“Come now, sister. You know you are not strong enough to protect all that power from me.”
Caligo laughed as Striga winced, her knees buckling as she struggled to hold herself upright under the pain he inflicted upon her. She wrapped her arms around her chest in her last attempt to keep her soul, her power, everything inside her.
She stared up at him, a look of determination in her eyes. “You are right, I am not strong enough to hold this power. And neither are you.”
As Striga threw her arms to the sides, her entire body came alight with Luciferus light. With it, she unleashed every ounce of power in her body.
Ever since Divina had predicted her death at the hands of Caligo shortly before she herself had died, Striga had limited the use of her powers to a minimum. The only times she had let her power free was in the rare occasions she demonstrated her abilities during Adriana’s training or she needed to block Xander’s prying Manipuli magic. She had years worth of magic stored inside her and, though it had meant her body had weakened and tired from holding such control, it meant her power had multiplied beyond comprehension.
The magic inside her seeped out of every pore of her skin until the whole house was lit by pure, white light. She called for it to aim at Caligo, to rain down upon the beast that threatened this world. As every drop of light was thrown at him, Striga watched in triumph as it sent him flying backwards, back through his rotten shadows, back into the Intermundum.
He was gone, and he was wounded. He would not be able to return for a long time. She had defeated him in this battle, but she would not be around for the wars to come.
Striga’s body went rigid, a state of paralysis overcoming her, a consequence of unleashing all of her power. She fell to the floor, the back of her head landing heavy against the wooden floorboards. She could vaguely feel a growing warmth beneath her as blood pooled from her head. In the distance, she could hear the scurry of the servants rushing around the house, wondering what on earth had happened, and she could hear Adriana shouting behind her locked door as Sebastian ran into Striga’s room to find her bleeding on the floor. But he wouldn’t reach her in time, it was too late. Her time had come.
Striga stared up at the moon through her window and smiled as she took her last breath. She could hear a soothing voice calling to her, telling her it was all over now, it was time to let go, before she felt the strong embrace of an angel of death as they carried her away.
She did not fight them, did not panic or fear. She welcomed them, as if something inside her recognised this beautiful bringer of death… and slipped away into oblivion.
Xander
Xander stood in front of the steps to Duran Manor, watching his brothers through the windows as they clinked their glasses in the main hall. They were completely unaware of the Manipuli magic weaving its way into their minds, compelling them not to leave the house until dawn.
They had all arrived to see him get married, to watch him start the next chapter of his life with the woman he loved. Of course, they had Court matters to discuss, too, but they were ecstatic to receive an invitation to such a joyous event for such a troubled soul as Xander’s, even if their happiness was purely out of their opportunity to tease him.
It was freezing outside, so cold his breath puffed out in front of him like ghostly clouds in the moonlight, but Xander barely acknowledged the chill. He wasn’t even sure how long he had been standing there watching his friends. But he knew he had been standing there long enough for the splitting pain in his head—the pain that began as soon as he’d made it outside his home—to subside. His body was no longer shaking as it had earlier, his mind no longer screamed, and the burning in his veins had dulled to a warm buzz.
He looked up at the moon as he slowly turned away from his home and closed his eyes, feeling its power. They had once thought Daemons got their powers from the moon, all of their brands incorporated it in some way and they tended to feel stronger at night. But Xander knew his power was not from the moon, it never had been. It was all Lilith. The moon was hers, as was he.
He brought his gaze down to look across the lake and fixed on the top right window of Amara House. Adriana’s room. His lips slowly lifted into a smile, revealing his sharp, white fangs as he began to walk back around the lake.
Xander knew there was no need to rush. The night was long and dark, so full of possibility. He would take his time.
Chapter fifteen
The Longest Night
Xander
Xander watched as Adriana’s breath fogged the cold glass pane of her window, her forehead pressed against it as tears streamed down her face. She had witnessed it all, just as he’d intended. As the staff fled Amara House, running into the night as fast as they could, Xander picked them off one by one.
The shouts and cries from the staff echoed all around him, their begging and pleading for their lives like music to his ears, followed by the crescendo of their shrieks of pain as he destroyed them. He killed them all with minimal effort. Some he reached out and grabbed if they got too close to him, slashing his talons across their chest, their neck, their face, until their corpse hardly even resembled a human body anymore. Others he used his Manipuli power, forcing them to kill themselves in front of himby slitting their throats or biting through their own wrists to bleed out slowly, painfully.
He didn’t feed from any of them, not a single one. This was not a bloodlust frenzy—this was killing for fun. And he smiled up at Adriana the entire time as he leisurely made his way to the front of her home. Every action, every deliberate look, conveyed a silent message that held no room for deniability.
He was coming for her.
As two of the remaining maids ran towards the direction of the stables, Xander used his Lure to draw them straight to him, to caress his body and kiss him. His smile widened as he kept his eyes on Adriana, before he grabbed them both by their throats, one in each hand, and crushed their necks.
Xander dropped both of their bodies and raised a bloody hand towards Adriana. The white fangs of his grin, standing out against the red blood splattered across his face, were visible in the moonlight. A smile of a predator.
He gave her a small wave as she continued to sob. She was clearly unable to believe what he had turned into.
What you truly are, a voice rang out in his head.This is the real you. This is the real you she could never love. She will never accept you, she will only destroy you.
The cook ushered the remaining staff members back inside and slammed the front door. Xander laughed at their stupidity for thinking it would protect them, that anything at all could help them now.
With one swift, powerful kick, the door blew inwards and he strolled through the hallway, swiftly dodging the cook’s swing of his meat cleaver. Xander grabbed the man’s arm and snapped it at the elbow, twisting it to aim the cleaver and forcing him to hack into his own stomach three times.
