Page 2 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

Darlene’s body shuddered with suppressed rage, her voice a low, dangerous growl. “I feel it. You’re different now. I can’t break free. I don’t even know how I got here. But don’t mistake that for weakness.”

Her fists tightened; her voice rose like the wild winds surfacing a storm. “Understand this: I won’t rot in hell while you ride off into the sunset with your Vampire King. I chose him first, not for you—forme. And I’ll show you. I’ll showhim. I’ll show him what pain is. He’ll make another choice next time he sees me.”

Smoke began to pour from Darlene, curling upward, dense and suffocating blackness. Dolly took a step back, but the igloo filled with it, the darkness closed in like a living thing.

Darlene’s voice became a scream, sharp and unrelenting, it burrowed into Dolly’s mind like invading parasites. The smokeswept up into Dolly’s nose, her mouth, her ears, it choked her, blinded her. She clawed at her face. She tried to cough it out. It was of no use.

Panic surged as she stumbled toward the exit, desperate for air, for escape. Darlene’s screams reverberated inside her skull, it split her thoughts apart. And then she realized—it wasn’t Darlene screaming. It was her.

If she didn’t fight, if she didn’t escape, Darlene would take her place.

“Dolly!”

Her eyes snapped open. Lucio stared down at her; his hands gripped her shoulders. His expression was wild with panic—a look she had never seen before, not even in their most dangerous moments. His eyes searched hers, for an explanation.

“Dolly? Is it you?” he asked. He stroked the side of her face.

“I... I…” she stammered. The words couldn’t form. Her thoughts clouded; memories swirled in fragments she couldn’t piece together.

“Safe word,” Lucio demanded, his tone was both sharp and urgent.

“Huh?” Dolly blinked up at him, confusion thick in her mind.

“Safe word!” he repeated.

“Glasses,” she finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucio exhaled deeply; relief washed over him like a breaking tide. He pulled her into a kiss, then gently rolled her on top of him. Dolly went willingly. She let his touch ground her, his love chase away the remnants of the nightmare.

“I’m here. It’s okay,” Lucio murmured, and cradled her against his chest.

Tears spilled as she buried her face into him. “I saw Darlene,” she choked out, her voice breaking. “She’s back, Lucio. She’s trying to take control. She wants to kill everyone—even me…”

“It’s my fault,” he soothed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We knew this would happen.”

Dolly clung to him tighter, her body went cold with dread. She closed her eyes, desperate to shut out the memory of her sister, to escape the darkness that clawed at the edges of her mind. “I can’t keep fighting her, Lucio. I can’t fight her forever. Fighting to keep my body... my soul... it’s too much.”

“Then we don’t,” Lucio said softly, his voice steady with purpose. “You and Darlene have to unite.”

“What?” Dolly lifted her head from his chest, her tear-streaked face contorted in disbelief.

“Hear me out,” Lucio said, his gaze locked on hers. “Not like this—not one of you conquering the other. But there must be a way to bring you both together. To unite.”

Dolly pushed away from him. She sat upright. “No. You still don’t understand.”

Lucio caught her hand before she could pull too far away. “I understand more than you think. I understand that you are the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. That you have something so many of us could never hope for.”

“What?” Dolly asked, she yanked her hand free.

“A chance,” Lucio said, his voice gentle but firm. “A chance to share a soul connection so pure, so naturally made, that you could have it all—the good and the bad. Dolly, you could have it all.”

“I don’t want it all, Lucio. If I take a chance, I want it to just be me. For once. Not the delusional version of me, not the complacent me, not the victim, not the shadow—just me. Why is that so hard for you to accept?” she asked.

“It’s not,” Lucio reasoned. “What we want and what we need are often two different things. That’s the way of the world. I want you, Dolly.”

“And her?” Dolly’s voice dropped, sharp and bitter. Her eyes locked onto his, searching for the truth. “Do you want her too?”

Lucio hesitated for a moment, his expression softening. “The truth?”

---