Page 65 of Vanquished Gods

My breath quickened. “Do I still have my magic?”

A line formed between his eyebrows. “Most witches retain their power after they’re turned. Try it.”

I lifted my hand and pressed it against his cheek, feeling the coolness of his skin under my palm. “Anything?”

His lips curled. “Just you. Not the death magic.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could feel it still living inside me, coiled tightly. It took some coaxing, but it rose up, and I let it out, a surge of power flowing from my hand into him.

Sion closed his eyes, a breathy sound escaping his lips, his eyelids fluttering. He sighed. “There it is.”

I pulled my hand from his face, and exhaustion sank down into my bones.

Sion caught me around my waist and scooped me into his arms. He smelled divine, like musk sweetened with exotic flowers. He carried me over to the bed.

“When will I need to drink blood again?” I asked hollowly.

“I’ll stay here with you. In a few hours, you’ll drink more.”

I licked my lips. “Can I survive just drinking it from glasses?”

He shrugged. “Yes, but I promise you it’s not as good.”

My tongue flicked over my fangs, and my thoughts drifted to Leo. My little boy…

I had wanted so badly to keep him away from vampires.

“What happens next?” I asked, sounding like a scared child.

He brushed my hair off my face. “I’d love to give you time to adjust to your new life, to stay in here, looked after. But our most recent intelligence told us that we have only two weeks before the Order arrives.”

I brushed my fingertips over his cheekbones, letting a little bit of my magic charge into him. “And you need me to kill them all.”

CHAPTER 30

Ipaced the room, my legs shaking as hunger curled around my chest. I touched the magical butterfly pendant at my throat, and its power hummed against my fingertips.

It had been a week—seven long days—since I’d turned into a vampire, and I hadn’t yet tasted blood straight from a vein. Something stopped me from sinking my teeth into a person’s skin. If I started to drink straight from someone’s throat, I worried I’d never go back. That I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from going after every human’s throat once I started.

Sion said that as a vampire, you became more of what you once were, the more time passed. So, what if—as a vampire—I turned into a death-hungry monster?

My eyes drifted to the glass I’d stopped in front of, which reflected a stranger’s face. Pale skin, red lips, the wild glow of hunger in my eyes. I hardly recognized myself.

I ran my tongue across my fangs, imagining the sweet, pulsing taste of life flowing fresh from a human’s throat.

Then I pushed the thought away. I had more important things to think about than my own hunger.

Sion and I had been training night and day, readying ourselves for the oncoming invasion. I couldn’t bear to think about what would happen to every person on this island if the Order succeeded. If I failed.

Fortunately, my magic felt stronger than ever, a dark power coursing through my veins. Together, Sion, Maelor, and I had managed to bring up walls of magic like storm clouds of death. Sion’s magic felt like a sensuous, velvety cloak against my skin. Controlled, slow, seductive. Maelor’s felt untamed, like a cold wildfire that could switch directions at any moment. I’d grown used to the feel of both.

I moved to stare out the window again, where dusk darkened the sky, a lurid red bleeding into the clouds.

That day, I’d visited Leo at Veilcross Haven. I’d found him playing, laughing among the other children, blissfully unaware of what was coming for us. I’d tell him closer to the time. But there was no need for him to spend days being terrified. I didn’t need him thinking about me as the only thing standing between the Order and the brutal deaths of everyone here. Leo deserved to stay in that carefree world a little longer. So, I’d kept my silence. Enjoyed our time together.

I closed my eyes, envisioning the oncoming army.

But something tugged at me, the cloying scent of bruised roses twining through the air. My chest tightened. Rowena. Her scent lingered in the room like a sickly sweet miasma. But why? Why was it so strong?

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