Dead.
She was really, truly dead.
A minute hadn’t even passed before a hand landed on his good arm. He looked down to see his sister’s fingers gripping him, black blood coating her flesh.
“Stand back, Marius.” Luna’s voice was soft and laced with royal authority.
He did as she asked, his movements stiff. Luna took his place in front of the motionless body, extending her right hand before her.
It was only then that Marius realized none of the vampires were in front of them. They couldn’t have gone far, what with the Tether, but he couldn’t see them.
Was Vivienne with the others?
She had to be there. He couldn’t bear to think about the alternative. His chest seized at the very thought that something had happened to her.
Before he could ask, bright yellow sparks danced across his sister’s hand.
Embers of pure sunlight lit up the night, and with a frown of concentration, Luna formed a glowing sphere in her palm. It expanded, reaching the size of a large orange, before she lobbed the ball of sunlight at the First.
Her aim was perfect.
The projectile landed on the ancient vampire’s lifeless body, and the corpse burst into flames. The fire burned far hotter than normal, and the body was gone in seconds.
A heartbeat after that, the fire vanished.
When the final spark was extinguished, Marius turned and ran towards the last location where he’d seen Vivienne. Luna called after him, but he didn’t stop. He had to find his vampire. Now that the First was dead, Vivienne was the only thing that mattered.
The forest had become a gruesome, bloody battleground, but he barely noticed the gore as he pushed past trees and raced to the last spot where he’d seen her.
Ash covered the snow and nearby trees. There was the imprint of a body on the crimson snow, but she wasn’t there.
Marius dropped to his knees, placing his palm face-down on the ground. His heart raced. Where was she?
“Marius,” Luna spoke softly behind him, standing a few feet away. She must not have been able to come any closer, thanks to the Tether. “You’re looking for Vivienne, right?”
He spun around. “Yes. Where is she?”
“Sebastian has her. But you should know, she’s?—”
He didn’t wait to hear the rest of her words. He rose and raced over to the king, who was kneeling on the ground with his wings spread.
A low moan filled the air as he got close to Sebastian, and it took a moment for Marius to realize the sound was coming from him.
Laid out beside the king in a row were over twenty vampires, all in various states of injury and death.
Marius couldn’t take his eyes off the one closest to his brother-in-law.
Fiery red hair framed a too-pale face, and beautiful black eyes that had once held so much life stared blankly up at the night sky. Vivienne’s chest was a mess of blood, and her arms lay limply at her sides.
Someone yelled, their voice echoing through the forest. He wasn’t sure if it was him or Luna.
Marius fell to his knees beside Sebastian, ignoring the bite of snow through his trousers, and took Vivienne’s hand.
It was as cold as ice.
“Wake up,” he pleaded with her, his eyes burning. “Please, you need to wake up. We did it.”
She didn’t move, and his heart twisted as pain speared his chest.
