Page 96 of The Fate of Eternity

“Vampires. More vampires,” Brody states, rushing to Adrianna’s other side, and I curse. More? Of course there are more. That’s all we need right now. “What do we do?” he asks, eyes fixed on Adrianna, but it’s a pointless question when we all already know the answer.

Pressing my lips to her temple, I breathe her in for a split second before I face Brody. “We do what we always do: we fight.”

Eager to get this over with sooner rather than later, I charge toward the stampede of vampires that rushes toward us. Light shines behind me, and I know Adrianna’s magic is taking on a mind of its own again.

My eyes narrow as I charge toward the carnage, my vampire speed unmatched by those stumbling toward us. I take out the first six before they even realize I exist, while Kryll sets them alight from the back of the group.

Excitement buzzes through me, confirming that I’m slightly unhinged with every one of them that hits the ground. Instead of hiding from my delight, I relish in the feeling, taking out four from the next row before I’m stopped in my tracks.

“Really, Son? Do you want it to end like this?” My mother cocks a brow at me, her hair perfectly in place, her outfit as pristine as ever, as she wanders among the frenzied.

“Why are you here? Why are you doing this?” I snarl, fury boiling beneath the surface as I face the woman who has provided me with nothing but pain and anguish. Even that’s a stretch. I’ve never been high on her list of priorities, not even when she was elected to be a professor at the academy. Now, I see that move for what it was; her weaseling her way into the folds of the new times. She thought she would be able to stay one step ahead of the academy if she was among it.

Now, she’s the outsider she’s always been, and I’m no longer at her side.

“Did you really think The Council would concede so easily? How foolish,” she sneers, her eyes narrowing to slits as though she’s inconvenienced with having to explain herself to me.

It’s in that moment, in that single look, that I don’t need an explanation from her. I don’t need anything. I have everything I’ll ever need already.

I could have nothing and it would still be more than what I need from her.

There isn’t a nurturing bone in her body. Not one. She’s all about herself. Always.

“You’re the foolish one, Mother. For thinking you would still be relevant after all these years. You’re no longer good for our kingdom, you’re worthless to our people, and you don’t deserve the power that’s been so freely handed to you. Now, if you don’t mind, I have an academy to protect,” I state, taking a backward step as I offer her a small salute.

My dismissal does nothing but piss her off more and her hands ball into fists at her sides, but that’s no longer my problem. Turning my back on her, I set my sights on the closest frenzied vampire, but before I can take a single step, fingers coil in my hair, wrenching my head back as whispers echo in my ear.

“You always were a worthless offspring. I sent you to the academy in hopes you would prove yourself to me, but I should have known you would fail. Worthless, unloved, and alone. That’s what you always have been and what you always will be. Now, say goodbye to this little life you think you’ve created for yourself because I’m going to burn it all to the ground. Starting with you.” Her threat coils around my body as her hands reach for my neck, ready to treat me exactly as I’ve been treating the frenzied.

My anger sees no limits as I reach for her wrists, but she’s one step ahead, moving before I can. My throat clogs with the tightness of her grip, threatening to snap in the next moment, but before the world goes black at the snap of my neck, a growl rumbles through the air and her hold on me is gone.

I fall freely, my back colliding with the ground a moment later as my fingers curl into the strands of grass. It takes a minute for me to catch my breath, panting with every second as I confirm that I’m not fucking dead. At my mother’s hands, no less.

Pushing up, I quickly topple back over when four paws and a set of snarling teeth leap over me, tackling my mother to the ground beside me. Twisting my head, I watch, completely enthralled as my mother is chewed up and spit out effortlessly.

Piercing hazel eyes meet mine in the darkness and the connection in my core flares to life.

Cassian.

Not just him, but all of the wolves.

I sit in awe, watching as countless frenzied vampires, along with their foolish leader, fall to the claws of the Kenner wolves and Kryll’s flames, until a sense of calmness washes over the campus.

Rising from the ashes of night, with a wolf firmly at my side, I head for the glowing beacon, guiding me home.

I’m alert, I’m prepared, I’m determined. Because although the chaos may be gone, it’s only temporary, and it’s about time we brought it to an end for good.

48

ADRIANNA

“Get everybody inside. I don’t think we need to anticipate another attack, but they’re safer within those walls than out here,” I command, nodding at Beau, who opens the doors without a single word.

It feels strange. I’ve got the weight of a battle resting on my shoulders, but no physical exhaustion. It’s all mental. The protective light that blossoms through me is turning me from an act first, think later kind of girl, to a protective woman, and there’s something poetic about it that warms my soul. Or maybe that’s the magic.

Standing by the open doors, I wave everyone inside, gaining a whispered thank you from a few of the civilians as they pass. I simply give off a soft smile as my gaze darts through the night air in search of my men.

It’s Brody I find first, sauntering toward me with an appreciative grin on his lips. He doesn’t speak as he moves to stand beside me, his fingers ghosting along the back of mine, silently offering me his support as he urges everyone inside with me.

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