“Calm down, Mona. It was just a dream.”
My heart shot into my throat as I whirled around.
A tall silhouette of a man stood at the stern of my boat a few feet away from me.
The man of my nightmare.
The man who’d cursed my life.
Chapter 11: Kiev
“Kiev?”
The Lord and Lady walked closer to me until they were but a step away. I looked at one. Then the other. Then back again. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, expecting the apparitions to disappear. Expecting to wake up.
But the two figures remained. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wake myself up. I just continued looking from the green pair of eyes—matching exactly my natural eye color—to the chestnut-brown pair.
“Is… is it really you?” The vampire with brown eyes placed a hand on my shoulder and scrutinized my face.
The young woman with green eyes walked forward, pushing him aside, and ran the back of her cold hand against my face.
“Brother?”
“Helina,” I choked, reaching out to touch a strand of her long black hair. I turned to face the young man beside her. “Erik? No… No… It can’t be.”
I fell to my knees. And they knelt with me. Minutes passed in silence, just staring at each other. Before finally, the bubble shattered.
Emotions I hadn’t known still existed within my charred heart flooded out all at once, drowning me. I gripped their heads, holding them close to my chest, as if I was afraid they would vanish any moment and I had to hold on while I could.
I had imagined a reunion between us many times in the past. Until the point came when they would have been a hundred years old. After that, I’d let go of them. They would be dead, and there was no chance I would ever see them again. I stopped even thinking about them.
But whenever I had fantasized about a reunion, never in a million years would I have pictured it like this. And while I was horrified to find them in this state—to discover that they had become vampires—the joy that filled my heart on holding them in my arms was almost impossible to contain.
I kissed their foreheads so hard I grazed their skin with my teeth. But they responded with abandon, squeezing me in their embraces so tightly it was a struggle to breathe.
I studied their faces. Except for his brown eyes, Erik’s features were similar to mine. I’d also seen him when he was an adolescent, so he was much more easily recognizable. It was Helina who was a shock. The last I’d seen of her, she’d still been a child. Now she had blossomed into a young woman. It tore at my heart how much her beauty reminded me of our mother. I wondered exactly how old they’d been when they had been… turned. The words sounded so crazy to me.
My siblings. Vampires.
The crowd of vampires who had come with them—and Celice too—had all dispersed by the time we stood up.
“H-how?” I stuttered, my voice still hoarse, my throat feeling sore. It was as if that was the only word in my vocabulary at that moment.
Erik cleared his throat as Helina dried her face with her sleeve. They both looked at me with their wet, bloodshot eyes.
“I was twenty-one, Helina seventeen, when we were turned… I’ll start from the beginning.” Erik exhaled and chuckled, rubbing his forehead with his hand. “God, this is bizarre. Hundreds of years ago, yet it still feels like yesterday that we left you dying on the carpet.”
I gripped Erik’s arms.
“Please. Continue,” I breathed.
“A-after we rode away, we managed to make it to the city. Though that in itself was a feat—we almost got hijacked on the road—we did make it without being robbed. Uncle was there when we arrived. I offered him payment for five months. He took the money and then showed us upstairs. Early the next morning, Helina and I were woken by the police banging on the door. They accused us of being homeless people who broke into the house to take shelter in the bedroom. We begged Uncle to explain the truth to them. Uncle disowned us. He took the money and kicked us out in the worst possible way.”
I swore.
Helina’s face contorted at the memory.
“So there we were,” Erik continued. “Penniless, possessionless, and on the streets during the coldest time of the year. I tried to get work, but nobody would employ a homeless boy. And Helina was far too young to work. We resorted to stealing. We had no other choice. It paid some of the bills, but we had to scrounge to piece together any kind of decent meal. This went on for years. We couldn’t even return to the village because we had no means to.”
“We both grew sick,” Helina said, her voice trembling. “And more and more desperate each day that went by… Once Erik was older, he got into the company of a band of highway robbers. The loot that he got from those trips was always far more than pickpocketing.”
