Page 49 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

RIORDAN

“ M y sister might seem... peculiar,” Nikolai warned, looking like he was going to his own execution. “Try not to take anything she says personally. Or piss her off.”

Before I could ask what that meant, a voice echoed from somewhere ahead of us, dripping with malice. “Oh, Wolfie, you know I love meeting new people like I love trying new foods. Please tell me it’s the possessed king, I have so many questions.”

“My sister does not like trying new foods,” Nikolai muttered out the side of his mouth.

“The possessed king ? Seriously?” I gave him a what the fuck look, and he just shrugged.

“This had better be worth the wait,” Blake hissed, breathing hard at my side.

I am done with games. I am done with magic and trying to save this fucking world.

His eyes met mine for one strung out second.

If Evie survives, I’m taking her away, Rohr.

Far away from all of this. She needs to be somewhere safe.

For a moment, I could hardly breathe at the thought of losing her…but Blake was right. Evangeline never asked to be vampire, she never asked for any of this, and yet, she had given all of herself to protect us. I dipped my head, a draining, hopeless rage turning my muscles to water .

Once we get her back, I will make sure that happens.

We rounded the corner and I stopped short.

The willowy female sitting cross legged on the dining table looked like she'd stepped out of a fever dream.

Her ball gown was a deep midnight blue, all flowing silk and intricate beadwork, but she'd paired it with combat boots that had seen serious action and were caked with mud.

At least, I hoped that was mud.

Her classical beauty was ethereal, a tangled nest of pale hair was piled in an elaborate updo held together with what looked like actual thorns, and she was wearing a diamond necklace that…couldn’t possibly be real.

Wolf lounged against one of the windows, such an agonized expression on his face, I wondered if he was thinking of throwing himself out.

“Sabine,” Nikolai kept his voice carefully neutral. “Thank you for coming.”

“Always so polite, Nik. Such good… manners . But then again, you are a prince.” She laughed, the sound like shattering crystal.

“Darling brother, you practically begged for my help. And I must admit…I was curious to see what is dire enough for you to ask me for a favor, when you well know the cost. Mmm…” Her light brown eyes, somehow wilder than her brother’s, swept over Blake and me with predatory interest. “I smell desperation in the air.”

Blake stepped forward, impatient. “We need to?—”

“Save it, gorgeous.” Sabine waved a dismissive hand, rings glinting. “I know exactly why you're here. Your girlfriend is dying because her soul-mate got himself trapped in the Underworld and now you think you can just pop down there and fetch him like he's a lost puppy.”

“ I’m her fucking mate,” Blake growled, and her eyes positively glowed .

“There are mates….and there are mates .” She told him enigmatically, her grin turning darker. “Each bond as strong as the other, but different in origin. But I did not come here to give you a lesson in love, did I?”

“Can you get us there or not?” I growled and Sabine's weighty gaze snapped to me. Magic crackled around her—and I resisted the overpowering urge to take a healthy step back. Or pull up my own.

“Oh, look, Nik, the king has fangs,” she purred. “No pleasantries, no dancing around the subject.”

She leaped down from the table with impossible grace, her ball gown a swirl of tulle around her, caked mud sloughing off all over the expensive rug. “Yes, Riordan Graves, King of the Nocturne Clan, it will be child’s play to get you into the Underworld. The question is whether you'll survive.”

“That's our problem, not yours.” Blake said firmly.

“Is it though?” Sabine circled us like a shark, leaving a trail of dirt behind. “Because when you inevitably get yourselves killed, and this entire world goes to shit, who do you think will be blamed?”

“We're not asking you to—” Nikolai started.

“Me.” Sabine spun to face her brother, eyes flashing.

“I’ll be at fault, and you know it. You're asking me to open a gateway to the most dangerous realm in existence, to bypass every ward and protection the Underworld has in place, to essentially commit an act of magical treason. And for what?” She laughed again, the sound sharper this time. “Love?”

Wolf growled low in his throat. “Sabine, this is no game.”

“Games?” She whirled on him, and he went very, very still, pupils shrinking down to pinpoints. “You think I don’t know about the rift, the ley line, about Ravok? That I haven't spent the last three days researching every possible way this could go catastrophically wrong?”

“I called for you almost two weeks ago, Sabine,” Nikolai said, with teeth grinding patience.

“Two weeks, two years, two days…you know time is just a construct,” she tossed her hair, a haze of wild energy dancing around her. “Beatrix needed my help. But I’m here now, which means now is the right time.”

“If you don’t intend to help us, then why are you even here?” I demanded, stepping closer. I didn’t have time for theatrics. Every minute we wasted here was one Evie did not have.

Sabine smiled, and it was like watching a blade slowly being unsheathed.

“Because, darling, I'm just as foolish as the rest of you when it comes to lost causes.” Her expression softened slightly as she stared at her brothers, “And I've seen what broken bonds do. It's not a death I'd wish on anyone.”

She turned back to Nikolai, her demeanor shifting to something more businesslike. “But this favor comes with a price, brother dear. A steep one.”

