Page 52 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

I glanced at Keir. “Did your men see anyone?”

He nodded. “They saw a red-eyed, dark figure, then they lost him.”

My blood went cold. If Balthazar had been here, watching us all along, he could have learned about the crypt, about Dracula, about our plans to rescue Joy. Every advantage we thought we had might already be compromised. “Balthazar?” I demanded, my mind racing through the implications of the demon lord’s presence so close to everything we were trying to protect. “Balthazar?”

Keir shrugged. “Perhaps. But they say it didn’t feel like a demon.” He rubbed his chin. “However, Balthazar has many friends—it could be another creature. Or a demon that he had designed.”

Enzo glanced at me. “Then Balthazar knows where Dracula is.”

Rose had been silent, her fingers absently tracing the amulet in her palm, but then she looked at Keir, her eyes pleading. The hope and fear in them was almost painful to witness. “Is Valentin…” Her voice trailed off, breaking on his name. The scent of her anxiety filled the air, sharp and bitter.

Keir’s eyes softened, his usual aristocratic mask cracking with genuine compassion. “He’s the same, Rose. He’s fighting the spell, but I’m not sure how much more he can take.”

“I need to see him.” She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, her eyes wide and pleading, reflecting the raw desperation of someone watching a loved one slip away.

I clasped her arm, firm but gentle. “No. First you need to heal Dracula. You’re a Nightshade. You’re the only one who can do this. Just like he’s the only one that can open the gates of hell. If you want to save Valentin, then we need to rescue Serenity.”

She jerked free of my grasp, desperation making her movements sharp and wild. “The amulet and the enchantment healed everyone at the graveyard. It can heal Valentin too.”

She headed toward the staircase that would lead up to Valentin’s room, her footsteps echoing against the marble floors,but Keir stepped in front of her with a fluid grace. Despite his gentle tone, his stance was immovable. “Rose, those items you hold, they’re to cure possession and hellish blades—not dark magic.”

“I have to try.” The words came out choked, heavy with unshed tears as she turned to leave.

“In the meantime,” Keir said softly. “What if Balthazar attacks my home and retrieves Dracula? My magic is powerful but not strong enough to withstand the power of hell.” He paused as if waiting for her to absorb what he was saying. “And if that happens and those items don’t work, how long do you think Valentin will remain alive?”

Dimitri put his hand on her lower back, his usual sardonic mask slipping just enough to reveal the raw worry for his brother underneath. “I want to save Valentin more than anything too, Rose, but let’s not kid ourselves here. Those potions? They’re like trying to put out hellfire with a garden hose.” His blue eyes darkened with barely contained emotion. “We know Dracula can open the gates of hell, then we can get our little Nephilim back. And Serenity—” his voice roughened slightly at her name “—she’s the only one with the juice to pull this off. Everything else is just fairy dust.”

Her back stiffened. She turned slightly, her face a mask of barely controlled emotions. “Fine. I’ll use the amulet to try and heal Dracula.”

Keir put his hand gently on her shoulder, his ancient eyes filled with understanding. “Have faith, Rose. You’re a powerful vampire and powerful witch. If you can’t heal him, no one can.”

My patience was growing thin. Balthazar could be on his way with an army. Enzo clasped my arm and shook his head wordlessly.

Rose came down the stairs and we headed to where Keir kept Dracula. The First Vampire was still strung up, his head was down, his dark hair covering his face.

He raised his head, defiance blazing in his eyes despite his weakened state. “Here to feed again, blood sucker?” The words came out as a raspy snarl, hatred dripping from each syllable.

I gave him a piercing stare, centuries of power behind my gaze. “No. To heal you.”

Fear flashed in his eyes as Rose stepped around me, her movements purposeful and determined. She held the white amulet up, and the engraved star blazed to life, bathing the room in brilliant white light that made the shadows retreat to the corners. The power emanating from it hummed in the air like static electricity.

Dracula yanked on the chains, the ancient metal groaning under his supernatural strength. “If you touch me with that damn amulet, I swear I’ll hunt you down and kill you..” His voice was different, more raspy, thin, not my maker’s voice at all—like sandpaper on rust. The sound made my undead heart clench with a mixture of rage and grief.

It was probably the demon’s voice, a corruption of the powerful vampire who had given me immortality.

“Do it,” I said. “Time isn’t on our side.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Rose slowly walked toward Dracula, each step measured and deliberate, the amulet pulsing with white light in her trembling hand. The other hand clutched the potion bowl, where white smoke jetted out like pure moonlight given form, curling and dancing in the air with divine purpose.

“Stay away from me, bitch.” His eyes turned pitch black, like holes torn in reality itself, and thick, viscous drool ran down his chin. He spat at her, blood spraying onto her face and shirt with a sickening hiss.

The blood seemed foul, tainted with evil—it carried the stench of sulfur and decay, making the air itself feel corrupted.

Rose cried out but didn’t falter, her determination burning brighter than her fear. She raced over to Dracula and pressed the stone against his forehead. The contact sparked like a match to gasoline. He twisted and arched his back, his body contorting at impossible angles.

The white smoke shot into his mouth like a living thing, seeking out the darkness within him.

Black smoke poured out of his mouth in response, thick and oily, bringing with it the stench of brimstone and ancient corruption. It swirled out the door like a sentient shadow, as if trying to find its way back to the hell that spawned it.

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