Page 75 of Kiss of Light

But Tala… Tala had shown him what it was to stand and fight. To never back down, no matter what the cost.

He rose up against the black. Against the will of the demon controlling his body. Ravij turned his attention to the unexpected resistance.

“If you fight me, it will be more painful.”

“Pain only sharpens my will, demon.”

“You want to be a hero for your shaitun? Too late. She is in my grasp even as we speak.”

“I won’t let you hurt her.”

Ravij giggled, supremely confident in his power.

“On the contrary. You and I are going to tear her head off together.”

Despair closed around him again. He wasn’t strong enough to beat Ravij. He couldn’t keep him from possessing his body, so how would he expel him?

I believe in you.In the blackness, her voice washed over him. Quiet. Confident. He went very still.

“Her words don’t matter, Vetali. She cannot save you.

Come back to me my beautiful vampire. I need you.

She believed in him. Now he just had to believe in himself.

He lunged against his captor’s will. Taken by surprise, Ravij receded. Just the minutest amount, but Lemar felt it. He pushed again, finding his strength, and his opponent’s weakness.

“The last time you controlled me, demon, I didn’t know you were there.”

“As if that would make a difference, bloodsucker. You needed little excuse to drain that young woman dry.”

“And I’ve regretted it ever since.”

“Pathetic. You are a Vetali. You are superior in every way to humans. Yet you feel bad about using them as food.”

“Only a deluded psychotic would think that.”

“Your self-denial is why it is so easy to control you.”

Lemar let his anger grow. Rage made him strong. The chink he found in Ravij’s will expanded a little more.

“Tala was right. Youareegotistical and bloodthirsty.”

“You will see how bloodthirsty I am. Can you hear her heartbeat? Can you sense her fear?”

He listened, and felt both. But he also heard her whisper. It went directly to his soul.

I trust you.

He tapped into a strength he didn’t know he had.

“You know the trouble with you, Ravij? You enjoy darkness. You embrace it. But me… I battle my dark side. I’ve been fighting my demons for nearly a hundred years. And I’m not letting you get your claws into me.” He braced for a final effort. “So get the fuck out of my head.”

With a roar, he pushed the blackness circling him, tearing through it, ripping it into shreds and throwing it out until his mind and body were his own again.

And found himself pressing his fangs into Tala’s neck.

One of his canines had already broken her skin, releasing a single drop of blood. He drew back and dabbed the tiny puncture with his tongue, healing it instantly.

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