Nikolai sighed. “What do you want?”

“Oh, the usual.” She grinned, and I caught a glimpse of sharp intelligence behind her eccentric facade. “You'll owe me anything I want. A blank check, as it were, until the time comes when I cash it in. And considering your growing tab with me, you might want to keep better track.”

“Fine.” Nikolai said, a vein throbbing in his temple. “But Sabine?—”

“Have I ever fucked you over, dear brother?” she said, her voice suddenly serious. “No, I have not.” she looked Blake and me up and down, hands on her hips. “We leave in an hour, take only what you need, dress warm, bring snacks, nothing steel, it does not fare well during the crossing. ”

Sabine studied my face for a long moment, then, “I shall endeavor to bring you all back alive, but if anything goes awry, well…”

“Well, what?’ Blake snarled, so close to losing his shit, I was already braced to tackle him to the ground, but I had a feeling Sabine might beat me to it.

“Well, you’d better get used to dark days and colder nights. And pray your snacks hold out.” Her eyes shone with a wicked light, and a sense of rabid anticipation that was not entirely encouraging. More like she couldn’t wait to shove us off a cliff.

“For the love of….” Nickolai looked like he was on the verge of having a stroke. “I swear, Sabine, must you set the world on fire, just for the sake of seeing it burn?”

In no mood for a sibling argument, I turned my back on them, had barely cleared the door when she answered?—

“But how else would I ever have my fun, dear brother?”

Evie’s hand felt like ice in mine, so fragile I was afraid her bones might shatter. She’d fallen into an almost-stasis, breathing too slowly and shallowly for even a sleeping vampire, that web of dark veins pulsing beneath her translucent skin.

“Evie,” I leaned closer, measuring those circles beneath her eyes, so much darker than even a few hours ago. “I need you to listen to me, love. Try to hear what I’m saying.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and I pressed her cold hand between mine.

“I'm right here.” I swallowed hard, forcing down the words that wanted to spill out— keep fighting, don't leave me, please don’t leave me because I don’t know what I’ll do . Instead, I said what she needed to hear. “Blake and I know what's wrong. We know what you need to get better.”

A ghost of a smile crossed her lips, then I heard her voice, a weak, faint echo inside my head. Always... taking…care…of me.

And I always will, Silver. Until the end of time.

“The bond,” I said, my voice cracking despite my efforts to stay strong. “The bond with Malachi—should have remained sealed off. Now it’s draining your life force and...” I couldn't finish. Couldn't say out loud that her soul was slowly unraveling without its other half.

“We're bringing him back.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “Blake and I are going to the Underworld. We'll find Malachi, bring him home and once the bond between you is restored, once he is close again, you’ll get better.”

That was the theory, anyway.

Fiona and Sylvester, Brendan and even Nikolai agreed, as well as the parade of healers and witches we’d had through here these past days. Once Malachi was back, once the bond was restored, her magic would begin to refill, her strength would return, and her drained body would heal.

She would never return to France again, and Blake would take her far away from here.

Evie's grip on my hand tightened, her breathing sped up. No , resounded inside my head, followed by— Dangerous. Too dangerous.

“We don't care.” The vehemence in my own voice surprised me. “Do you hear me? We don't care how dangerous, or if we have to tear apart every realm between here and there, or if we have to drag that asshole back by his horns. This is happening. We are not going to lose you. ”

Riordan—

“No, listen to me.” I leaned closer, close enough to memorize every detail of her face in case.

.. in case this was the last time. “I've spent my whole life being careful. Calculating risks, weighing options, always thinking three steps ahead. But not this time. This time, the only thing that matters is you surviving, and the only way you’ll survive is with Malachi.”

A tear slipped out from beneath her eyelid and down her cheek, and I caught it with my fingertip.

“You have to hang on,” I rasped, the words tearing my throat apart like sandpaper. “You have to hang on until we get back, and we’ll be as fast as we can.” I buried my face in her throat, breathing her scent, like I could somehow take it with me.

“But you have to wait for us, Silver. Because if I get back, and you are gone, I will rip apart the veil between our realms with my bare fucking hands and drag you back. Understand?”

So dramatic.

“Tell me you understand. Promise me you’ll stay.” Even her body was cool beneath the blankets, not the fiery warmth I was used to.

Evie's breathing hitched, and for a terrifying moment, I thought I was losing her. But then her hand cupped the back of my head, her fingers curling around my skull.

Promise.

“Good girl,” I said, and I wondered if her slight smile was real, or my imagination. “We leave in an hour, but I had to tell you goodbye,” I murmured, “Blake's waiting outside, and we'll be back before you know it. Just... please, Evie. Hold on for us.”

Love you. Always .

Then her breathing evened out and her fingers slipped from my hair. I folded them over her chest and left her lying there, like a statue of an ancient pagan goddess, squeezing Blake’s shoulder as we passed in the hall.

We would bring Malachi back. We would save her.

Because a world without Evie wasn't a world worth living in.