Page 51 of Dark Flame
“Cedric—you met him at the party—was my best friend…and was very much in love with Cora. Cora returned the sentiment and longed to wed him, but Father always refused the match because he was a stableboy, and too low in station for a princess. No matter how many times I begged him to make Cedric a knight, allowing him to work up to a ranking a bit more suited for her, Father never agreed.” His tone sharpens.
“You didn’t like that?”
“Station may have been important for alliances, but I wanted my sister happy, and Cedric made her the happiest. Our father got tired of the begging, so he began seeking his own alliance for her. At the same time, wars were breaking out all over the place as sides competed for territory. As humans, we didn’t realize the people we were fighting were witches—didn’t know witches existed. The one particular coven giving us issues housed a certain family.”
“Sinclairs,” I fill in the gap, and he nods. “Wait. If you were battling Sinclairs, that means this castle—us—is near—” My mouth clamps shut, though I’ve already given too much away.Fuck.I shouldn’t have said that, should have held on to what little hints he’s allowed slip.
Alec chuckles. “Highridge Coven? No, that was before the coven inhabited Banff. Don’t read more into this story, Hellion. As if I’d give you anything that could help you escape.”
I study his face, seeking whether it’s a lie or not, but after who knows how many centuries alive, he’s either a really good liar or telling the truth.
“To end the fighting between our kind, Father offered Cora to the coven as a peace treaty. An arrangement, since that was how so many mortal disagreements were solved. For that, station no longer mattered to him. Nor Cora, and I feared for her safety. Mother and Father packed her up and sent her off.” Alec pauses, his tongue sweeping his bottom lip in a way that momentarily makes my brain stop functioning. Only for a moment, because the vulnerability seeping from him makes me feel…well, empathetic. “In truth,” he murmurs, “I think Father was happy to be rid of her. My parents only intended to have me, the heir. A daughter was never part of his plans.
“I was there when the transfer happened. Was there to see Cora scream and cry for Father to return her home.” Alec’s hands fist the armrests again, this time the metal crying beneath the force. “He walked away without a backwards look, so I planned an attack to get her back. Cedric joined me, and the next night, we went armed to where the coven made camp.”
I lean forwards, captivated by his story. So far sad, and I’m suspecting it’s about to get worse. “You failed?”
“In part. We succeeded in getting Cora out of the tent, but that’s all. Turns out, the Sinclairs had deals with vampires—a species we’d only heard about. Back then, the world was more faith-based, and there were rumours of a devil’s child running around, drinking the blood of humans, though nothing had been confirmed until that moment. The coven sent the vampires after us, and our mortal speed was no match for theirs.” He stops, wiping his hand along his mouth. “To this day, I don’t know why the group changed us instead of killing us like the coven instructed. But when we woke up the next day, all three of us were in transition, and instincts told us how to complete it. The coven disappeared, and with our transition, we were all filled with a bloodlust I simply can’t explain. It was more than a need to kill. It felt like I’d die if I didn’t get revenge. I had it the worst, more than Cedric and Cora. I blamed my parents for what happened. Father, for giving Cora to the coven and not allowing her to wed Cedric, and Mother, for doing nothing to stop it. So I returned here, slaughtered them, and took the castle for myself.”
His callous words, spoken with a chilliness the beginning of his story didn’t have, make me flinch. No sign of regret or dismay; just cold facts. I open my mouth, uncertain how to reply.
His smirk is a twisted coil of no regrets. “Like I said yesterday, I, too, killed my parents, only mine deserved it.”
“What happened after that? You began hating Sinclairs?”
“Yes, because they, too, were at fault, considering they sent the vampires after us, but my hatred for them didn’t really spark until much later. You see, a few things had come from our transition. My parents were no more, and Cora and I were free. Cora and Cedric got to be together while I ruled in my father’s place. We fed on anyone and everyone, won every battle. Life was fuckinggood.” A sense of peace that makes my bones cold crosses his expression. “We weregods,” he continues. “Powerful and unstoppable. Cedric and Cora lived here for a while, but eventually went off on their own.
“During that time, wars between vampires and witches were mounting because neither side had ever gotten along. All over the world, the two sides fought…and we were no exception. There were challenges up north, so I left here to assist and met up with Cora and Cedric. One night, Cora was hunting in the woods, and your ancestor, Elizabeth Sinclair, captured her. Killed her in retaliation. Cedric and I were close but out of reach to save her in time. He stayed with her body while I hunted Elizabeth through the woods. I ripped her throat out.”
He looks my way, his eyes tinged red in anger, or the memory of the kill. A feeling that isn’t fear courses through me, and it’s one I could never have guessed I’d have towards this man—this vampire.
Sympathy.
“I’m sorry.”
He huffs. “It’s not your apology to give, now is it? No, Elizabeth stole my sister from me. That wastwiceyour family condemned mine…so I condemned yours. From then on, I vowed to end every generation of Sinclair witches, leaving only one female alive to carry on the line. Of course, they then invented the cure to vampirism and made it a part of you, a twist that sometimes got themselves killed before I had the chance.”
I stare at him, my body stiffening with every passing second I forget to breathe. But it’s in those passing seconds that the small sliver of sympathy I felt only a moment ago disappears. Fades with the resurgence of hatred for this creature.With the end of his story, he’s reminded me of every reason why I can’t let my guard down. Why I hate Alec Dormer, no matter what’s happened today.
“That’s why you came for me?” My question is a whisper, quieted by dread and understanding. “You’re going to kill me.”
It makes sense. Mom told me Gram’s sister died in her early twenties, but not how. Mom was an only child. I’m an only child. Our family stopped producing more than one child every generation because ofhim.
This is…this is so messed up.
He shakes his head, not paying attention to my near-breakdown. “Your family has tried to best me, but I’ll always win. Your death would end the game, and I’m not ready for it to be, so I’ve changed the rules. For the rest of your life, the very thing that was designed to protect the world from my kind will be the very thing that’ll condemn you. As I mentioned the other night, immortality is ongoing, and you’re my newest entertainment. For now, at least.”
What?
No.
He’s saying?—
What?
I’m up and out of the chair before my next breath, pacing as far back as the room physically allows me. And even so, when my back hits the wall, I keep pushing, willing myself to go through it while determining the likelihood of making it over the bed.
“You know, for a moment, I actually feltbadfor you. For your sister. You really are an asshole.”