“Helina started accompanying me as soon as she was old enough,” Erik continued. “She’d wait behind a tree with backup weapons in case I needed them. We started going to the roads at night regularly, often thrice a week. I rarely had to harm anyone—most just threw me a sack of coins rather than fight. Then one night was… different. I still remember it. A black carriage drawn by two dark steeds drew up in front of me. A woman, a beautiful woman, stepped out. She took pity on me standing out there in the cold, and invited me back home for a warm meal. I agreed, and called Helina to come out of her hiding place and join us. We had unknowingly stepped into a carriage with a vampire… Clara.”
“Clara?” My mouth hung open in shock. I’d thought it wasn’t possible to hate a woman more than I already hated Clara. “That bitch!”
“She turned us both right there and then,” Helina said. “I still remember her words. She said, ‘Welcome to the family, Novalics.’ I’d found it bizarre that she’d known our surname when Erik had never mentioned it to her.”
“But why you two? Of all the people in this world, why did she seek you out?”
Helina and Erik exchanged glasses.
“I suppose it runs in the family,” Helina said with a half smile. “The Elder decided he liked you, and he came back for more of your bloodline.”
“There’s something about our family’s blood they like,” Erik said. “Us, the Novaks—”
“The Novaks?”
“Yes, Kiev,” Helina explained. “We’re related to them. We’re distant cousins.”
I almost choked.
I’m related to Derek Novak.
Can this day get any more absurd?
“How do you know that we’re related to the Novaks?” I demanded.
“The Elder told us,” Erik replied. “He mentioned it in passing.”
My mouth hung open as I tried to let this piece of insanity sink in.
“So… you know all about the Novaks? Is that why you named this island The Shade?”
They both nodded.
“Most vampires know of the legend that is the Shade,” Helina said dreamily.
I thought back to all those times I’d felt totally alone under the Elder’s iron fist. How much easier it would have made things to know that I had siblings going through the same thing. Although it horrified me, I couldn’t deny that now I felt thankful to Clara for doing it.
“Why didn’t the Elder ever tell me that he’d turned you? How come I never found out? How come I never saw you once?”
Erik shrugged.
“I suppose that you had enough reason to resent him already,” Erik said. “And he sensed that this would damage your relationship further, thus making you more difficult to control. It was easier to just do it all quietly.”
Helina reached up to brush my cheek with the back of my hand.
“He told us that he’d turned you into a vampire too,” she said. “But he never allowed us to see you, no matter how much we begged.”
“But… I was in The Blood Keep almost the whole time. How come I never saw you?”
“We were taken back through the portal to Cruor,” Erik explained. “We didn’t spend time in The Blood Kee
p.”
I exhaled sharply. “How the hell did you escape that place?”
“Erik!” A female voice echoed through the forest. “Where are you, my love?”
Erik and Helina exchanged glances. Helina grabbed my hand and said, “Come, we’ll show you how we escaped.”
“Here, Julisse! I’m coming,” Erik shouted back.
We walked quickly through the forest until we reached the clearing in front of the magnificent black castle.
Erik gripped my shoulder and pointed to three women standing on the steps.
“Meet Julisse—”
Before Erik could finish his introduction, Julisse ran to Erik and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his lips.
“They’ll be a while.” Helina smirked. She took my hand and led me toward the remaining to women. “Meet Arielle and Celice… although you seem to have already been acquainted with the youngest of the sisters?” Helina winked.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and nodded. I dared look up at Celice only to catch her glaring daggers at me. I was relieved that she had the decency to keep her mouth shut, and that Helina didn’t press for an answer as to what I was doing carrying the witch down on the beach. I let her assume whatever she was assuming.
Arielle bowed before me, and held out her hand. I took it and planted a quick kiss on it. It was clear that all three women were sisters; they shared the same eye color, thick hair, and graceful form.
Then Arielle turned to Helina, and asked, frowning, “Where is Tristan?”
“He’s probably still on the ship,” Helina replied. “He said he had some repairs to do after our journey.”
