Page 21 of To Vanquish Darkness

Amalie shot him a look of disgust. “Just answer me.”

“There is only one who knew the location of a relic, an ancient sword, that could release me.”

“Who is it?”

Theo stepped back and leaned against the table. “One of your ancestors. That’s why I didn’t kill you. Why I’ve brought you here. You’re going to help me find it.”

10

1836 MORDELLES, FRANCE

Amalie blinked.One of her ancestors?How could that be possible? She’d never heard of anyone in her family line who was important enough to know of the relics. Though, Uncle Oren had withheld information.I planned to tell you everything on your eighteenth birthday, but you left.

What more did he have to tell her? It didn’t matter now. Her fate was sealed. She didn’t trust a thing coming out of Theo’s mouth, but this story she was tempted to believe.

He was a vampire. Vampires wanted power, control. If he had given up his power to turn her, it would have to be for a good reason. Finding a sword that could vanquish vampires would make him the most powerful of his kind.

“If you want my help, tell me what’s happening to me.” She wouldn’t help him. But if there was a sword that could kill creatures of the dark, that was exactly what Marcel and Olivie needed.

Theo tapped his fingers on the table. “That’s another question.”

Amalie pushed a few inches back from the glowing hearth. “It was a demand.”

Theo strode forward and settled into a crouch beside her, the glow from the fire bathing him in warmth. He was so close, his scent mingled with the wood smoke. The marks on Amalie's neck began to throb with the beat of her pulse.

He sat perfectly still, as if posing for her scrutiny. As if he enjoyed knowing her eyes were drawn to him. Any attempts to muster anger fizzled like blazing coals dropped in a lake.Gods.If every part of him was meant to lure her in, he was a masterpiece. Even as she reminded herself how this man had killed her mother, how he'd attacked her in her room, how he'd poisoned her blood and stripped everything she loved, her thoughts found no purchase amidst the swirl of longing in her gut.

He finally turned, his silhouette outlined by the nascent glow of the fire, and their eyes locked. Theo’s breath quickened, his expression sobering. "You must feel it."

Amalie's skin prickled. "Feel what?" For a moment, she stopped fighting the way her body reacted to him. He was toying with her, and she wanted to punish him for it.Let him believe she was being lured in.

The corner of Theo's mouth twitched. He didn’t answer her question, and Amalie almost wondered if she’d imagined his words that led her to ask it.What must she feel?Was he expecting the change to happen soon?

Was she changing?Besides the strange magic he was weaving, she felt nothing out of the ordinary. Her body still behaved like her own.

Theo’s face was again inscrutable. "What do you know about the creation of vampires?"

"I want to know about myself, I didn't request a history lesson," she snapped, then realized her mistake. He was talking. She needed him to talk.

"Impatient." Theo tsked. "If there's something important I'm keeping you from, please." He motioned toward the door with a self-satisfied smirk.

Amalie's nostrils flared, but she drew a deep breath. Nothing important. Just the loss of her human life.

She slowed her exhale. "I’m sorry. That was rude.” Theo regarded her, his face impassive. Amalie continued, “Vampires were cursed by Le Sombre. They wreak havoc on humankind.”

She remembered the stories. How the gods took pity on mortals and gifted a defense—humans who had unearthly strength and could see past the Shadow’s tricks. For years after her mother’s death, she’d searched for them. These golden-haired heroes who would protect her family and push the vampires back.

They’d never come. Her mother was dead, and more humans were going missing every week. That was when she’d sought out Marcel and the Pourfendeurs. When she realized that if she wanted a hero, she’d have to become one herself.

Amalie swallowed. “There were supposed to be guardians. Humans with the strength of the gods who wouldn't be seduced by your kind."Our kind.

Theo’s eyes were dark. "Are you seduced?"

Amalie's jaw tightened. Regardless of what power he wielded, she didn’t want to be, and that was what mattered. “Not for long,” she whispered.

Theo leaned closer, and Amalie's breath snagged. She held it as he reached over her and took an iron poker from a hook embedded in the stone. When he rocked back and began prodding the half-burned logs, she let out a shaky exhale.

"I doubt you'll enjoy hearing the true story of our past,” he said.

---