“He wants an army. His plan is to create the perfect, controllable vampire army to eradicate those lesser than us and take over. There are so many of them, and they are strong and hard to kill. With a force like that, no human or supernatural will be able to stop him.”
My mouth drops in shock.
What the fuck?
“He’s been holding me captive, collecting my blood, and torturing me, all to create an army to take over?” Valen advances on the vampire and growls out.
“Correct.” The vampire is frothing at the mouth and shaking uncontrollably now. “He has had many failures in his quest. Many. But in the last fifty years, he’s finally begun to perfect the formula to create what he needs—vampires that are controllable by him and him only.”
Valen seems frantic as he realizes the sole source of information he’s wanted for so long is dwindling away. He bends down beside the vampire and gives him a rough shake. Levi groans when his hold is almost knocked loose from the vampire’s skull.
“How many vampires does he have in his army?” When the vampire doesn’t answer right away, Valen screams, “How many?”
As the last of the light leaves the vampires eyes and Levi pulls his hands away, he whispers three words.
“Thousands upon thousands.”
The four of us exchange a look and horror sends a shiver down my spine.
If Damien has built an army filled with vampires he controls, then we’re screwed.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Luna voices. “Like real bad.”
Levi grabs her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “The good news is we know what’s going on now.”
“And the bad news?” she voices.
Levi sighs and runs his fingers through his icy blond hair. The tips turn a bright cobalt blue before settling back into their normal hue. “The bad news is, we’re severely underprepared for a war.”
Valen’s eyes meet mine and he pulls me into his arms. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he vows.
I know he means what he says, but I worry there might come a point when he won’t be able to protect me.
“What do we do now?” I ask.
Valen sighs and looks toward Luna and Levi. “We prepare in every way we can.”
Levi twists one of his many rings around his finger. “And try to win this war before it even starts.”
EPILOGUE
VALEN
A month later
The door swingsopen and nearly slams into the opposite wall.
“Ava,” I scold gently.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks redden and she grabs the door, shutting it gently. “I’m just excited.”
“About what?” I finish the glass of blood I was drinking before she arrived and rinse it out in the sink.
“As you know, Jade has been putting me through the wringer so I’ll be ready for what’s coming.” She wrinkles her nose with displeasure. She’s been avoiding saying the wordwarsince we found out the reality of what we’re facing. “And while this isn’t exactly battle ready, I’ve been working on being able tocommunicate with familiars.”
I slide my arms across my chest and fight a grin. “Like you can talk to them, and they can talk to you?”
“Not quite.” She shrugs off her jacket and hangs it on the rack beside her door. Next go her shoes, kicked off in a haphazard pile. With a sigh, I pick them up and place them side by side. “Pom Pom, come here.” She whistles and the fluffy dog comes scurrying from the bedroom. She scoops him into her arms and sits on the couch.
