Page 95 of The Fate of Eternity

As our feet pound across the floor, I feel the tingles of the fated mates magic at my core. Even with Brody’s guidance on how to try to keep it at bay, it still makes its presence known. My steps falter as I take a moment to think, and instead of doubling down on the threads of magic threatening to unleash and connect us all on a deeper level, I succumb to it.

My eyelids flicker as I sway on the spot.

I feel Adrianna first, her determination and strength flooding my thoughts, while Kryll vibrates through me with a darkness I can only relate to a dragon. He’s dedicated to his woman, ready to attack or defend at any given moment, and it almost leaves me afraid that I don’t love her enough.

Clearing my throat, I force my eyes open as I hurry to catch up, only to find Brody staring at me expectantly. Our connection is vibrant as he gives me a knowing look, confirming that he’s letting the magic run through him freely too.

He falls into step with me without a word as we follow Adrianna and Kryll through the doors and down the corridor. If Beau knows we’re following him, he doesn’t acknowledge it. Aknot twists in my stomach, a feral connection that I know only leads to one person.

Cassian.

Before I can think better of it, I tug as hard as I can, silently pleading for him to get his ass here, but there’s no knowing if he senses me or not as we reel to a halt by the academy doors.

The screams are louder, the terror even more deafening as I peer through the stained glass the best I can to catch a glimpse of what is happening on the other side.

Even through the stained and mottled glass, blood splatter is visible as the carnage unravels.

“How many are there?” Kryll asks, looking to his brother, who shrugs in response.

“They’re not birthday presents wrapped all pristine for me to count, Kryll. What do you want me to say? Thirty-six?”

Kryll shakes his head in irritation as he turns his back on his brother. “Fuck off, asshole. I’m trying to gauge what we’re up against and you’re being a dick. Next thing you’ll want is for me to pat you on the back for counting them all yourself,” he snaps back, but there’s no time for this.

I can see it in Adrianna’s eyes. She wants to get out there and help. She doesn’t want to have to deal with this shit.

“Up against? You’re up against nothing,” Beau bites back, snapping everyone’s attention to him.

“We’re not doing this again, Tora,” Adrianna grinds out, using his last name instead of his first. “You didn’t stop us the last time we saw frenzied vampires on official academy time, and you won’t stop us now,” she adds before reaching for the door.

I sense his shift as he tries to stop her, but no one gets in the way of my woman and what she wants. I cut the distance in a single breath, shouldering him to the side as Adrianna continues, and the door swings open a moment later.

Just as she did that night in the middle of the City of Harrows, she charges at the enemy, ready to lay down her life in the line of duty for her kingdom. And just like last time, I’m right with her. Alongside Brody and Kryll. Aware of the missing puzzle piece, I tug on the connection I feel with Cassian again, hoping for the best before I enter the battle.

I lunge for the closest vampire, their beady eyes wild with need. They’re so jacked up on the taste of blood, which drips down from their chin, that they don’t even see me coming. His neck snaps like a twig in my hands and his limbs crumple to the ground a second later as a shimmering light dances in the night sky.

The first time I saw it, I was startled, distracted, and almost blinded, but now, I see its purpose and appreciate its glow. With my guard down, I also feel the connection with her magic as it projects into the night sky, coating one civilian after another.

I watch in awe as Adrianna stands center stage, light pouring off her like a fountain as it drapes over the innocent, allowing me to highlight the vampires in the darkness. Scrambling over lifeless bodies that we didn’t get a chance to save, I track my next target.

The frenzied vampire is a woman with blood-stained hair and pitch-black eyes. Her back is hunched, her fingers curled at her sides as she desperately seeks her next prey. She reaches her hand into the light, eager to sink her teeth into her next piece of flesh, but instead, a blood-curdling scream parts her lips as she whips her arm back, sans any fingers attached to her hand.

She’s too busy staring down at the burnt flesh to see me coming and I make quick work of dispatching her, watching her crumple at my feet. Satisfied, I peer into the darkness, ready to attack again, when a flash of fire burns in the distance. It takes a moment to spot where it’s coming from, and I relax when I seeit’s Kryll decimating more of the frenzied fuckers on the other side of the light.

With the sound of Brody’s chants echoing in my ears and my mates holding their own, I fall into a rhythm, slaying one vampire after another until no more remain.

A cocky grin tips the corner of my mouth as I wipe my hands. Adrianna must sense the same accomplishment because a moment later, the bright light dims and the civilians are no longer under her immediate protection.

Murmurs vibrate through the crowd, thanks and relief washing over them. Each one offers a glance of some kind in Adrianna’s direction, but she doesn’t seem to notice it as she squints at something in the distance.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, sidling up to her side a moment later, and her frown only deepens.

“What’s that?” She points in the distance, but all I can see is empty academy grounds. I shrug, certain she’s seeing things, but then a roar from above makes me still. Kryll’s wings swoop through the air as he circles the sky ahead before he heads back in our direction.

I feel it then, his emotions through our connection, and I curse. “You feel it too?” Adrianna asks, squeezing my arm in a mixture of comfort and concern, and I grunt.

“I have my walls down. He’s alert, panicked, and?—”

“Warning us,“ she finishes, eyes scanning the sky for Kryll’s next move.

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