Page 25
T HE SUDDEN DEATH OF R AMYN A JTAF brOUGHT WITH IT A MOURNING like no other. Black billowing curtains hung across the Construction and Engineering Departments that her family ran.
The funeral took place on a dreary Tuesday. Closed casket. Ramyn’s eight brothers lined up in dark suits and solemn faces.
Kidan tried to imagine growing up in their shadows, a little dove among hawks. Did they know the truth about Ramyn’s hope for a life exchange?
Midway through the service, the sun came uninvited. The sullen clouds, which had hovered over them for days, parted, revealing rays that danced on the coffin, and on the skulls of the attendees. Ramyn’s brothers maintained their grief, but their eyes caught traitorous light when they knelt to toss flowers into the grave. Kidan shook her head, searching again, only to find heartbreak. All of their House Ajtaf pins were painted red in grief. Not every family was as broken as her own.
“Excuse me,” a light-skinned man with muted green eyes said to her.
Tamol Ajtaf, the eldest sibling of the main Ajtaf family, introduced himself. He came up to her height and was dressed in a sharp suit.
“This isn’t the place for it, but I’ve been trying to get in contact with you.”
“You have?”
“Yes. You have yet to respond to my letters.”
She hadn’t gotten any letters. “What did you want to talk about?”
“The Axum Archaeological Project. I’m impressed by your family’s dedication to finding the Last Sage’s rural settlement. Ajtaf Constructions helped with targeted excavation and made great progress. We’re interested in taking over officially. We would compensate you well, of course.”
Kidan grew cautious. Aunt Silia had warned her about the Ajtafs. Why was he talking about work at his sister’s funeral? Shouldn’t he be asking if Kidan knew Ramyn?
“Why the interest in an old settlement?” she asked.
Tamol’s smile was thin. “It’s as mythic as the Lost City of Atlantis. Hunting for the Last Sage’s treasures and history lost in that settlement is a rewarding endeavor.”
He brought out a business card and gave it to Kidan. “Dranacti studies are difficult to pass. Call me if you want to discuss other options.”
Written on the back of the card:
We are here to help.
The 13th.
Kidan frowned. Dean Faris had mentioned that many groups existed within Uxlay and most would benefit from recruiting a Founding House heiress to back their agendas, but Kidan had thought no one was interested.
After he left, Kidan tried to cry for Ramyn. She bit on the inside of her cheek, willing something to come out—one tear, and she’d know she didn’t carry a black heart.
Cry , she begged in her mind.
It was no use.
Kidan removed herself, walking through the cemetery and taking note of the names and dates. Most of the graves were of young people. There had been one death last year. Two the year before that. Five years ago, four students had died.
That stopped her cold. Kidan wondered what, or who, had killed these students. Her stomach knotted with the growing realization that Uxlay either could not protect students or didn’t care.
Her contempt for Dean Faris returned. Uxlay wasn’t a place of law and protection at all.
A group of protesters who shared Kidan’s thoughts crowded Dean Faris when she arrived. They accused her of failing to change the acti protection laws, leading to this. One House Delarus girl even tried to attack her with paint before being escorted away.
Kidan nodded in support. It was good the students were fighting back.
Despite her lack of tears, Kidan reached home exhausted and desperate for bed. But when she arrived, she found the study in chaos. This was the last thing she needed. Drawers hanging out, cabinets wide open, glasses shattered, liquor bottles empty. Susenyos was on the carpet, shirt disheveled, three empty flasks around him. He faced the fireplace, in a trance.
She drew forward carefully.
“Susenyos?”
No response.
Kidan touched his shoulder. He winced and shot to his feet at once, rubbing furiously where she’d touched him. Kidan stared at her hand. It was clean, a little scarred, but nothing to warrant such a reaction.
“What—”
“Don’t come any closer.” His hoarse voice was laced with exertion. “Did you take it? My flask?”
“What? No.”
“Don’t lie to me,” he growled, making her stiffen. Sweat broke out along his forehead.
“I’m not lying.”
He stared at her with scorching eyes and shook his head, gripping the edge of the chair until it creaked.
Kidan cursed internally. “What’s going on?”
A vein tightened along his temple as he let out a stilted breath. “I’m out of blood.”
So he couldn’t leave and get June’s blood from wherever he kept her?
“Why can’t you go get more?” Even saying the words made bile rise in her throat.
He gave a brash laugh. “I have restrictions. And Silia’s blood is running out.”
Silia? Did she donate copious amounts of blood before dying?
Shit. Even if Susenyos wasn’t lying… it was clear that if he could get blood, he would. It suddenly occurred to Kidan that she’d taken all the blood away from a vampire. Her body went cold.
A pained groan tore out of him as he pressed a hand to his temple. He snapped the wooden chair into ugly splinters and, with a piece of it, skewered his palm to the table.
Kidan flinched, shouting, “What are you doing?”
“You need to leave,” he panted, briefly catching her eye. The blackness of his pupils expanded like an animal’s. Fangs slipping in and out.
Kidan staggered back. “What’s happening to you?”
He laughed miserably. “If I remember correctly, every nerve in my body will seek out my potential companion’s blood no matter where I go. Your blood. Your face, smell, and touch grow excruciating with every second. So, for the millionth time, I suggest you pack your things and leave .”
Kidan glanced at the door but didn’t move.
