Page 54 of Forced Vampire Mate

I nodded once. The three of us took off. Luken shared his plan through the bond, but I could hardly pay attention. This was my little sister. I’d fought tooth and nail to get to her, to save her from this place. And now, when I arrived, I saw she was practically in charge of the escape attempt. I truly didn’t know my sister at all… but I was so happy that I would get the chance to get to know her.

If this worked.

The magnificence of the temples flickered and went dead, leaving us in an ugly, run-down wooden building. Darcie shuddered but didn’t stop. She led us through dusty hallways and finally to a large room where a portal lay on the floor. The space was authentic marble, with scenes of blood painted on every surface. The portal, set into the floor, was four times as large as Draven’s in the cave.

The round, flat space flickered with shades of green, yellow, and blue. Images bubbled in it, like storm clouds reflecting off the ocean.

Luken took up a spot next to it and reached for my hand. He didn’t want me here; would rather I leave and stay safe, but he knew he couldn’t do it without me. I grabbed his hand and held on tightly, staring at the portal’s surface. How many girls had been shoved through this thing, to who knew what waited for them on the other side?

I turned to Darcie. “You need to get out of here while you can. I don’t know how violent this will go.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

I smiled, tears pricking my eyes. “Go to Thessa.”

Darcie hesitated, then stepped toward the doorway again. “Don’t get killed when we’ve just found each other again.”

“Same for you,” I laughed, even though I wanted nothing more than to whisk her away and keep her safe.

She managed a smile before she turned on her heel and raced away. I prayed she and the other girls would make it out. Thessa had told me about priestesses—were they still here? Would they try to stop them?

Luken stared into the portal, his expression hard and determined. He’d shoved away any semblance of doubt in himself. I let my love for him sweep through the bond as I stepped up beside him.

My husband.

My mate.

My Luken.

Magic swelled between us, strong and bright and beautiful. Our hands twined together, and Luken started to chant.

I didn’t know the words. Not even the bond let me understand what they meant, but I understood the intent. A crisscrossing net of blue magic started to form over the portal, starting from the edges and weaving its way into the middle. A firm casing built itself on the net, stretching out fingers like ice casing a lake, but it burned hot, a red magic that hardened into stone as it spread around the portal.

A bolt of lightning jumped from the center of the portal. Electricity crackled through the air, making my hair stand on end. It cracked a chunk of marble out of the ceiling. I yanked Luken aside in time for the stone to avoid us. Luken stumbled, his concentration broken. The net disappeared over the portal, and more lightning crackled around the edges of the seal he had already put down.

Luken snarled as he held both hands out over the portal. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the strain in his body as he fought the gods’ magic, tearing apart the seal. Sweat dripped from his face, and his fangs lengthened, his magic greedily sapped by their power. I ground my teeth together, holding him tighter. I pushed more of my strength through to him. Our magic convulsed together, bursting forward and sealing chunks of the portal, only for the gods’ magic to tear it apart.

I looked past his shoulder into the roiling portal. A howling wind had joined the lightning. In the mass, I thought I saw a face. Two green eyes made of storm and fury latched onto me. Ice flooded my veins, and Luken faltered. He saw it, too. Massive fingers reached through the portal, grasping the edge of it. My heart hammered.

Images were forced into my mind. Promises of exactly what would happen to me and Luken when they came through. What they would do to Thessa, Darcie, even Bain for helping us. Images of what they had planned for our children…

Our children. A ball of light sat inside me, the same light I’d been filled with after Luken and I made love on the beach.

We weren’t alone; he and I. Love swept through me, and it was more powerful than fear. I was pregnant. I could see them already, the babies growing in front of me. And I would not let the gods get their hands on any of us. As my love swelled, Luken’s did as well. The magic grew stronger, bursting through us both, unable to be contained. A terrifying roar filled the room, but we held onto each other and our future.

Inch by inch, we forced the portal shut. The hand slipped, falling back. The storm clouds disappeared, and stone rippled over the portal and cracked down the middle, forever destroying the entrance to our world.

Shaking, Luken and I slowly sank to our knees. Luken turned, pulling me up tight against him. He shook with exhaustion, his breathing in great gasps. Wonder pulsed through the bond as we held each other. It had worked. We’d sealed them away, and now the gods couldn’t touch us again. No wonder they feared the prophecy so much!

Luken pressed his lips to my forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked, even though he’d be able to feel through the bond I was.

“Yeah. Are you?”

He smiled, but through the relief, I still felt an echo of sorrow.

I cupped his face with my hands. “He didn’t give you a choice.”

“I only pray that he’s at peace, wherever our souls go when we die,” Luken murmured. He pulled me closer and nuzzled his nose into my throat. “Twins.”

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