Page 44 of Forced Vampire Mate

I drew my sword and held it loosely in my hand. My grip was firm enough to keep hold of the blade if we were suddenly attacked, but not tight enough to cramp up my hand. I stuck close to Luken as we moved cautiously forward. A minute turned to half an hour, and my nerves started to jangle like a badly-tuned guitar.

“Where are the challenges Donelle mentioned?” I hissed under my breath.

The words had barely passed my lips when a shrill noise filled the cave. I gasped, reaching to cover my ears. Movement caught my eye, and I whirled, raising my sword. Something flung itself at me, and I swiped at it. The blade bit into something solid and wet that slumped backward with another shrill cry. I felt something wrap around my ankle and I jumped back, stabbing downward. I cut through a thick vine that quickly retreated.

Dozens of creatures came at us from all angles. Bolts of light shot at us, only to be turned aside by glittering shields that appeared from the talismans. The physical attacks weren’t so easily dissuaded. There were so many of them, and they moved so quickly that I couldn’t see any of them clearly in the dark. I spun, stabbed, and sliced. Vines kept creeping up through invisible cracks on the floor to grab at my feet.

Luken let out a strangled shout. I cut off the grotesque head of one of the creatures and turned just enough to see. The creature on his back was mottled grey, illuminated by the flashlight on the cave floor. Bony arms wrapped around Luken’s neck. He yanked at the thing, but it held him too tightly. I spun closer and stabbed through it, careful not to hit Luken. It let out another of those shrill cries and fell away.

“Enough!” Luken roared. He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me tight against him, and then spun us both, one of his hands outstretched. A burst of flames arched from his palm, illuminating the cave. The heat made sweat break out over my skin, and I gasped. The creatures screamed and fled. The vines crumpled to ash.

When Luken pulled back the flames, silence echoed around us. I panted, clinging to him as I trembled. My scars burned, and my lungs ached, feeling as though I’d been in the flames themselves.

“Are you okay?” Luken asked, his arm still tight around me.

I pulled away, taking a few deep breaths to steady myself. “I’m fine.”

Luken nodded. He took a step, and his leg shook. I quickly grabbed his arm. He must have seen the worry on my face because he gave me a pained smile.

“That spell is a little difficult,” he muttered.

“You didn’t sleep, did you?”

Luken glanced away. My fingers tightened on his arm, and I repressed the urge to tell him we couldn’t have him running around fighting whatever those were and blasting out magic while he was running on no sleep. He was strong. And we didn’t have much time. It didn’t stop my stomach from twisting as we continued. A few times, I heard a strange skittering noise but all Luken had to do was snap his fingers, bringing a single flame to his palm, for the noises to stop.

“What are those things that attacked us?” I asked when the silence became too much.

“I… don’t know,” Luken admitted, sounding frustrated. “They feel magical. I guess that Draven created a hybrid beast that attacks anyone that’s not with him.”

We passed by an empty suit of armor laying on the floor, next to a pile of scattered bones. Gnaw marks were visible on both.

A short time later, we came to a room. It was large, lit with a bright golden light that emitted from the ceiling. The light formed a perfect circle in the center of the room, over a slightly raised dais. The walls of the room were smooth, no sign of a door anywhere. Luken circled the light, squinting at it. I followed close after, keeping an eye out for more traps while he studied the contraption.

“It’s a revelation spell,” Luken finally said, stopping. He reached back to twist his braid up into a bun at the back of his head. “Basically, a truth spell. You step in, and it goes through a series of levels, forcing you to reveal your truths or be riddled with pain. The memories associated with your answers will be shown in the light.”

“What sort of truths?” I asked warily.

“Impossible to know until we’ve activated it.”

I nodded once, bracing myself. Luken was already in a weakened state. And if this thing was magic, we needed a magic user to have a clear head. As much as the idea of having my truths revealed made me flinch back, there was only one option here. I sheathed my sword and stepped into the light.

“Elara,” Luken snarled, reaching for me. A spark emitted from the light and snapped to his hand. He drew back, hissing.

“Subject: Elara Tideborne,” a cool, mechanical voice said. “Truth: Luken Holakas.”

Oh, no. My heart sank as I looked at Luken. His expression went blank. What was this thing going to make me reveal? For all the times I thought we needed to be just honest with each other, I wasn’t ready for that! We needed to save Darcie first, so this threat and heartache wasn't lingering over our heads like a guillotine!

“Speak your truth,” the voice ordered.

Maybe there was a workaround? “Luken Holokas is the vampire king. And my husband,” I said nervously.

A shock went through me, making me yelp.

“Speak your truth,” the voice ordered again.

I clenched my hands. “That is the truth. He’s my husband and the vampire king.”

The shock came again, stronger this time. I flinched and resisted the urge to step out of the light. “Fine! Fine, he’s… the moment I first met him, I wanted nothing more than to be with him. He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. I wanted to be with him, and when he asked me to go with him, I only said no because I thought my family needed me. But I regretted it.”

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