Page 94 of The Fate of Eternity

I roll my eyes at him, even though he’s definitely not wrong, but Kryll is right. We may as well refuel and wait it out. There’s nothing else we can do.

Muttering my thanks, I take the plate of food offered and dig in. Chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It’s not the last supper dreams are made of, but it could be worse. Once my plate is clean, I place my knife and fork on top as I lean back in my seat.

“Everything is a mess,” Raiden states, his gaze catching mine from across the table, and I hum in agreement.

“It’s always been a mess,” Brody adds, earning a pointed look from everyone before he can give us his ‘I told you so’ spiel again, but to my surprise, it doesn’t come. “The question is, what are we going to do about it?”

I sit tall in my seat, his words twisting a part of me as my mind starts to swirl. “That’s exactly the question we should beasking,” I confirm, earning a shit-eating grin from the mage, whose ego only swells.

“Don’t encourage him,” Raiden grumbles, and I shake my head.

“No, for real. No matter what happens tomorrow, our kingdom is going to need us in some way. As much as we’ve seen snippets of the media, we don’t truly know what the public thinks of us, and the reality is, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what the kingdom needs from us, and it’s going to need something because you’re right, it’s a mess.”

“You’re so fucking hot when you’ve got that fire in your veins, Princess,” Kryll states from beside me, and I snicker, trying my best to hide the effect his words have on me.

My nerves are calm, my heart isn’t racing, and my soul is content.

Have I spent my whole life wanting to be the heir of the kingdom, live out the role I was born into and serve the people? Yes. Undoubtedly.

But the reality is, that might not be what the people want, and it’s not the only thing I can offer.

I am willing to be whatever the kingdom needs of me, even if that isn’t the heir. Maybe that’s what this journey has always been about, I just wasn’t ready to truly see it yet.

Now that I’m here, I can see clearer than ever, and I know without a shadow of a doubt it all starts tomorrow.

Pride simmers through my bones as I bask in the revelations transpiring in my mind, interrupted only when a scream bursts in the distance. I still, peering at Kryll, Brody, and Raiden to see if they heard it too, but it’s clear the entire hall did as Beau comes storming into the room.

“What’s going on?” Kryll asks, rising to his feet as his brother races to get past him. He doesn’t stop, but he does offer an answer.

“Vampires. The Council have released frenzied vampires upon the City of Harrows.”

47

RAIDEN

Rage boils through my veins as I stare after Beau. I’m on my feet without even realizing as his words wash over me.

Vampires.

Fucking vampires.

Not just normal vampires. No. The damn frenzied kind.

Beau’s right, this is The Council’s doing, but what twists my stomach the most is the fact that I know my mother is behind this. My father too? I’m not entirely sure, but one thing is for certain, I no longer wish to bask in the superiority that comes with being a Holloway.

It’s a label that feels more like a curse than a blessing. I stepped through the doors of this academy on opening day thinking I was the shit simply because I was a vampire with a feared name. Now, it leaves me embarrassed more than anything else.

Everything I thought I ever knew means nothing. The only truth I’ve ever felt is in the grasps of my brothers and the presence of my Troublemaker.

Adrianna’s chair scrapes across the floor as she rises from her seat, pulling me from my thoughts as Brody does the same. Kryll was already standing, but he’s waiting for her next move before he makes his own.

She was our central point before The Council conjured their magic and fated us together for all of eternity, but now, it just shines even brighter.

Wherever she goes, we’ll follow.

Her gaze darts from Beau’s retreating form to the three of us around the table before she takes in the fact that none of the other students seem fazed by what’s happening around them. A soft curse under her breath and a tight smile our way, and she’s off.

We’re a step behind her.

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