The vampires. Their skin is boiling. Oh gods, it’sburning. Deeply and savagely as they drop to their knees, convulsing in pure agony. Layers of tissue melt away like butter.
Recoiling, I gasp.
I can’t watch as the vampires claw the burning flesh off their faces. Kiersten motions to her partner, who lifts a flap to a small opening. He reaches for his pistol, jamming it in the slot. He puts the demons out of their misery, but not before the odor of their fiery demise seeps into the room.
Gods on high, the smell. I can’t take it. It's the foulest, most revolting scent I've ever encountered. It has me buckled over heaving my guts out on Kiersten’s shoes.
She snatches my hair with a pissy growl. “Does this miracle repulse you? This changeseverything.”
My hands squeeze into fists. "Doesn't the Master know that if he consumes my blood, it will be his end? You think he’s going to reward you for this?"
"Of course, he does. Remick has spent hundreds of years extracting secrets from the Servants of the First Moon.”
“You mean butchering.”
She rolls her eyes, hauling me onto my feet. “Semantics.”
"Wait—What will he do with me then?Remick?"
Kiersten enters the code on the dialing pad, opening the gate below. "He'll take you to Somnium and you’ll be wed. Then, I would imagine that he’ll drain you entirely of your blood and make you immortal through his venom."
"Axe would never let that happen. Neither will I.”
Tears spill from my eyes. If the Blood Master drains me of the only power I have—if he kills me, I’ll reject the venom. I won't come back as a monster. I refuse to.
She laughs, pulling me out into the hallway. A chorus of screams erupts from down the hall, following what sounds like a cracking whip. No—a gunshot.The girls."Please. Stop this. They've done nothing wrong!"
Kiersten ignores me, urging me toward the stairwell with the nose of her gun. Back to the basement. "The only woman your mate will ever be faithful to in this life is revenge. Take it from someone who's been personally used and spit back out by the Skornokovys.”
I writhe against her grip.
“Think about it, Vessa. He would cast out whatever affection he has for you without a second thought and exploit every last drop of you to kill the Blood Master. You would become his ultimate weapon.”
“What’s stopping you, then? Surely if you killed him, you’d be doing lycans a great service. Perhaps Demi and Chris would forgive you. You wouldn’t just be welcome back at Bleeding Sun, you would behonored.”
I stop in my tracks, forcing her to face me. It earns me a reprimanding look, but I don’t back down. I stare into her clear, unfeeling eyes. “I’m not afraid to die.”
Kiersten scoffs. “Don’t you see? By handing you over, we’re preventing a bloody war that is already in the vampires' favor.Axe knows it as well as I do. Lycans are outnumbered four to one. Personally, I like my chances on the side of immortality.”
"Kiersten, I'm begging you. Let the others go. Please. This was never about them."
She shoves me into the cell, delivering a kick to the back of my knee with a force that skins them when I hit the ground. Her chuckling assistant tosses a sack of carrots through the iron bars. Just enough to keep me alive.
"Not to worry, Luna. We'll spare a few for the emissaries. I'm sure they'll be famished after their long journey.”
Chapter 45
AXE
Just when I thought the Goddess couldn’t get any crueler.
My wolf twitches. Three years. I could have found her three years ago. I could have preventedall of this. . .
Jabir rockets out of his chair. “I’ve got it! It’s an abandoned cosmetics testing facility. Look here.”
I set my morning caffeine aside and examine the enlarged satellite image on his tablet screen. Isolated by dense hemlock forest, a sprawling two-story concrete building stands with minimal windows. Sure enough, it appears to be unoccupied, tucked away south of the Yinsew mountains, just eight miles from the border to Greva. A full day’s journey from Tukkon by land, given the unfavorable terrain. Flying, we could there in six hours. But at present, that isn’t an option. This op will require more bodies than a charter plane can carry.
Jabir downloads a blueprint. I shake his hand, thanking him, and together, we storm out of the room.
