Page 68 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

As Tristan approached, Charmaine fought to her feet, her gaze fixed on the darkness consuming him—but she could still feel a flicker of his light, buried within. Maybe, just maybe, she could reach him. She couldn’t explain why she wanted to save him, but the impulse drove her. Beside her, Dolly summoned a shimmering barrier, its radiant energy burning any supernatural who dared touch it. The sight sparked an idea in Charmaine’s mind.

Once Tristan was close enough, she raised her own barrier—a dome of energy that enclosed them and cut off any interference from Dolly.

“What are you doing? That’s not Tristan. It’s his Draca. He’s dangerous! Something’s wrong—don’t!” Dolly shouted, as she struggled to hold back the advancing supernatural’s, no matter the cost.

But Charmaine’s focus stayed on Tristan, her determination grew as the dome trapped them together. If his light was still there, she would find it, even if it meant risking everything.

Chapter 29

For the Love of Light

Bellagio-Las Vegas, Nevada

April 17, 2018 (4 Days Before Death)

Dolly looked backat her best friend and Tristan in silent horror. The two circled each other, then clashed. Both hit with fists and kicks and countermoves at super-speed. The fight was brutal and equally matched. Charmaine was fierce, but their movements a blur. Each time Tristan gained the upper hand, he tried to pin her down, his fangs were borne and snapped at her throat, intentions clear.

Charmaine, however, overpowered and pummeled him, avoiding opportunities to end him. It confused Dolly. The wolves and other supernatural’s were all dead, piles of ash between frozen people, trapped in time. She turned and tried to blast through the psychic barrier that had her friend trapped with Tristan’s Draca. She could not.

“Lucio! Lucio, please come back! Are you there? Please help us,” Dolly wept. She could not let her friend die. She sent her telepathic message to him urgently. At some point, Tristan seized Charmaine. She hit the ground hard enough to crack thefoundation under her back. Tristan pinned her there, his eyes glowing.

“Sei mia. You are mine,”Tristan wheezed in Italian.

“Eres mía. You are mine,”Tristan said in Spanish.

“Tu es à moi.You are mine,”Tristan said in French.

“Você é minha.You are mine,”Tristan said in Portuguese before his fangs retreated and his mouth descended onto Charmaine’s. Tristan’s weight pressed into her as his tongue swept inside her mouth, his dark energy cooled her fire under his closed lids and light energy surfaced. She resisted the bliss at first, but resistance soon melted as a strong part of her craved an even greater union. From the deepest part of her heart, she summoned Liora.

“What do I do?” she asked.

It’s not him. He’s under the control of his Draca. It’s not your fault or his. This has always been the danger the moment he inhaled you, even more potent is your touch. He can’t resist, you must. Find a way to release you both before he relinquishes control to the darkness inside of him.

“Why is this happening? What do I do?” Charmaine asked.

The answer was not in her goddess. It was in her. And she found it on her own. She released the strongest pheromone she had within her. It weakened the Draca and gave her the needed strength to push through both desire and lust. She burned through his cold, dark essence and sent him all the purity in her energy—hotter than a solar flare. It sent Tristan sailing off her. He crashed out of the force field she had erected. It exploded like glass before dissolving. He sailed nearly to the other side of the casino.

I’ve done all I can do. You need to go now. We are on our way. Me and the brothers. I will do what I can to protect you and Darlene, but you need to go. I can’tstop Tristan from here. Kill him if you have too. Go!Lucio shouted in her head.

“I’m trying to stop him. They just won’t stop attacking each other,” Dolly said.

Charmaine was back on her feet. She could hear Tristan’s Draca enraged snarl, and with super speed, he crossed the distance between them. He dodged each blast of energy from Dolly to slow him down. Charmaine spun into a kick, fist punches, counter blows, and full-on fight for her life. She hit him with all her power and strength, and it happened so fast. When he dropped, she backed away as Dolly watched them both.

“Let’s go. Leave him. Let’s go!” Dolly said not sure if she should join the fight or pull her away. She didn’t want to kill Tristan, but she didn’t see any other way to stop him.

“I’m not yours,” Charmaine panted, and tears welled in her eyes. She saw him, she felt his light, she sensed history and intentions that were once so pure but stolen and corrupted within him. “I’ll never be yours,” she said and resisted the urge to heal him with her aura. “You aren’t worthy!”

Tristan smiled as her power washed over him and calmed him, so the Draca did not return.

“Let’s go! Lucio says we should leave. He’s coming with his brothers. We must go now!” Dolly said.

Charmaine frowned. Her head turned. In that instant, Tristan sprang into action. He caught her by surprise. He grabbed her by her breast with one hand and locked her to his chest with his arm around her waist. Tristan sank his fangs into her throat. Charmaine and the goddess Liora collapsed into his embrace, taken by the darkness, drowning within it, and being dragged to the Draca. Their blood, their energy draining from their true essence. Tristan’s erection was hard against her backside. His hand squeezed her breast while the other slippedlower and cupped her sex. Her eyes fluttered shut as he drained her of her life force, and she submitted.

Dolly saw Charmaine in his arms and panicked. The Di Salvo brothers would be on them soon. She could not save Tristan. She blasted them apart, knowing that the energy she sent would hurt or possibly kill them both. She swept in and summoned strength she didn’t know she had to pick up an unconscious Charmaine and carry her out with a gift of flight. The moment they were outside, her magic shield lifted, and time resumed. People everywhere continued their destined path. Landing on her feet she half carried, half dragged Charmaine, she went straight to the valet.

“That’s my car,” she told him with her psychic powers, and he believed.

“Yes mam, he said and opened the door for her to drop Charmaine inside. She was quick to run around and get behind the wheel. She drove as fast as she could away from the hotel.

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