Page 2 of Wicked Thirst
“And what is of that much importance to you? What could possibly make me believe anything would be so dire?” I adjusted my stance and kept my hand resting on my sword. No doubt her deadly sister lurked in the darkness, ready to attack.If given the opportunity, I’d take either of their heads. But Dracinda was not only beautiful, she was also deadly with magic and her sword.
Dracinda lifted her chin and threw her shoulders back. Magic crackled in the air, and she waved her hand. It was like pulling a veil off a hidden box. Where there was nothing in the center of the circle, there was now a lone bed covered in silvery satin sheets and thick furs. The smell of sickness hung in the air. My gaze drifted over the woman lying atop the bed. The sheets around her were stained a shade darker by the sweat slicking her body. Her white nightdress clung to her body along with the mess of blankets. Her midnight hair was sweat-matted to her head. Her body shuttered with a chill all while she continued to sweat.
My breath left me. “Danna.”
“Danna.” Dracinda walked around her like she would command us all to save her, to stop whatever sickness overtook her . . . but I would not. She motioned to her sister. “Save her.”
Silence.
Danna’s skin was sickly pale and death lingered around her. I felt it. We all did. Even Dracinda had to know her sister would not last this night. She dropped to her knees and took up her sister’s hands in her own. “Hold on a bit longer, dearest.”
When she rose to her feet and faced us all once more, there was a desperation to the way she commanded us. “You are the most powerful beings to walk in Evermore. Save. Her.”
Matteaus ground his teeth together. “I will not.”
Dracinda hissed at his words. “Do you not know the wrath you court?”
He shrugged. “I do.”
“I will plague this world for centuries to come . . . Any one of you can stop this now. Stop death from taking her.” Her voice grew more urgent as Danna’s breaths became shallower.
If Dracinda lost her sister on this night, I had no doubt she would spiral into the darkest magic. But the world would be better if there were only one sister to deal with. When death called, it would be answered, and it was calling out to Danna. This death was a kindness for the likes of Danna. Their atrocious ways should be punished by a much crueler way befitting their actions.
I lifted my chin and said the one thing no one here had: “Death cannot be stopped.”
She glared at me. “You are a vampire . . . Death is nothing to you.”
“We will not do this,” Tristan raised his voice. “Her time has come.”
“You would have me hate you?” Her eyes widened. “I swear I will hate you for all of eternity. Save her.”
His eyes glowed with power as his body vibrated with emotion. When he looked down at her, there were unshed emotions in his eyes. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he spoke through thinned lips. “I. Will. Not.”
When she looked to each one of The Fallen, they all stood firm, repeating the one line Matteaus had, “I will not.”
She’d been denied eight times and each time she grew angrier. Tears pooled in her eyes when she turned to Alataris. “Come now, King. Are we not to be allies?”
“Your offer intrigues me, to be sure, but your allies have a way of coming to an early death, and I do not wish such an outcome for myself.” He shrugged and waved her words away with a carelessness that only came with naïve youth. If he knew he courted her wrath, he would not take his denial so lightly. “I plan to enjoy the years to come.”
“I vow you will not have an end with Danna and I by your side. You’ll be the most powerful Witch King of all.” Her words grew desperate as her sister’s breath rattled in her chest. “I would give you the world if you would give me her.”
Alataris smirked down at her with those deep black eyes of his, and for the first time I saw a hint of something . . . sinister. His words were slow and deliberate. “I will not.”
Before she could say another word, black smoke billowed around him and he was gone, disappearing in a dark cloud. A scream ripped from Dracinda’s throat. She dropped to her knees beside her sister and fisted the sheets on her bed. Strands of her hair fell over her face as she hung her head. “I have done all the magic I know.”
Danna’s eyes peeked open and she slowly lifted her hand to rest on Dracinda’s head. “I will die this night.”
“No.” Dracinda shook her head as her tears slipped over onto her cheeks. “I won’t let you.”
A heavy sigh left Danna’s lips, and for a moment I thought it might be her last breath. Long moments passed before she sucked in another breath. “There is naught to be done. Just be with me in these last moments.”
“They will not be your last, dearest.” She took her sister’s hands and gave them a squeeze, then rose to her feet and turned on me. “What say you, vampire?”
I said nothing.
“Turn her.”
I held my breath. Dare I court the wrath of this witch?