His labored breaths echoed around the house, the smell of violence gathering like thunder. A deep scratch, like the sound of a blade against a tree, made her turn. Broken wood was between his teeth. His fangs scraped like knives, leaving deep gashes.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
His eyes had become colorless. But it was his lips, stretched and bloody, cut into pieces with his own teeth, that collided with her nightmare. June might as well lie by his feet, her own lips bloodied, still as death.
“Why are you still here?” he breathed, snapping the wood. “Leave!”
His shout sent a crack through the house.
Kidan straightened her spine and grabbed a butter knife from a tray.
He laughed. “That knife isn’t going to help you, little bird.”
Her grip tightened, voice cold as ice. “Rites of companionship. If a vampire feeds on a human without a vow, their eyes will remain red for three days so they’ll be found and imprisoned. So come on, feed on me.”
He whirled like a god of death. “I can make you take a companionship vow.”
Did that mean she didn’t have to pass Dranacti to make a vow?
Her back locked for a second, remembering she was dealing with a creature both ancient and lethal. She recovered quickly. “Red eyes or not, feed on me and I’m at Dean Faris’s house.”
She wielded the knife higher, daring him to take a step closer.
He threw her a hateful look and grabbed his jaw. “My fangs are aching, pulsing like throbbing bone. I’m going to bite through everything in this house, including you, just to please them. I won’t just feed on you. I’ll kill you.”
Kidan’s eyes dropped for a moment. If she let him, Dean Faris would definitely arrest him. But what about June? Would she be found?
Kidan had to make sure June wasn’t lost. Dying here would serve no purpose.
She lifted her chin to him. “Then I guess you’re going to have to control yourself.”
His eyes swirled with breathtaking fury before he said through clenched teeth, “If you won’t leave… There are pliers in the shed. Bring them now.”
She froze in confusion.
His jaw barely moved, so quiet were his words. “You’re going to defang me.”
Kidan’s eyes widened. That sounded deliciously… painful. She walked backward, exiting to find the pliers. More sounds of furniture shattering exploded from the house. She returned, pausing at the door.
“Come here.” Susenyos braced against the wall. “It’ll be hell itself, but they’ll grow back.” He seemed to be talking to himself, preparing. “They will.”
She marched toward him, and he flinched like she’d hit him.
“Slower,” he barked.
She softened her steps. It was both strange and delightful to see him so frightened, when he was the monster. He turned his face, eyes shut. “Your smell… It’s fucking intoxicating.”
“Look at me,” she ordered.
“Stop speaking.”
“How will I—”
He let out a guttural sound and seized her jaw, bringing her face close to his bloodied one. Kidan’s instinct was to resist, but she faltered when she glimpsed the craving that was rioting in his body. His bone-white fangs sharpened to an incredible point against glistening dark skin. Her breath quickened like a trapped bird.
“Stop breathing.”
She did.
He let her go and guided her hand holding the pliers to his mouth, opening wider. Blood pumped in her forehead. He positioned the pliers at his teeth.
“Now.” He inhaled a shuddering breath. “Quickly.”
Kidan kept twisting the pliers in her hand, still not touching his tooth.
“What are you waiting for?” he snarled.
She shook her head. Positioned the pliers again and touched his teeth. He hissed, shoving her away from him. If her just touching it hurt, how would pulling it out feel? A smile played on her lips. He saw it.
Fuck.
In a swift movement, he pinned her against the wall.
“You’re enjoying this,” he panted, caging her with his arms, muscles contracting.
Say no.
“Yes.”
Venom cut through his pain. “Do you want me to show you how I drank from June?”
Kidan’s body stiffened, her smile thinning out. “What did you say?”
“I had her like this, between my arms, she was so defenseless. All I had to do was lean in—”
Kidan seized his shit-spewing jaw, jamming the pliers inside. His eyes grew into saucers. She clamped onto his sharp tooth and in a furious motion wrenched back. The force made her shoulder pop, and blood sprayed her face.
The pliers came out with the fang and some of his gum.
Susenyos banged his fist against the wall, puncturing it close to her ears so all sound faded. She hurried to pull the other one. Once it was done, Susenyos sank to the floor, pressing his head to it. Kidan breathed like she’d scaled a mountain, staring down at him.
Something had torn free inside her, a release of the ferocious kind that made the world a little brighter.
He was pure evil. One she would keep defeating.
Kidan crouched low, grabbing his chin like he’d done to her in the hallway. His skin was burning, eyes wet without tears.
“Where is June?” she asked.
The pain from his lost fangs vibrated into her cradling palms and slithered into her veins. He was in agony, leaning into her unconsciously to seek relief from the pulsing ache.
“Tell me.” She lowered her tone. “I’ll give you anything you want.”
His lips parted. She was close enough to inhale his shuddering breath. The entire room throbbed like belted skin. She brushed her fingers along his cheek, feeling him wince at her feather-like touch. He was so close and in so much pain.
“Did you kill them?” Kidan’s voice was velvet soft. “Did you kill June and Ramyn?”
It was the wrong thing to ask. Like a gust of icy wind, it chased away whatever pull she had on him. He shoved her hand away and staggered into the shadows, hiding his face from her.
Kidan closed her eyes in frustration.
The front door clicked open.
Etete came in, shaking at the scene. “Dranaic Susenyos! Acti Kidan! What happened?”
Kidan walked to the stairs, closing her fist over his fangs.
Let it take a month or year, she’d pull the truth out of him one by one.
Table of Contents
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- Page 25 (Reading here)
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