Page 99 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

“I am sorry,” Beaux whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Sonya smiled, and her hand reached up to caress his face. “I know,” she replied, soft and gentle. She pulled him down for a final, tender kiss.

As their lips met, the cocoon of light and darkness around them shattered, and they both collapsed onto the desert floor, their clothes somehow restored, as if they had never been stripped away. Beaux stared at her in disbelief, his hand trembled as he touched his face, the scar that had marred his features for so long now gone. The Draca within him was silent, the blood on his soul washed clean. But as Sonya looked away, lowering her gaze in shame, he could sense the turmoil within her.

She had enjoyed it—the mating, the union, the raw intimacy of it all. But she was not supposed to. She did not even know the man she had just healed, the man she had just loved.

Tristan stepped forward. He offered a hand to Shakespeare, who was still gazing at Sonya with a newfound appreciation. Something pure and unfiltered in his eyes. “I know, bro. It’s what they are. Congratulations, you’re married,” Tristan said.

Shakespeare tore his gaze from Sonya. He took Tristan’s hand and stood, still trying to process what had transpired. But when Sonya tried to stand, he was at her side in an instant. His hands reached out to help her.

“Don’t touch me!” she warned, her voice sharp.

He hesitated, his hands dropped to his sides as he struggled to resist the urge to comfort her, to hold her.

“Stay back,” she said, her voice softer but still firm as she stood on her own.

“But…?” Shakespeare’s voice faltered.

“We are in dark times,” Sonya interrupted. Her eyes locked with his as she spoke. “I would have never done that with you if it weren’t important. I’m not here to be your wife. We have a greater purpose. I must save Darlene. Charmaine must protect Dolly. You two are the only magistrates we can trust. You must help us get to Lucio before it’s too late.”

“I… I need to understand what has happened to me. Am I still a vampire? Am I… are we? What is happening?” Shakespeare stammered; his body reeled from the transformation he felt within.

“You studied nothing Phoenix taught us, did you?” Tristan said with a wry smile.

Shakespeare frowned, shaking his head. “No, I didn’t give a shit.”

“Well, too bad. The short answer is your Draca is just drunk and asleep. He’ll wake and you’ll be the same asshole as before. Yes. You are a vampire. Now. We have other problems. Look!” Tristan pointed to the membrane of pulsating light that now dominated the horizon. It stretched impossibly wide, left to right, and towered nearly to the clouds, a surreal and ominous barrier that shimmered with an otherworldly glow.

“The sisters are in there. My sister is in there,” Sonya said. “We have to get to them.”

Shakespeare stared at the glowing wall of light and tried to make sense of everything. The rage that had fueled him for so long was gone, replaced by a strange calm, a clarity he had not felt in centuries. His thirst for vengeance against Lucio, his guilt over his wife’s death, all of it had been wiped away in the whirlwind of his union with Sonya. But now, something else had taken its place—a commitment, a deep-seated resolve to serve the woman who had healed him, to protect her with everything he had.

“Who has them?” Shakespeare asked. He struggled to piece together his thoughts, but one thing was clear: his loyalty to Sonya. She had awakened something in him, something he could not fully understand but was compelled to follow.

“The First People,” Tristan replied, his tone grim. “They’ve been waiting for this moment. I’m guessing to exploit it. We’re running out of time.”

Shakespeare clenched his fists, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of control, of purpose. He considered what Sonya had said. The ancient curse, the chosen ones, the Guardians—none of it had mattered to him before. But now, after what had just transpired, it was all he could think about.

“I don’t fully understand what this curse is or what it means,” Shakespeare said, his voice steady, “but I know one thing: I’m with you, Sonya. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

Sonya’s eyes met his, and for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. She found sincerity in his gaze, the transformation that had occurred within him. The relentless beast was still there, but now it was tempered with something new—a devotion that could only come from a soul that had been healed and redeemed.

She nodded, acknowledging the bond that had been forged between them. “We’ll need all the strength we can muster,” she said, her voice resolute. “Lucio won’t stop until he’s destroyed us all, but we won’t let him. We’ll save the sisters, we’ll protect the ones we can, and we’ll end this curse once and for all.”

As the three of them turned their attention to the towering membrane of light, the weight of the task ahead settled over them. They were bound by blood, by pain, and now by purpose. The desert night was silent around them, the stars bearing witness to the vow they had made.

“Let’s go.”

Chapter 42

The Battle for Liora and Kaida

Mojave Camp Ground Zero

April 19, 2018

(2 Days Before Death)

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