Page 1 of Fated In Forever
1
EVANGELINE GRAVES
My father claimed there were only two types of vampires.
The good ones—which were already dead—and the evil ones we were hunting.
My father’s claim was wrong, as he’d been wrong about everything else, but some lessons stuck with you, especially the ones reinforced with fists.
My childhood aside, I kept a knife in my hand as I studied the patrol of strange, distrustful vampires guarding Malachi and I, the ones our very lives depended on, wondering why he had brought me to a heavily fortified Irish compound that looked straight out of a fairytale.
Brendan Thorne,he murmured in my head, as if that name explained everything.
But that didn’t tell mewhywe were here, surrounded by a heavily armed, trigger-happy squad of blue uniformed Knightsguard, weapons rattling, hearts racing, the scent of their fear clogging the cool air with a sourness that choked the optimism right out of me.
Nikolai strolled nonchalantly ahead of us, sun glinting off his blond hair, no hint of alarm as he escorted me—armed, soaking wet and in the middle of a nervous breakdown—and a bare-assed, eight-foot monster toward the castle like we were expected for afternoon tea.
Then again, he might have seen this all before.
He was a bona fide Elder, after all, and his power was something I’d never experienced before…and never wanted to again.
Crushed beneath wave after wave of his magic, I reminded myself to keep breathing and not collapse into a ball of weepy, quivering flesh. Elder power was the kind that carved out your insides and left you hollow and with every step, Nikolai’s influence became more oppressive, like a weight pressing down on me, until every step was heavy and hard.
Behind me, nudging me along, Malachi moved with that same immortal ease, his magic—darker, wilder—warring with Nikolai’s, like they were locked in some silent battle, leaving me shivering in my wet clothes, still smeared with dirt and blood and reeking of whatever residual magic was in that godawful pool.
Honestly, I’d be lucky if I didn’t end up with a staph infection.
Looming head and impressively wide shoulders over everyone else, naked as the day he was re-born, Malachi kept one paw firmly clamped over my shoulder as we followed Nikolai into Laith Castle. Out of the corner of my eye, those long black talons gleamed like a fistful of knives, sharp points carefully resting against the tattered fabric of my shirt, heat from his body surrounding me like a warm blanket, a welcome comfort in this otherwise grim situation.
The world was ending, he was a monster, and I was…different.
I wasn’t exactly surewhatchanged, but even my soul felt stained by Ravok’s unholy spell.
Not in any way I could readily identify, but my magic felt darker, my blood colder, my bones more brittle. On theoutside, I was the same, but inside…I snuck a glance up at Malachi.
Something from that ritual had rubbed off on me.
Maybe I hadn’t so much as disrupted Malachi’s transformation…as become part of it.
But my personal problems would have to wait.
That mountain was leaking magic and Blake and Rohr needed backup. Ravok had to be stopped, and for that, we needed allies.Strongallies. Like the kind with well trained, organized Knightsguard and fortified, warded compounds.
Stepping inside the castle was like going back in time, where aged gray stone walls were softened by new blue and silver tapestries, matching banners hanging from the enormous hand-hewn timbers cradling a soaring ceiling, the rarified atmosphere awe inspiring and humbling at the same time.
Are you sure about this? I asked Malachi, mind to mind, as we were marched like prisoners down the wide corridor.
Brendan Thorne is the only vampire I trust and he has a very specific skillset. If anyone can unravel this spell, it’s him.His amber gaze kept flicking over to Nikolai, strolling along like we weren’t all in the presence of an eight-foot-tall creature who could erase us with one flick of a black-taloned finger.
I would never harm you, Evangeline. Malachi grumbled inside my head,why do you insult me so?
I reached up and patted his hand.Stop being a drama queen. That was just a figure of speech. Why is this Nikolai acting so calm after we told him about Ravok? And I thought all the other Elders were dead?
So did I. The rumor was they were killed, fighting against this very clan.
Well, your intel was faulty, then.
Apparently, which is even more reason to speak to Brendan.
