Leaving Sivadia (6 page)

Cy concentrated on muffled voices somewhere in the
distance. A warm hand embraced his and the sweet scent of his mother surrounded
him. He pried open his eyes, and she sat in a chair beside his bed.

Tears filled her sapphire eyes and a smile lit her face.
“Oh, darling, you’re awake.”

His mouth and throat were desert-dry. “May I have some
water, please?”

She poured some water and put it to his lips.

The cool liquid was heaven as it seeped down his throat.
“How long have I been out?”

His mother glanced out the window. “It’s almost dawn,
and you’ve been unconscious since the attack yesterday evening. They kept you
sedated so your body would have time to heal. The knife nicked an artery and
you lost a lot of blood. They’ve replaced it, and soon you’ll be as good as
new.”

“Where’s Vind?”

His mother shook her head, spilling tears down her
cheeks. “Oz has been out looking for him all night. When Vind ran the servants
from the room, one of them found Miles and told him Vind was attacking you.
Thank goodness she did. When Miles got there, Vind was standing over you with
his sword ready to decapitate you. What has gotten into him? I know he’s been
upset since your father named you successor, but I never thought he would
attempt to kill you over it. She stroked the side of his face with a gentle,
loving touch that only a mother could give. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost
you too.”

Cy squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the rage on his
brother’s face. “This isn’t the first time Vind’s been on a rant about being
Father’s successor. But this time he was crazed and not making sense.”

Cy would be dead if he hadn’t insisted on Miles becoming
his personal bodyguard. At first he’d done it to keep Miles from getting
himself killed. It was a poor attempt at giving him a purpose. But the more
threats Vind made, the more purpose Miles got.

There was a knock at the door, and Oz entered. “I’m glad
to see you’re awake,” Oz said. “Doc said it was a little touch and go for a
while.”

Cy laid his hand on the bandage covering the left side
of his chest. “My last thought was Vind would finally get what he always
believed he deserves.”

Oz’s face turned red. “He deserves something all right,
but the throne definitely is not it. We’ve been searching for him all night,
and a lot of things have come to light.”

Cy had only heard that serious tone in Oz’s deep voice
once before. The day his father died. It had taken ten guards to hold him down
until he calmed enough to stay on the ship. He was going to kill that group of
Haagons at the foot of the mountain for killing his friend. It would have been
the equivalent of him committing suicide, but he was in such pain, he didn’t
care.

The queen’s head jerked toward Oz. “Must he hear all of
this now? He’s still weak. Can’t it wait until he’s stronger?”

“Mother, I want to hear what they’ve discovered.”

Oz hesitated until she gave him a slight nod. She was
his queen, and Oz would never go against her wishes. “Our army has disappeared
with Vind, all but twenty men. They confessed what had been going on for the
past several months while they were out on maneuvers.” Oz hesitated as if the
words about to leave his mouth left a putrid taste. “They had been raiding
human villages, killing everyone by feeding on their blood.”

As Cy’s breath caught in his chest, a horrible pain shot
through his wound. To never feed on humans was the first law they had made
after arriving on Earth. To break that law once meant imprisonment—to break it
twice meant death.

“This can’t be. Are you sure they’re telling the truth?”

“Yes, Cy. No one would admit to such a crime knowing the
consequences of their actions. Also, I made them take me to a village our army
had raided less than a week ago. The carnage we found made me sick. They had
slaughtered everyone. Men, women—and children. The men said they pretended to
participate, or else they would have been killed. The guy who was supposedly
attacked by a bear, was killed by Vind when he refused to join in.”

Oz scrubbed his hand across his bristled chin. “You
haven’t heard the worst part. Since this started, the men who drank human blood
became addicted. The more they drank, the more they craved it.”

“I don’t understand,” Cy said. “The synthetic nutrition
we drink is more than adequate for survival. Why would human blood be
addictive?”

Oz shook his head. “We didn’t understand either. We went
back to that village and brought some of the bodies back for our scientists to
test. They discovered human blood contains a higher concentration of nutrients
than we need, but nothing that would cause this kind of an addiction. They
needed to test a live human to get the full picture.”

“Please tell me you didn’t use a live human as a lab
rat,” Cy said, his tone several octaves higher.

