Page 69 of Foretold

Tendrils of darkness attack the shackles, and Pandora mutters an incantation. They break free. I jump into Rave’s arms while they break Bane free, and then we all get the hell out of there.

We run up a large set of stairs that leads outside to lush green land. Axe, Soren, Sinda, Cove, Elios, and Nico are fighting the vampires, and we rush to their side to help them. I make a shield that covers us all, protecting us while we make a plan.

“What do we do?” I ask them, hands out in front of me. “Do we fight, zip home, or kill the fucking King and let Drake and his mother have the throne?”

“I’m going to kill the king,” Rave announces, his eyes flickering to me. “He took you, and now he needs to pay. No one touches what’smine, especially not the love of my fucking life.”

Fuck.

My mate is sweet when he wants to be.

“Is your coward king going to show his face?” Nico calls out as the horde of vampires tries to fight through my magic.

Soren turns to Rave. “I think we should go find the king. His vampires are just doing what they are told.”

And so we head inside the vampire castle.

To kill their king.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Astrid

Believe it or not, we find the Vampire King sitting on his throne, not a care in the world. He’s kept his best guards at the door, ones who weren’t good enough to stop us all, and as we step inside, his red eyes flash as fear takes over his face. The light-haired vampire who brought us the bread and water stands next to him.Is he another prince?

“You took my mate,” Rave says to him, his voice is layered with warning. He holds my hand, not willing to let me go, even as his shadows gather around him, ready for violence. “And now you need to pay for that.”

“I want my queen back,” the king snarls, magic building at his fingertips.

“Let me,” I murmur, using my healing magic to destroy him from the inside out, sucking the life out of him before he makes his attack. Everyone around me stares in shock and horror.

But I don’t care.

Let them see who I truly am.

“Holy fates,” I hear Pandora whisper, but I block everyone out and focus on the task at hand.

Revenge.

The Vampire King all but explodes, his blood and insides splattering his obnoxious throne. The vampire next to him screams and throws a knife at me. Rave catches it midflight and throws it to the floor.

“A king for a king,” Rave declares.

And for a moment, I wonder if he wanted that kill as revenge for his father’s death.

But then he looks over at me, proud and triumphant. Ialso don’t miss the heat in his eyes. Apparently, me being bloodthirsty turns him on. Good to know.

His shadows go after the other vampire, snapping his neck, all while his eyes are still locked on me. Heat pools in my lower belly. A knowing glint lights his eyes until they narrow on my neck.

He frowns, suspicion lacing his tone. “What the fuck is that?”

My fingers touch the bite wound left behind from Bane’s feeding, and he removes my hand to touch it with his own.

His eyes then flash to Bane, the room suffocating in darkness. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

“No, you aren’t,” I snap, standing in front of him. “Stop it, Rave.” The darkness clears. “It was my choice. And now is not the time. We need to get out of here.”

“I’ll find Drake and tell him what’s happened,” Soren announces, breaking up the tension. “Bane, you go and find Rion’s mate. There was no one else in those dungeons with you two, but they must have more nearby.”

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