In an hour, Evie could be…” Riordan sucked in a qu ick breath and I rubbed my temples. Yeah, so not going there .

“Your mate is in a different realm. She walked?—”

“Dove.” Riordan muttered.

“Dove through a portal into the Underworld, which immediately closed behind her. No one here has the skills or the magic to open that portal or transport themselves into another dimension. We need someone who can.” Aisling didn’t look particularly happy when she added, “so we must wait.”

“The mountain could collapse in the meantime.” Riordan pointed out.

He wasn't exaggerating. The chateau was little more than rubble now, buried under tons of rock and earth that had cascaded down the mountainside when our last desperate attempt to open that doorway had gone wrong.

Because before Finn and Nikolai had dragged us out of there, Riordan and I had thrown everything we had at that sealed portal—magic, brute force, fire and shadows combined.

Nothing had worked and we’d nearly caused a disaster.

Above the mountain, the rift continued to grow, pulsing like an infected wound, bleeding darkness into our world with every passing hour. The ley line still hemorrhaged power, and Fiona’s emergency patch job was failing. Once her wards disappeared, that rift would explode and consume everything.

“I sent the request.” Nikolai stepped into the firelight as if he had materialized from the darkness itself, moving with that unsettling grace that all Ancients possessed, as if gravity was merely a suggestion rather than a law.

“Who?’ I snarled. “Who is this supposed miracle worker who can open the portal? She must be pretty goddamned special, for us to sit around and wait for her to make up her mind, while the world’s ending.”

I bore down on him. “Talk,” I growled, hands clenched at my sides so I couldn’t wrap them around his throat. “Now.”

“Blake—” Riordan lunged forward to intervene, but Nikolai raised one elegant hand to stop him.

“It's quite understandable,” he said, his voice as calm as if we were discussing the weather rather than my mate's potential death sentence. “If Ash and I were separated thusly, I would likely react the same way.”

“Likely?” Ash rolled her eyes. “You’d probably raze this world to the ground.”

“A definite possibility, liob?n .”

“Who is this person, and why are we sitting around and waiting?” My fists tightened, my nails digging holes in my palms. “Ravok is still out there, that rift is growing, Fiona’s wards are failing, and we are doing nothing. ”

Nikolai studied me for a long moment, his pale eyes unreadable. Then, surprisingly, he smiled—not the cold, predatory expression I was used to seeing from him, but something almost sympathetic.

“There are many realms, Blake,” he said softly.

“The Underworld is but one of them. The boundaries between worlds are not as fixed as most people believe, especially during times of great magical upheaval. When ley lines are disturbed, when reality itself is wounded...” He studied my face.

“Pathways open that are normally sealed.”

“What kind of pathways?” Riordan drifted closer, his face tight with desperate hope.

“The kind, unfortunately, that require a very specific sort of magic,” Nikolai replied cryptically. “And we require a guide who knows the ways between worlds.”

I stepped back as understanding dawned. “Which is who you contacted.”

“Yes.” He straightened his shirt. “But my sister, who is quite far away, has never been the cooperative type. However, she is the curious type, and I expect she will come, if only to gloat over the fact this is a problem I cannot fix without her help.”

“Your sister?” I frowned. “This guide between worlds is a vampire?”

Ash hid her smile behind her hand and Nikolai shook his head.

“She is as far from one of us as a flea is to a bear,” he replied with maddening vagueness. “And since time moves differently in the place she frequents, we must exercise patience.”

Time moves differently . The words hit me like a physical blow.

“Does time move differently in the Underworld?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

For the first time since I had known him, Nikolai's expression softened completely. The mask of cool indifference fell away, revealing something almost human beneath.

“Your mate is stronger than you think, Blake,” he said quietly. “And she's not alone. Malachi may be many things, but he won't let harm come to her. Their connection runs deeper than any of us fully understand.”

“ Their connection .” The words tasted bitter on my tongue. “You mean whatever Ravok did to her during that ritual? He turned Malachi into a monster, and Evie…”

She had been different, after .

Those veins, that darkness. She’d admitted she’d changed, but couldn’t explain how.

But a mate knew. I knew.

“Come on.” Ash said gently. “There’s food in the kitchen, you both need to eat something. We have rooms ready, so you can rest, and you should try. You won’t do Evangeline any good if you’re starved and exhausted. You both need to be as strong as you can be, for whatever’s coming.”

Nikolai paused at the edge of the firelight, his pale hair catching the glow. “If my sister agrees to help, you'll know when she arrives. The very air will tremble.”

“Yeah, like the coming of a plague,” Aisling muttered.

“You are right as usual, liob?n.” Nikolai grinned, then vanished. I stared at the empty space where he had been, my hands still clenched into fists at my sides. Another cryptic promise, another vague hope to cling to while the woman I loved faced unimaginable dangers in a realm I couldn't reach.

“Well,” Riordan said into the silence, his voice rough. “Thank you for your hospitality. We’ll take you up on that food, and the rest.”

What the fuck, Rohr?

She’s right. We’re not doing Evie any good by starving ourselves. My magic is depleted, and so is yours. Ideally, we should both feed, but…

I shuddered at the thought of feeding from anyone but Evie. Not happening.

Yeah, I agree. So food it is, and sleep, and then we convince this sister of Nikolai’s to take us into the Underworld to find Evie.

Because we’re both going. I finished for him.

You’re goddamned right we are.

We followed Ash to the kitchen, the mate bond tightening around my heart like an iron vise. Evie was out there in some other realm, trapped in shadows and death, and I was here—useless, helpless, unable to protect the one person whose life mattered more than my own.

All I could do was wait, and pray that when Nikolai's sister arrived—if she arrived—she wouldn't be too late.