Page 80 of Inevitably Yves

TWENTY-EIGHT

Yves

While my brothers descend into the chaos around us, I search the darkness for Hadrian. I feel him, but so far I can’t find him.

Damiano and I are quickly separated, each of us battling the strange zombie-like vampires chanting Cillian and Lorenzo, Number One and Number Two, die and kill. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vivienne and Viper slip away—to safety, I hope—and Horus and Paolo join the fighting.

The vampires are far too easy to fight, and I have to wonder whether it’s a flaw in Hadrian’s magic or if it’s intentional and some kind of setup.

“Fuck you,” Thorn shouts as he plunges a dagger into the heart of a vampire.

Then the problem becomes clear. These are direct descendants of Hadrian. A dagger won’t kill them.

“Take his head,” I shout loudly.

“Fuck yeah,” Thorn replies, tearing the vampire’s head clear off his neck.

“Oh gods,” Kyson moans. “You’re so hot.”

I’d laugh, but there’s no time to be amused as another five vampires head toward me. I fight my way through them, tearing them apart easily, and even recognizing some of them as mobsters from our assassin work.

I can feel my brothers tethered to me, my sisters in the back, and Damiano—gods, the flood of love coming from my mate pushes me forward. I gasp as a sharp pain sears through me and twist to find a vampire on my back, his dagger embedded in my flesh.

I grip his neck, tearing his head from his body and tossing him across the room before removing the dagger. What the fuck? Hadrian knows I can’t be killed this way. What is he doing? If all he wants to do is piss me off, it’s working.

A tug on my arm makes me swing around, ready to fight, but it’s Vivienne. “Viv, get out of here.”

“I’m okay, Yves. They can’t even see us. We’re cloaked.”

“What?”

“Fancy magic I’ll tell you about later. Here’s what you need to know. We grabbed some of the dead vampires, and that magic your maker has been using is degrading quickly. I think it was already happening before tonight, but the more they come into contact with us, the faster it falls apart.” She smiles. “That’s how you pulled Paolo back so quickly. Horus too.”

“Okay, that’s good.” My brow creases. “I need something, but I don’t know where to get it.”

“What?” she asks.

“Dead blood. From a mortal. I sense that innocents have died in his mission to find me.”

She nods. “I can do it. We’ll go find some.”

“Be careful.”

She winks. “I’m good, boss.”

Then she’s gone. I twist around, searching the room for Damiano and finding him easily destroying a line of vampires rushing toward him. I send Vivienne’s message out in my thoughts for all to hear.

I notice everyone’s energy pick up as they hear it, all of us knowing we will win this part easily, but Hadrian has yet to appear, and when he does, the real trouble begins.

No sooner has that thought played in my mind than I fall to my knees with the weight of a thousand memories pushing me down. I struggle to lift my head, to cry out for Damiano, but my voice won’t work. The thuds of my brothers’ bodies hitting the wall reaches me, and I flinch under the pain of it, unable to lift my eyes to see what’s happening.

Suddenly, I’m off the floor, flying through the air and slamming against a brick wall. The pressure on my chest feels like the weight of an entire building. Damiano is across from me, stuck as I am, my brothers and their mates surrounding us.

In the middle of it all, a grotesque figure enters, reeking of decay, but unmistakably my maker.

“Hello, Cillian,” he says, his voice gravelly and dark. “Did you miss me?”

I try to speak, but my throat tightens as if his hand is around it.

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