Page 88 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
“No!” I screamed, clambering to my feet as the wolf crumpled to the ground. He’d taken the spell to protect me, and now he wasdying.
Tears filled my eyes. His brethren howled into the night air, but when they regrouped around me, there were only two left standing. I hadn’t wanted them to die for me. I hadn’t wanted anyone to die. I’d come here trying to see things in a different way, to accept and respect, but everything had fallen apart. The war I’d wanted to believe was a lie was here.
And…Hera still had Bastien.
Angrily, I reached for my fire, my power, but nothing came. Calling it wasn’t like calling to the beasts. It was different. Almost like I was trying to pry open that locked trunk where half-recalled memories lived. I curled my handsinto fists, demanding it to answer, feeling the rage, the loss, the need to set things right, but whatever magick I had didn’t come.
“Pity,” Hera said, eying me. “I thought you’d make the right decision and come quietly, but it looks like I get to be the first witch to kill a vampire. Which is whyI’mthe one who deserved my grandmother’s power.”
The sharp end of her dagger dug into Bastien’s throat, and more blood blossomed.
“No!” I shouted. My throat raw. My head throbbing.
I might’ve wished for Marius to behead Bastien when we first met, but things had changed. He’d saved my life. He’d killed for me. He’d been kind to me when he didn’t have to, and trusted me even though I’d been lying to him the whole time.
I… didn’t want him to die. I wanted him to live. I owed him that much for saving my life. The untamed feelings I had for him felt like the closest thing to love I’d ever felt.
I touched the choker around my neck. I’d been a woman marked for death, ready to die in order to protect my family. Was I ready to do the same to save Bastien? Tears rushed to the corners of my eyes because I already knew the answer. If my death would unleash his vengeance on the Dark Witches, then surely that would protect my sister. If I could die to save him,and her, then I would. With my eyes locked on his face, I walked forward.
Hera removed the wet dagger from Bastien’s neck. “That’s it, girl. Do the right thing. You know how this is supposed to end.”
I was incensed. I was devastated. But… she was right. I knew how this was supposed to end. I’dalwaysknown how it was supposed to end. With me as a sacrifice. Hera beckoned me forward with a finger, and I struggled to find a steady breath.
The clouds shifted overhead,and a thick shaft of moonlight illuminated the statue and the patch of snowy grass where she held Bastien, and I knew it was Diana’s light shining down on him. “I know I’m not your favored daughter,” I whispered to the moon, my eyes never leaving Bastien. “But give me the strength to do what is right.”
After I’m gone, release him from the spell and give him the power to seek vengeance in your name. Keep your daughters safe.
The two remaining wolves joined me, padding quietly at my side. My fingers brushed over their soft fur.
“You dare pray to the Moon Goddess with my mother’s magick in your veins!” Hera shouted.
My attention stayed on Bastien. Tansy’s words rang in my ears.Acceptance and respect.He’d been teaching me this lesson all along. I knew how heavy it was to carry around hate so thick it ruled your life. It wasn’t her magick that made her evil. It was the way she wielded it.
I might have dark magick inside me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do good things.
Blood trickled down Bastien’s neck. His skin was the color of cream, except for the bruises forming under his eyes. His cheeks hollow. It was like the life was draining out of him. I drew in a shuddering breath that did nothing to stop the tears from dampening my lashes.
“If you let him go,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster, “you can have me and no one else needs to die.”
Chapter 42
Sacrifier
CLAIRE
The wolves didn’t take kindly to my hands being bound, but they seemed to understand that I was voluntarily being taken prisoner.
The purple light of dawn was rising in the distance. A cold, clear morning that promised to be my last as my back was pressed against a frigid graveyard statue. Fear of what came next was there, but it was overshadowed by the sickness that had settled over me. Cold sweat dripping down the side of my face. A rush of dizziness. Disorientation.
A dead body lay in a pool of blood. The sight reminded me of that bloody river and the absolute carnage I saw in the memory. While the sight and memory of blood was bad enough, the smell was inescapable. It lingered all around me. Coming from the wound on Bastien’s neck, the gash on my brow, and the jaws of the wolves at my side.
I fought through another crashing wave of dizziness to look at his face. Everything about him was still frozen, except for the warm drips that ran down his neck.
My bloodstone tugged me forward, begging me to go to him. To be with him. To hold him one last time. But that wasn’t my fate. I was never going to touch him again. A lump formed in my throat when I thought about all the things I’d never get to learn about him or all the questions I’d never get to ask. I didn’t have time to grieve the loss of that future. Bastien needed to leave as soon as possible in order to feed. With each passing second, he looked more gaunt. More pale. More unlike himself.
I needed him strong enough to ride to his castle, where he could meet with Natalia, Tyson, and Okeri and avenge what was about to happen here, which meant I needed to end this quickly. Mustering my courage, I forced myself to meet Hera’s eyes. “You have me,” I told her. “Now release him from the spell.”
Silence.
