Page 3 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

EVANGELINE

A sh and Brendan were sire and daughter, that much was clear. They shared the same lopsided, toothy smile, same thick, curly black hair, the same-colored eyes. They even carried themselves the same way, as if they’d been born to power.

Then there was the entire conversation they shared with one brief glance, before turning twin, blinding smiles on us.

And I didn’t miss how Finn and Nikolai—how the entire Knightsguard closed protectively around her, like a wall of defense against the monstrous threat—mostly Malachi but also me—none of them could quite get a read on.

Tensions were on the verge of exploding, and given Malachi’s current, unhinged state, I knew once tempers exploded, this ended only one way.

Absolute. Carnage.

Time for calmer heads to prevail.

“If we had anywhere else to go, trust me, we wouldn’t have come.

” I told Brendan, staying close to Malachi.

Not that I had a choice, since he still had my shoulder in a death grip.

“I don’t know what your history is with Malachi, but we all have a bigger problem,” I said, attempting to sound like a reasonable person, not the drama llama Commander Finn clearly thought I was.

“We’re not here to incite fear, but what has happened in France…” I took a breath. “What happened really could end the world.” My gaze flickered between the older male with his steady eyes and unflappable demeanor, and his daughter, now giving me her full attention.

“I was there, beneath the ruins. I don’t know anything about rifts, but I can explain what led up to the mountain exploding. This was no accident, it was an act of sabotage.”

Not everything . Malachi butted in. They don’t need to know everything.

Yeah, no shit. But coming here was your idea and they need to understand the scope of the threat. Since I’m apparently your mouthpiece, we’ll be doing this my way.

“I’ve heard rumors of Chateau des Ombres éternelles.” Brendan mused, “About the caverns beneath the castle, and the Ancient who once lived there.”

My gaze strayed over to Aisling, who watched us unblinkingly, not a shred of emotion on her face as she leaned against Nikolai.

She had the perfect poker face, and perhaps I was just a little bit jealous of how I—trained since birth to ferret out lies—couldn’t read a single tell in her blank expression.

“The tunnel system runs deep into the mountain, about five hundred feet. At the center was a carved, round room, a place where a ley line had ruptured, long ago.”

“ Was a round room?” Brendan pressed, alarm growing in his expression.

“Everything is buried. Less than an hour ago, Ravok collapsed the entire mountain, fully rupturing the ley line. Magic is leaking up into the atmosphere, into a giant rift. Fiona…the witch who was with us, said if the rift becomes too large, this realm could collapse.”

Brendan took this in without so much as a blink, his even expression never changing. Finn strode over to the first row of chairs and sat down with a thud. “Seriously? Can’t we get through a single week without the world ending?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Finn,” Aisling scolded, “it’s been at least three weeks since we’ve had a world ending event. We’re about due.”

She strode forward and extended her hand, casting one wary eye up at Malachi. “You can call me Ash, by the way. Ignore these heathens, they’ll spend the next hour posturing while the world burns. Tell us more about this rift.”

I went to take her hand, only to discover—to my absolute humiliation—I was still gripping my knife. None of the guards had tried to take it from me, so obviously, I wasn’t viewed as a threat. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or offended.

“Sorry.” I muttered, sheathing my woefully insufficient weapon. “We’ve had a wild night.”

“I totally understand,” Aisling offered sympathetically. “We’ve all had them.”

I glanced again at Malachi for guidance for how much information to reveal. Go ahead, we came here for help, and there is no reason to keep what happened a secret. Then his fingers tightened around my arm. Except for when I drank your blood. You can leave that part out.

I wasn’t planning on including that, but thanks for the tip.

Still, I was blushing when I explained, “I only saw the rift for a minute before Malachi brought me here and to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at. I can tell you what led up to Ravok collapsing the ruins.”

“You’ve both been through a lot,” Ash offered sympathetically. “Tell us everything you can. Wolf and Dravin are checking the site and will report back, but if the evidence is buried beneath the mountain, any details you remember will help us figure out how to fix this.”

“All the tunnels led to a circular room, with walls so perfectly smooth they looked polished. At the center was a pool of still, silvery water and the ceiling was covered in ancient symbols, runes, I guess. But suspended over the pool was a portal.”

Nikolai drifted closer, pausing when that rumble started up again in Malachi’s chest, his paw landing on my shoulder once more. Given how outnumbered we were, I couldn’t say I minded.

“The center of the portal was swirling with dark shadows and flashes of crimson lightning. I couldn’t see much, but somehow…

I felt like someone was watching us. The portal was fed by the magic leaking up from the ley line, and the sheer amount of power inside that room…

” I shivered, my teeth aching from the memory.