“No. They just drew several vials of blood while
planting different scenarios in his mind. Afterwards they gave him a good meal,
removed his memory of the incident and returned him home. He was perfectly
fine. But between his blood and the dead body, they learned an invaluable
amount of information. The addiction comes from their endocrine system. When
they experience fear, it dumps hormones called endorphins, and adrenaline into
their bloodstream. The more frightened they are, the more that’s dumped. This
is why their blood is so addictive. When they witnessed what was happening
during the raid, these hormones flooded their system. Vind and our army drank
it and experienced a type of euphoria, causing them to crave more. As with any
addiction, over time their behavior will become more and more volatile.”

Cy strained to sit up. “We have to stop them, Oz. If we
don’t, this could get completely out of hand.”

“We will. But until we train another army, Vind has the
advantage. He has around eighty fighters, to our twenty. Those who chose to
leave with him were the superior fighters. If he attacks us, we’ll all be in
danger. Vind wants to rule our race, and he’s proven there is nothing he
wouldn’t do to achieve his goal.”

Cy glanced toward his mother. She’d been crying since he
had awakened, and was taking Vind’s betrayal hard. “We will be fine, Mother.”

She blotted tears from her eyes, and then gently
squeezed his hand. “I have already lost Vind. I will not lose you too, Cygan.
That is why we are leaving. We will transport to the other side of Earth
tonight. I have already given orders for everyone to pack. At least we’ll be
safe until we figure out how to stop him.”

The last words Cy had spoken to his father came into his
mind. He released a low sigh.

“Mother, you have done a wonderful job ruling our
people. I realize I’m supposed to take the throne since I turned eighteen, but
there’s something more important I must do. The last words I ever spoke to
Father were a promise. I swore to never allow anyone to prey on a weaker
species the way the Haagons did on ours. Until I stop Vind, I’m not worthy to
wear father’s crown.”

She gently squeezed Cy’s hand. “Son, you are more than
worthy to follow in your Father’s footsteps. But I will rule until you are
ready. No matter how long it takes.”

Cy glanced
at Oz. “Humanity doesn’t stand a chance against Vind’s army. With yours and
Miles help, we need to train a group of Protectors who are capable of defeating
them, who can out-fight, out-smart, and out-weapon them in battle. Vind thinks
he has the advantage with his numbers. He doesn’t think of our scientist as a
threat, and alone they’re not. But put their creative advancements in the hands
of warriors…of our League of Protectors, and he’ll never know what hit him.

A brilliant
smile broke across Oz’s face. “And so it begins.”  

I hope you
enjoyed this prequel to the Sons of Sivadia Series. Find out what the League of
Protectors are doing in present day, and how their war with Vind takes them
down their most treacherous path to date. This is a battle humans and Sivadians
alike can’t afford to lose. The Sacrifice is out now on Kindle Unlimited, or
you can order the print version through Amazon.

Almost
three hundred years ago, a race of immortals fled the planet of  Sivadia
and came to Earth. When a war divided their race, each side was  led by
twin sons of the Sivadian king.  From the moment Riana Martin meets Cy,
the dangerously sexy Sivadian  Protector, she knows it will be hard to
resist him. From the first touch,  Cy sets off a fire storm inside her
heart and soul.   Cy knows Riana is his destiny, but since their
father named him successor  to the throne, his twin has been determined to
destroy him.   Can Cy protect Riana from his brother…one of the most
evil beings  to ever walk this planet?

Click
here
for

The Sacrifice:

http://www.amazon.com/Sacrifice-Sons-Sivadia-Book-ebook/dp/B01EGB9PVI

Also available in print on Amazon.com

Mia McKimmy writes paranormal romance novels
reflecting her belief that everyone has one great love, and when you find them,
there’s no denying you have met your destiny. She’s always been fascinated by
anything paranormal, and science fiction.

Mia counts herself lucky to be married to her one
true love. She is Mom to two grown daughters, and Nana to four grandkids who
have her wrapped around their fingers.

She is a former hairdresser, and has a degree as a
Registered Nurse from Georgia Highlands College. She is a member of Romance
Writers of America, and Georgia Romance Writers.

If you’d like sneak peeks of future books and new
release dates, please visit her website at:
http://www.miamckimmy.com

She’d love to hear from you. You can find her at:

[email protected]

https://twitter.com/MiaMckimmy

https://www.facebook.com/MiaMckimmy
 

Authors love reviews! If you have a moment, please
leave one on

Amazon, Goodreads, or both. They only need a
couple of sentences.