Entwined With the Dark (43 page)

I knew it wouldn't take much longer and Samson would be no more. But I saw his hand wrapped around a knife, slender but long and wickedly sharp. He intended to stab her while she was distracted with her feeding, but his strength was failing and I was sure he no longer stood a chance.

I have some steadfast rules. I only kill with my Light when under direction of my Goddess. Rogue vampires hunting on innocents, taking their lives deserve to die. And the only other time I would consider taking the life of another, is if I am under attack and about to be harmed or killed, or if one of mine falls to the same fate. I may not have considered myself capable of killing Sofiq without reason, but Samson was about to die at her hands. Enough. I wouldn't let this happen. He may have trapped her into harming him, but she didn't have to take the bait.

I picked up speed, thrusting elbows into still battling vampires, pushing them out of the way. The odd Svante swing to cause a fairy to back off and let me through and the pulsing of my Light heralding my approach. Not only did it scare the hell out of the fairies I was trying to get through, but it also let Sofiq know I was near. Her attention switched from Samson, who had collapsed now, barely conscious on the floor. She staggered as the effects of feeding on all four emotions took hold, her face faltered at the realisation of her mistake. Fear skittered across her features, followed by outright indignation.

I took my advantage, I slashed out with my Light. She raised a hand and batted it away, but fell to one knee with the effort she'd used. Her guards circled her, swords drawn and ready to defend. I raised another hand and blithely fired Light bolt after Light bolt at each of their chests. They fell like dominoes, one after the other in such quick succession it was impossible to track. Finally I stood before her, her guards writhing on the floor in abject pain. Useless, unable to lift a finger to stop my murderous approach.

She smiled slowly at me, pain evident in her stance, but a regal determination strengthening her resolve.

"Lucinda, Princess of
Ljósálfar
, I have been waiting for you," she said conversationally and before she could act, I struck.

My Light met her Light, twisting together, entwining like rope. The strands sparked and writhed in the air between us, flashes of Light arcing off the bright cord that connected us. Pain lanced through my body, but I was sure she wasn't fairing much better. I felt the floor meet my knees, bringing me down to her height and I realised a second too late, just how powerful the Queen of the Dark Fairies actually was.

The Fey are not of this world, they come from another realm. They are not constrained by our known parameters, they are not obliged to fit in an existing box. I know how powerful the Dark can be. I know my Light is stronger. But I had truly not known what a fairy could do, or maybe it was just Sofiq. I guess you only become Queen of your people if you are the strongest. In mind, body and soul. The twisting rope of Light before me grew brighter, but I knew it wasn't because of me. Despite her weakened state, from feeding off four emotions at once, she was winning.

I'd walked willingly into her trap. Had she known what she was doing when she took Samson up on his offer? Did she know she'd still be strong enough when I came to his rescue, as I was most certainly going to do? Sofiq had played us, even Aliath had believed it would be possible. And now I understood why my fairy acquaintance had not taken on the deed himself. Sofiq was terrible in her power, tremendous and frightening all at once.

The pain inside my body grew, my hold on my Light becoming treacherously weak. As soon as I let it go, she'd storm my shields, what little of them remained. I held on as long as I could, knowing the end was near and just praying the portals closed first. A bubble of hysterical laughter threatened to breach my pursed lips. I
wanted
the portals to close, but then it would only delay the inevitable. I'd be in the
Dökkálfa
Royal Court and Sofiq would certainly win.

It was a lose-lose situation and time was running out. All that was left to be seen was which hourglass emptied first. The end of my life here in Earth's realm, or the portals closing and my death in
Álfheimr
.

I tried to send a thought to Michel, to apologise for my mistakes, to tell him that I loved him and I'd see him in
Elysium
. But I couldn't find the words, I couldn't even find the connection through the pain. And then as all hope left me, a shadow shifted to my side. I struggled to focus on who it was. Michel? One of my guards? Aliath showing his hand at last?

It was none of those, it was the last person on Earth I had expected any help from. But then she wouldn't want my death. My death would mean the portals remained open and the Champion couldn't have that. Besides, my Goddess had ensured she'd come to my aid at the end.

The petite vampire took advantage of Sofiq's distraction and weakened state and battered her squarely in the chest with a concentrated blast of
Sanguis Vitam
. The fairy screamed, stopped attacking me and turned her attention on the new threat.
Sanguis Vitam
like I had never seen before spewed forth from the Champion and met the wrath of the Fairy Queen. Thunder rolled, lightning struck the floor at our sides and then the Champion stepped forward, her hands clenched at her sides, eyes blazing an unnatural blinding blue rimmed in red.

Her final shot of
Sanguis Vitam
tore through Sofiq's neck, severing her head from her shoulders, but not before the
Dökkálfa
Queen released a bolt of lightning directly at the Champion's chest. The smell of blood and burnt flesh assailed my nostrils and as I rolled over numbly I watched the leader of the
Iunctio
fall to her knees. A look of pure shock crossed her features and then was quickly replaced with a grimace of pain. I stared in utter disbelief at the perfect hole in her chest. It went right through to her back and was large enough to see vampires stunned on the other side.

She swayed for a few seconds and then crumpled to the floor, but not before Michel had reached her and caught her in his arms. A small part of me was surprised he hadn't come directly to me, but then I wasn't mortally wounded, his leader, the vampire who had been in charge of the Nosferatu for centuries, was. She was dying and even with her unbelievable amount of
Sanguis Vitam
and access to the
Iunctio's
combined power, even if she was to drain a dozen humans of their blood right now, it could not be stopped.

I rose to my knees as I watched her lift a small hand slowly up to cup Michel's cheek, a look of ancient knowledge on her face. She knew what was coming and she had accepted it. She stroked his face for a moment and then in a flash I couldn't comprehend until it was too late, she bit into her palm, whilst lifting his free hand to her face. A second flash of fangs and blood welled on his hand and then before he could stop her, she grasped the two sliced palms together, entwining her fingers in his, combining their blood. Pulling him down to her lips she whispered against his skin, "You were always my favourite. Survive at all costs."

Power swelled around them,
Sanguis Vitam,
but not just their own. It was ancient and carried the weight of millennia, the weight of every vampire in the world. I knew what she had done, even before she closed her eyes for the very last time, even before the power settled on my kindred's shoulders and I felt the weight of his new office through our Bond.

But it wasn't until all those
Iunctio
Council members in the room fell to their knees and bowed their heads, hands fisted across chests before Michel, that I gasped.

Their voices rang out in a loud proclamation, rattling the walls and thrumming through my bones. The force of their commitment, their honour, their words sinking into the very floor.

"We bow before you, Champion. Master, we are your servants evermore."

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Book eight, the final instalment in the Kindred Series:
Kiss Of The Dragon
- coming soon!

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