“And what does it want?”
“Me.It wants me to surrender.To give myself over completely.”I meet his eyes.“It says it’ll stop the attacks if I do.That it’ll spare everyone I love.”
“It’s lying.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”His hand moves to the mark on my shoulder, covering it completely.“Creatures like this don’t bargain in good faith.It’ll take what it wants from you and then keep taking until there’s nothing left.Just like it did to the wardens who came before you.”
“What do I do?”The question comes out as a plea.“How do I fight something that’s inside my own head?Something that can make me see and feel and hear things that aren’t real?”
“You stay anchored.”He pulls me closer, until I’m practically in his lap.“You hold onto whatisreal.Me.The bond.The club.Everyone who’s fighting to keep you safe.”
“But people are dying—”
“People arefighting.”His voice is firm now, brooking no argument.“Prophet, Blade, the brothers, they’re all trained for this.They know what they signed up for.And they’re not fighting so you can martyr yourself.They’re fighting so we canwin.”
I want to believe him.Want to believe there’s a way out of this that doesn’t end with me surrendering to the thing that’s been hunting me since I first stepped foot in Alaska.
But the mark burns, and the whispers continue, and somewhere in the back of my mind I can still see all those people dying because I’m too scared to do what needs to be done.
Vex must feel my doubt through the bond because he cups my face in both hands, forcing me to look at him.
“Listen to me very carefully,” he says.“You are not responsible for what this creature does.You didn’t ask for this mark.You didn’t invite it into your life.And you sure as hell don’t owe it anything.”
“But if I can stop it—”
“You won’t stop it by giving in.You’ll just give it exactly what it wants, a fully conscious, powerful warden to use as a vessel.”His thumbs brush away the tears still freezing on my cheeks.“Prophet explained this.The devourer needs you willing.It needs you to choose it.It’s the only way it can fully manifest in our world.”
The words sink in slowly, cutting through the fog of pain and fear.
“The attacks,” I say slowly.“The people dying.It’s not because I’m resisting.It’s because it’s trying to force my hand.”
“Exactly.”Relief flashes across his face.“It’s psychological warfare.Break you down until you’re desperate enough to agree to anything.”
“And if I don’t break?”
“Then we fight.Together.The whole club, Prophet’s magic, whatever it takes.”He presses his forehead to mine.“But we don’t give up.And we sure as hell don’t give it you.”
The mark pulses again, angry now I’m slipping from its grasp.
Foolish girl.You think your vampire can protect you?You think your little club of monsters can stand against what I am?
The temperature drops even further, and I can see my breath crystallizing in the air between us.
I am older than your gods.Older than the ground you stand on.I am the cold that kills, the ice that preserves, the hunger that never ends.And you are mine.
The word echoes through my skull with enough force to make me cry out.Vex’s arms tighten around me immediately, and I feel him trying to pull the pain away again through the bond.
But this time it’s not just pain.The mark is spreading.
I can see it happening, black frost creeping from my shoulder down my arm, across my chest, reaching for my heart.It’s not physically on my skin, not visible to the naked eye, but I can feel it inside me.Feel it trying to take root in my soul.
“Vex,” I gasp.“It’s inside me.It’s—”
He’s moving before I finish the sentence, his mouth finding mine in a kiss that’s equal parts desperation and determination.And through the bond, I feel it—him pouring every ounce of his vampire nature into me.Ice meeting ice, cold meeting cold, but his cold is different.His cold isprotective.
The mark recoils.
