Page 118 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

Tristan closed his eyes.

“Do it,” Charmaine whispered into his thoughts. “For me. For us. Save her.”

With a calm breath, Tristan approached the bed. He helped Charmaine slip a robe onto Sonya’s limp form. Charmaine leaned in and pressed a reassuring kiss to Tristan’s lips, but her tear-filled eyes revealed her fear of losing him. Tristan looked away. She stepped back as he lifted Sonya into his arms, her head lolling. Without hesitation, he sank his teeth into her jugular and drank from her. Dark pulsating lights rippled through the room when Dolly and Charmaine clasped hands over the scarab. The two summoned an ancient power to heal. Telepathically, Charmaine directed Tristan to contain the darkness with a promise to draw enough energy to pass to Sonya.

Together, they channeled the same force, and its strength surged, pressed against them, threatened to break free. Shadows and light swirled and merged, formed a vortex of magic that enveloped Tristan and Sonya, black waves of energy went over them until Sonya’s body gasped with life. Her eyes fluttered open, Kaida’s essence bloomed within her. Dazed, Sonya looked up at Tristan, who laid her down gently. Their hearts beat in synceven as they parted, thrummed between them, potent with dark matter, energy and undeniably linked. Sonya was the first to pull away. Charmaine noticed.

Sonya’s connection to Shakespeare reignited, as strong as ever. She turned to him, drawing him into her arms, and a primal power surged through her, healing him as his eyes opened. Shakespeare clung to her; his grip unbreakable.

Charmaine’s heart broke. Tristan reached for her, pulling her close, but she resisted, her voice trembling. “I saw it… I saw…”

Tristan took her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You haven’t lost me, goddess,” he whispered fiercely. “I will never love anyone more than you. I would die proving my loyalty to you.”

Relief washed over her, and she melted into his embrace, burying her face against his chest. But Tristan’s gaze drifted to Sonya, their eyes met briefly before they both turned away.

“Darlene’s gone,” Dolly said and broke the charged silence.

Everyone turned to her, confusion in their eyes.

“I saw Julia Brown—not the old woman Lucio knew, but the young girl trapped within her. She pulled me from the dark sleep, tried to warn me. I think… something came for Darlene. Something is trying to stop us.”

“Something, or someone?” Charmaine asked.

“I feel her,” Sonya murmured. “She’s in a forest, a place called Syracuse.”

Shakespeare’s body tensed. “Vittorio? She’s with him?”

“Yes, in his lair, right now,” Sonya confirmed.

“We have to go,” Dolly urged. “Now!”

“No,” Tristan said firmly. “We can’t rush in. Vittorio is too powerful to confront without a plan. If Darlene’s with him, the prophecy has unfolded. We must be ready.”

“What does that mean? Ready? What do you think this all was for. What we agreed to with those cult people. What wechanged into. We are ready together. Not as one.” Dolly’s voice trembled. “He could kill her!”

Sonya answered. “Darlene’s stronger than we think. She won’t go down without a fight. You know her better than that.”

Tears filled Dolly’s eyes. “But she’s my sister… she needs me.”

Charmaine hugged Doly tightly. “It’s okay. We’ll get her back. Just hold on.”

“We need to go to Rome—to Lucio. Dolly, you must be there when Draquria returns. Darlene was right: she’s the key. Whether through Julia Brown’s curse or the prophecy itself, she’s destined to end Vittorio and release the Draca. When that happens, he’ll come for Lucio. Whatever power was awakened in you, Dolly, is our only hope of saving him.”

Tristan turned to Sonya and Shakespeare. “You two go after Darlene. Protect her. Help her defeat Vittorio. Phoenix may be calling the shots now; we’ll make our move accordingly.”

Sonya hesitated. “We shouldn’t split up.”

“We already have,” Dolly whispered, she wiped her tears. The room fell silent. “Lucio warned me. Darlene and I were strongest together, but she needed her independence, to be her own person. Julia Brown came to me because we disrupted the balance. She wanted Vittorio dead, all vampires gone, with the darkness sealed forever. It gifted power to Papa Legba to grant revenge and supremacy to her people. But she was mistaken; the Draquria isn’t Vittorio—it’s the darkness itself. She was deceived.”

“It’s not over,” Charmaine said with renewed confidence. “We can still change this.”

Dolly wasn’t so sure, but when she looked into Charmaine’s and Sonya’s steady gazes, something shifted within her. Every painful moment of her life had been shared with them, and they had never wavered in their loyalty to her.

Sonya stepped forward, taking Charmaine’s hand, and together they knelt before Dolly, their voices strong with ancient purpose—their discipline inherited and forged through their rebirth.

“We are the protectors of the realm. We serve you, our Chosen. It doesn’t matter if there is one or two of you. We will serve you and Darlene to the very end.”

Charmaine lifted her head, her voice filled with resolve. “As the Protector of Light, I’ll banish the darkness and help you heal Lucio.”

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