Page 77 of After Darkness Falls

The creature inside him was a straightforward beast, always up for bloodsport, attacking head-on.

Hers was a spider, weaving webs around people's hearts and playing them to her tune, consciously or not.

Right now, Levi could feel them. Dozens of huntsmen, Mikar, Cat, Bill, half a dozen witches, all fighting their way through legions of ferals to get to her.

He'd feared that her family would try to rule vampirekind by fear. What she was doing was a thousand times worse.

She would rule all, with nothing but a pretty smile.

The evening sky darkened under a cloud of ravens flying atop the hill, gathering around their master.

She remained still, grasping his throat.

"Why am I alive?" she finally said, her throat dry, obviously sore.

"Because you're a born vampire. Your blood. Drink it now. Without it, you…"

He didn't finish the sentence, eyes widening in horror.

She'd pulled the necklace up to eye level. And at the center, the stone was broken.

34

One Course

Levi froze beneath her, horror echoing in his every feature, eyes widened in shock, mouth hanging. It was bad. She could tell it was bad, even in her fuzzy, hazy mind. Levi had never once looked like this. In a fraction of a second, her mind ran through every time she'd seen him. Nope. No horror anywhere.

Her eyes returned to the broken stone. Red blood. A faint scent that wasn't any less familiar. She would have recognized it anywhere.

This was the scent of Sunday pancakes and bad jokes. Home.

"Tom."

She didn't think she'd said the name in years. Not since then. After her father's arrest, the world had opened up under her feet, and she'd turned every which way in an attempt to find her anchor, but he'd been gone. He'd abandoned her.

All the hurt she'd long buried rushed to the surface, fueling a rising rage she didn't know where to direct. There was a man on his back beneath her knees. Him. She could destroy him. She'd feel better after, right?

No. Not him.

The thing inside her had had a presence, thoughts that never quite matched her own, until this day. Now, they were in agreement, and it had a voice. Her voice, whispering words of darkness at the back of her mind.

"Chloe,focus,” Levi said. “You've unlocked a hundred percent of your brain functions, and it can be confusing, but you just need to concentrate on what's important. The ferals. Getting out of here. You understand?”

Ferals. Yes, that rang a bell.

She could definitely destroy them. She grinned.

"Chloe…"

She was already on her feet, running downhill. They were close. Now that her attention was on them, she could hear them, feel them.

A piercing cry resounded, and her eyes turned skyward. Ravens. All of the ravens in the message box, and more. They were following her.

She liked it. She liked them. She wanted to be with them.

Her heart became lighter, and she almost felt herself float, when a hand grabbed hold of her wrist and pushed her hard against a tree.

"Listen to me, child," Levi roared.

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