Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Ivan’s screams are weak, barely heard over the hum of conversation. He must’ve been out past dark, herding too close to the black castle. His shepherd’s hook is long gone, probably still in the field where the devils found him.
“What’s this?” A vampire rises from her seat on one of the ratty cushions. Topless and filthy, she’s still lovely. Her eyes too green, her lips too red. Their beauty is a lure, a trick. “A treat just wandering in?”
“I’m here for Gregor.” Sylvana’s voice doesn’t shake.
The strigoi pouts. “But I’m hungry.”
“I came for the king of your kind. Not you. He would be displeased if you took what is his.”
Sylvana keeps walking, brushing past the vampire who growls low in her throat. More of them notice her now, and Ivan does too. He holds out a bloody hand toward her, silently beseeching as his cries have died away. She keeps going, leaving him to his fate as he left her to hers.
The king of the monsters lounges on his throne, one leg thrown over an arm as he stares at the ceiling. Listless and bored, he lets out a long-suffering sigh. Then he turns his head at an owl’s angle, his neck twisting as his eyes glow like a wolf’s.
“You’ve returned.” He smirks and sits up, then his brows draw together with confusion. “You’ve returned?” he says again, a question in his words this time. He laughs, the sound low and dark. Beautiful, almost. Sylvana realizes she would’ve thought him beautiful if she didn’t already know what lurks beneath his handsome disguise. Her body bears the scars of it.
The room is quiet now. Not even Ivan’s labored breath sounds in the darkness. Dead. Just like everything else in this castle.
“This is … unexpected.” Gregor stands, a boyish smile on his face as he drops down the steps to her. He plucks a strand of her hair and inhales, then wrinkles his nose. “You smell like filth and poverty and something else, something different. Not the innocent maiden I spent ever so much time with.” He grins, his fangs growing long. “I had quite a bit of fun with you, didn’t I?”
Though it hurts, though it galls her beyond measure, she slowly sinks to her knees.
Gregor’s amusement only grows. “You want my cock that badly? Then you shall have it.” He unbuttons his trousers.
“I’m not here for that,” she says softly, her heart pounding, her fear a live thing that whips around inside her, searching for a way to be free.
Gregor has the nerve to feign disappointment. “No? But we had such amazing times, you and I.”
She grits her teeth.
“Did you come to die?” He stares down at her. “Or do you think I’ll turn you?” He shakes his head.
“No.”
He crosses his arms and adopts a puzzled expression. “You say you didn’t come to die, but of course you did.” With snake-like quickness, he grips her throat and lifts her until she’s dangling in front of him. “You know what happens here, what happens to silly little humans like you.”
“I came for Valen,” Sylvana forces out.
“Who?” Without another word, Gregor flicks his hand, breaking her neck.
Her eyes go wide, her mind flaring in bright white light as he releases her. She falls, her body twitching, her eyes still open, her hands grasping weakly at the small, warm lump strapped to her chest. In seconds her hands still, her breath stops.
Only then does her child give a small cry.
Gregor stops, his gaze fixed on the dead woman’s chest. Kneeling, he rips away the fabric and finds the babe tucked against its mother.
The others gather around, some of them openly salivating when they realize it’s a child.
“A snack?” He snatches the child into his hands and stands, then holds it up, staring into its eyes. The faintest connection, weaker than his bond with Theo, springs to life, pulsing in his veins. Power. His power shared through blood.
His mouth drops open, his pupils blowing as he realizes this child is his. Diala reaches for the babe.
He slashes her throat, sending her stumbling backwards.
“My lord?” Nialen asks, his gaze on the child.
The child cries. Big, whooping wails. Gregor laughs, hoisting the child even higher and turning it around so everyone can see the pale skin, the icy eyes, and the tiny fangs of his progeny.
20
Recovered Journal of Dr. Georgia Clark
June 24, Year 1, Emergence Era
It doesn’t seem real. It can’t be real. Juno is in trouble, more trouble than I ever could’ve imagined. I didn’t know. Juno made sure I didn’t know because she’s kept me away. Was it for my safety like she said, or was it so I wouldn’t find out? Both? It doesn’t matter. I have to get her out before they kill her or worse. If I don’t, then we are all lost.