Page 74 of Shadows of Fate

The sick feeling in my gut was growing by the moment. I watched as Silvana and Cora approached the dais, where he was lounging on his dark throne. He was wearing a silver shirt today, half unbuttoned, and black pants. Black boots and a black belt completed the look, his dark brown hair was slicked back, making him look even more pretentious than when I’d last seen him.

“Thank you, Viktor,” he said to the male who’d escorted them.

Viktor?This is Viktor? This is the male who led the Eternal Outcasts?

Silvana let go of Cora’s arm and pushed on it gently, forcing her to stand back while Silvana approached him. When she was a few steps away from him, she dropped down to kneel in front of him.

“You’ve disappointed me, Silvie. I hear you met with the healer, and once again, haven’t given me an heir. I expected better from you,” he stated. His tone was bored but his eyes told everyone just how angry he truly was.

Silvana didn’t speak; she didn’t defend herself. She just knelt in front of him. I wanted to walk over and drag her to her feet, kiss her senseless, and take her away from here. But that wasn’t an option.

He rose from his chair and stepped down from the dais. Kneeling in front of her, he grabbed her chin, pulling her face up to look at him.

“I expected more from a born vampire with as much power as you, Silvana, but once again you’ve given me nothing to be proud of.” He rose to his feet, and then backhanded her so hard she fell on her side gripping her face.

Born vampire.

Born. Vampire.

The words echoed through my mind. She was… she was a born vampire? No one sired her? This entire time, I’d been thinking Keres was her sire, and that’s why he had such an obsession with her. But that wasn’t it at all.

I thought back to the story she’d told Joel and me, about her parents and her sister. Keres took her, killing her family. I thought back to the mission of the Eternal Outcasts. Silvana must have been in the first batch of born vampires he attempted to create heirs with.

I tried to focus on what was happening, instead of the fact that everything about my stunning female made so much more sense to me now.

Silvana was pushing herself back up and onto her knees. She spit some blood onto the floor before looking up at him, fire in her eyes.

“Fuck. You,” she muttered, venom lacing her tone. “You’ll never get what you’re after, Keres. I won’t allow it. You can’t rule the Court of Ice forever, you’re a Fates-damned impostor. You don’t belong here, and they’ll never accept you. Not when they know. Not when they find out the truth.”

Keres looked around the room quickly before pulling out a blade and attacking her with it. I screamed, willing the shadows in my veins to protect her, but nothing came. I couldn’t help her. Blood everywhere. My vision flashed between my mate and my sister.

So. Much. Blood.

I blinked my eyes a few times, realizing I was back in the cell. Tied to a chair, my shadows writhing beneath my skin, my breathing hard.

“Bad dream?” came a voice in front of me.

I glared at him. Pulling against the bonds, I screamed. I screamed until my voice was hoarse and I had nothing left to give. The entire time Viktor just stared.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he stated with the same bored tone as Keres.

“You took her to him, you let him try to kill her in front of everyone. You did nothing, Viktor,” I growled.

He paled. “Ho-how did you know about that? We were told she didn’t have any memories of her past.”

I felt a malignant smile curve across my face as my shadows crept along my fingertips behind my back. I realized quickly how much stronger I felt since I’d opened my eyes, as if I’d truly fed from her in that meadow.

“She is my queen. My soul-bonded mate. My female.” I let my shadows drop down to disintegrate the bonds that held me, and I stood up to my full height. “I am connected to her in every single way. Her memories are my memories, and I know it all.”

Viktor looked up at me, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in shock.

“Her vengeance is my vengeance, and my queen will have her vengeance,” I said. I let my shadows loose, bounding him tightly. I picked up the shadow stone blade he’d been holding and jammed it into his gut. My shadows filled his throat so he couldn’t scream. “Save those for my queen, Viktor. She loves it when they scream.”

I moved him to the chair I had been placed in, holding him there with nothing but my magic. I could hear others in the building—wherever we were. So, I set out to kill them all. Walking out into the hall, I let my magic flow free. Destroying everyone it came into contact with—easily and without fail.

My queen would be here soon, and I’d make sure we had quite the reunion.

Chapter38

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