Page 10 of A Touch of Madness

I latch onto Cara once more and throw her to the ground, Sylvie’s spell dissolving as she realizes I have her under control again.

The two traitors exchange panicked glances, the realization of their doom sinking in. Under the weight of our combined fury, their resolve shatters, and the truth spills from their lips like blood from a wound.

“I didn’t have a choice!” he cries as Dorian pounds him against the wall. “They—They threatened me! Come on, please!”

What a stark change of demeanor.

“Do you think that excuses the two of you?” I snarl, my fangs bared as my spittle lands on Cara’s cheeks. “You betrayed your own kind.” I look between the two once-trusted staff members. “You endangered us all. Do you understand what will happen now? Now that your peers have no food?”

I take a deep breath, silently doing my best to compose myself.

“Get them out of my sight,” I growl, turning away. “Have the guards lock them in the underground chamber and we will see to it we start theprocesstomorrow.”

Sylvie watches me with wide eyes, a mix of shock and something else—something I can’t place. Dorian calls out to our guards in his mind, I’m able to hear it but I’m unsure if Sylvie can. Soon, two of them come and lead the traitors out of our sight. Their terrified, shrill screams pierce the air, and if they think they’re scared now, they better pray to whomever their God is that I die before I get my hands on them tomorrow.

“It’s safe to say you will continue staying with me,” I say as I turn to her, my voice softer but firm as my fangs retreat.

I cup her face, still trying to get my heart to slow down.

She hesitates, her lips parting in protest as her dark brown eyes peer into mine.

“It’s not safe for you elsewhere, especially now,” I add. “Solstice is on the move again. Lara is too dangerous, and you’re too important to me. Nothing will happen to you under my care, Sylvie.”

Her shoulders drop slightly, the fight leaving her. “Fine,” she says quietly, reluctantly, but at least she’s acquiesced. “I wanted to talk to you about future living arrangements anyway.” I give her a questioning look, but she shakes her head. “When we get home.”

Home.

I like the sound of that coming from her sweet lips.

I can’t help myself, despite the rage still boiling inside of me, I claim her mouth, my tongue slipping inside as I press my body to hers. She wraps her arms around me, and I hold her like my life depends on it—like hers does, too. I pick her up and she tangles her legs around me and kisses me back with such force it causes a chill to spread through my body.

And only then, does my heart return to its normal rhythm.

The council chamber feels colder than usual tonight. The ancient stone walls, carved with protective runes that glow faintly in the dim torchlight, seem to echo with the tension filling the room. Dorian and I felt an intense pull to gather the factions before outrage consumed everyone and there wasn’t a chance to.

Sylvie is home, where she belongs, cloistered in safety, protected from the world’s dangers. It is the sole reason I am able to fix my thoughts upon the impending night and not be swept away by the chaos brewing within. She spoke of spending the evening with Rebecca and Nicole, a small gesture of normalcy amidst the storm. A new film, one they’ve longed to view, will be their escape for the night.

I cast my gaze across the chamber, where vampires of each faction have assembled—each one a solitary figure within their designated enclave, unwilling to mingle, as is their way. Which, I confess, suits me. I have no desire to converse with the Unbound—the feral deviants who roam the world as they please, killing anyone and everyone for their own gain—or the Ascendancy—their totalitarian society, so removed from any semblance of humanity.

Our faction, the Midnight Alliance, is assembled on one side, our members seated with rigid formality, while the Ascendancy maintains their accustomed air of lofty superiority on the opposite side. Across from them, the Unbound slouch in their chairs, lounging like the barbarians they are, their confidence a bitter affront that gnaws at my restraint. They’re probably merely thinking of the next human they’ll surprise and drain on the outskirts of our region—where they roam.

Hunt.

The chamber is quieter than I anticipated, save for the scrape of boots and whispered conversations that bounce off the high ceilings. Dorian sits beside me, his usual relaxed demeanor replaced with the same grim resolve etched on every face here.

“We all know why we’re here,” Dorian begins, taking control, his voice steady but low. “Our blood packs are gone. Stolen. The entire reserve.” He pauses, scanning the room. “If we don’t address this immediately, the fragile peace we’ve maintained will unravel. All will be for nothing.”

“Fragile?” scoffs a member of the Ascendancy, his aristocratic features twisted in a sneer. “Let’s not pretend your little experiment wasn’t doomed from the start. Relying on humans to willingly hand over their blood was always beneath us.”

A murmur of assent ripples through the Ascendancy ranks, but Dorian presses on. “We built this system to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. To maintain the balance between us and them.”

“And now your precious system has failed,” a voice interjects, low and mocking.

All heads turn toward the Unbound section of the room. Their leader, Kristoff, a towering, ghostly figure with a jagged scar cutting across his cheek, leans forward in his chair, legs spread wide, his predatory grin visible even in the dim light.

“You’ve spent decades cloaking yourselves in the guise of civilization,” he continues, his voice dripping with derision. “Feeding from fuckin’ plastic bags instead of the veins of your prey. Now look at you—heading toward starving, desperate. And still clinging to the illusion that you’re better than the rest of us.”

Dorian stiffens, his voice sharp with restraint. “The system hasn’t failed. It’s been sabotaged. By the Solstice Society—a common threat. This should be an issue to all of us, regardless of if you feed from ‘fuckin’ plastic bags’ or not. Being sabotaged in one area is only going to lead to them testing us in other areas.”

---