“The very air hummed. Now it’s worse. Ravok collapsed part of the mountain and opened up the ley line.

Now all of that magic is loose, leaking up into the rift. We need to seal that leak off.”

“How long ago did this happen?” Brendan asked.

“Less than an hour. Blake, my mate…and the king of our clan are still there, and if I know Riordan, he’s working to stop the leak from getting any worse, but with Ravok still there…and Romulus, they have a fight on their hands.” I spread my hands in front of me. “We could use some help.”

Malachi bristled at the mention of Blake, pressing tighter into my back, as if he couldn’t bear there being an inch of space between us. For some reason, I had the same undeniable urge to keep physical contact between us.

“Rowan Forge, our king, is away, but I think I speak for everyone here when I say we will help, however we can. Brendan will concentrate on the rift, Ash and I will come up with a plan to halt the leaking magic.” Nikolai offered, glancing to Finn.

“Once Wolf and Dravin report back, the commander can put together a force to secure the area.”

My knees went wobbly, eyes burning from the knot in my throat, the sheer force of relief I felt at hearing those words.

They were going to help us, no questions asked, apparently .

I hadn’t realized the weight of responsibility I’d been carrying since we arrived, the terror that we’d—inadvertently—caused the end of the world. Knowing we weren’t alone in this made me want to weep. Hopefully they didn’t discover I was a Silverwood slayer, and throw us out on the street.

Malachi’s thumb rubbed circles on the inside of my arm.

I told you I would keep you safe, Vicious, and I always keep my promises. Brendan will know what to do, and once I’m sorted out, we’ll deal with Ravok and Romulus.

“Thank you for helping,” I rubbed my tight throat, “A small contingent of our Knightsguard are still there, along with Commander Nash, and some members of our clan.”

“The same Nash, just a few hours ago?” Brendan shifted on his feet. “I am, unfortunately, the person who sent you to Chateau des Ombres éternelles in the first place. So I bear much responsibility for this disastrous outcome.”

The look he shot Malachi was not kind. “Of course, had I known the full scope of the threat, I would have sent reinforcements straightaway.”

“None of us knew what Ravok was capable of.” I interrupted. “And Malachi…he intended to go to France, kill Ravok and end this before anyone else was hurt. Unfortunately, the entire thing was a trap. Because Ravok can…” I paused, unsure how much to reveal.

Tell them, they deserve to know what they are facing .

“Ravok has the advantage. Not only is he stronger than ever, he can see the future. It’s been impossible to outmaneuver him, and believe me, we’ve tried everything.” The room went quiet, all conversations stopping.

Brendan gave me a kind, if rather condescending smile. “I highly doubt…”

“Evangeline is, unfortunately, correct.” Nikolai interrupted. “I was there, you see. Caine hunted down Ravok, because even human, he was a powerful seer with the ability to foresee the future with near-perfect accuracy.”

I didn’t miss the way Aisling nudged Nikolai with her shoulder, how his mouth tightened, ever so slightly.

“Wolf and Acheron captured him, brought him to Caine, who turned him. I can confirm Ravok’s visions were never wrong, but his predictions always benefitted himself more than they ever did Caine. ”

“So…you knew Ravok?” I asked slowly, trying to wrap my head around the fact Nikolai—calm and in control—was in any way similar to Ravok. “Were you aware he’d returned?”

“No,” Nikolai shook his head. “I haven’t thought of him in centuries. But of all my brethren, he was one of the most dangerous. You are right. He would destroy this world before he would allow it to slip through his fingers.”

“Malachi planned to finish Ravok off while he was still weak, but Ravok was always one step ahead.” I laid my hand over Malachi’s. “Otherwise, he would have succeeded, this would be over, and we’d be back in New York with all of this behind us.”

Malachi dipped his head, the rumbling in his chest turning into more of a purr. Thank you for standing up for me.

Don’t thank me. I’m still beyond pissed at you for leaving me that stupid note and going off alone to die, like some martyr. I liked you better when you were the villain, Malachi .

I was trying to protect you. You were supposed to stay in New York.

And I was supposed to stab you in the heart because I’m a slayer, but here we are.

Here we are. Another long, slow blink of those strange amber eyes and a wonderful, delicious heat spun through me like warm honey. Despite the circumstances, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Evangeline.

For a second, I got all tangled up in the intensity of his magnetic attention, like he was sucking me deeper into his gravitational pull. I’m glad, too.

Someone cleared their throat, and I pulled my eyes away to find the entire room staring, like they’d never seen anyone speak mind to mind before.

“We will begin making our preparations for France. You came to see Brendan for a reason, we’ll leave you three alone to discuss…” Nikolai’s amused gaze skimmed up and down Malachi’s formidable form. “ Matters .”