Page 96 of To Vanquish Darkness

She was gasping, lying in a bed of grass, the air heavy with the organic scent of sweat and blood. She turned her head to see Theo kneeling beside her, his face drawn with worry. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, his touch sending a jolt of electricity through her.

“They’re alive?” She panted.

Theo nodded. He leaned down, his lips brushing against her temple. She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of his breath on her skin. He pressed his lips to her cheek, then her jaw, and finally, her mouth. “You are a warrior, Alba Joan.”

Her hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt as he kissed her, her body sinking into the earth. “I love you.”

“I loved you first . . .”

“Amalie.”

“Amalie, I’m here.”

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1836 COUNTRYSIDE BEYOND MORDELLES, FRANCE

“Amalie, please. Look at me.”

Her eyes rolled back in her head as the grass beneath her dried up and crumbled. She drifted through darkness, spinning until she slammed against something solid.

She sucked in a breath, her body arching as her eyes flew open.

“Amalie.” Theo’s hands were on both sides of her face, his eyes wild.

She gripped onto his wrists. “I know where it is. The sword, Theo.I know where it is.”

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1836 COUNTRYSIDE BEYOND MORDELLES, FRANCE

Amalie jumped up from the bed and would have crumpled to the floor had Theo not caught her.

“Shh, wait a second.” He smoothed her hair, and she turned to look at him. There was a lit candle now sitting on the desk, and the flickering light made his skin glow.

That face. She’d seen it again and again. She’d been called by different names, lived in different bodies, butthat face.Amalie searched his eyes, peeling away the layers of what she’d seen. What she knew in this life and what she’d found in others. She’d trusted him. Known him. Loved him.

“How many times did you find me?” she whispered.

Theo’s fingers trembled. “Three.”

“Only three?” Amalie exhaled. He’d lived for two thousand years, a human lifespan was fleeting, and they’d only met three times? “When?”

Theo’s hand dropped to her waist. “You were there at the beginning.”

Amalie pressed her hand over his and drew a deep breath. “Which was?”

“The first time, we lived in the south. During the Roman Empire. Guardians and vampires together.”

Amalie let out a long exhale. She’d lived during the Roman Empire? “How did I die?”

Theo’s eyes darkened. “The first time?”

She nodded, swallowing hard. The idea that she’d died more than once made her insides flip.

“Your blood gave power to those who drank it. We had a friend who wanted it for herself.”

The answer was simple, and yet so complicated it made her head throb. Amalie pressed at the edges of her mind, stretching it like taffy. She wanted to ask him everything.

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