Arielle nodded and hurried away into the forest we had just exited from.
By this time, Erik and Julisse had finished kissing. I couldn’t help but notice that Erik looked younger than the witch. Although nobody could deny her beauty, she appeared to be several years older.
“This angel,” Erik said, his arm around Julisse’s waist, “and her two sisters helped us escape with their magic. All fifty-one of us.”
“Oh?” My tone was that of mild surprise, but I was shocked. To penetrate Cruor—the turf of those evil spirits, where they were at their strongest—was a herculean feat in itself. But to tear fifty of their spawn right from their clutches was another world of strength entirely.
One thing was already clear to me: these were no ordinary witches.
We walked up the steps and entered the castle. We were about to close the grand doors when Tristan—a tall, heavily built vampire with long blond hair—and Arielle came running toward us, their hands intertwined. We all walked together across the hallway and climbed the levels of stairs until we reached my siblings’ quarters. Quarters I’d already rummaged through hours before.
We sat in a grand sitting room with a window that overlooked the island and the dark sea beyond. Helina took a jug of blood from the counter and spread out a tray of glasses. She handed one to me and Erik, and placed one on a table for herself. Then, to my utter shock, she handed a glass to each of the witches.
I almost choked on my drink when they downed a gulp. It was the first time in my centuries of living that I had witnessed a witch drinking blood. Human blood at that. I took another sip from my glass to hide the surprise that I knew had spread across my face.
“Didn’t the Elders ever try to come after you?” I asked.
“After we escaped,” Helina said, “the witches brought us all here to this island. They cast a protective spell that keeps us from harm. The Elders can’t enter so long as their spell is up.”
Yes. These are no ordinary witches. They have the ability to even keep those spirits out. No wonder Matteo wants one for himself so much.
There was a silence as they all looked at me, and I looked at them. I still couldn’t believe that I was sitting in a room with my undead siblings. I was still expecting to wake up from the dream any second.
“And now your story, Kiev,” Helina said, smiling. “You must tell us everything.”
I breathed in deeply and recounted everything to them. I left out the most harrowing of details. But otherwise I was honest about everything up until the point that I arrived at Aviary.
They gasped and sighed, and Helina got up to squeeze my shoulder and hug me on numerous occasions. I didn’t mention anything about Mona or Matteo’s island. When asked how I found out about their island, I lied and said that I’d heard the rumor spreading around during my stay in The Tavern that their island was a safe haven for vampires. And that I’d been looking to find it ever since.
Erik frowned. “You travelled for days in a boat, in the open ocean, in the heat of the sun? How the hell did you survive that?”
I looked at him solemnly. “I’ve survived a lot.”
Erik looked like he was about to ask another question, but I changed the subject before he could press further.
“Where did you come back from today?” I asked.
They all exchanged looks.
“That is… a long story. I don’t think now’s the time for it.” Arielle spoke up for the first time, eyeing the others.
“I think you’ll like it here, Kiev,” Helina interjected quickly. “I really do. You no longer have to be subordinate to any Elders. You’re completely free to do whatever you please. With no consequences.”
A darkness flickered in her eyes as she licked blood from her lips. It disturbed me deeply that my innocent little sister had become a creature like me.
By the time we’d finished talking, the sun was in the sky—I could see the ocean glistening beyond the spell’s boundary.
“Well, I’m exhausted,” Erik said. “I think we should all get some rest.”
Julisse tugged on his shirt. He stood up and they both walked out of Helina’s chambers. I stood up and Helina wrapped her arms around me, wishing me a good sleep.
As I lay in my bed, I had no hope of sleeping. My mind was too alive. Whirring with questions. With doubts. With fears.
But most of all, the promise I had made to Matteo echoed in my ears.
“I’ll be back in a few days with a witch. I promise.”
Chapter 12: Mona
Hearing Rhys say my name sent shivers down my spine. That deep voice I’d known so well almost felt like a stranger’s voice. I hadn’t heard it in years.
I’d sworn to myself that I’d be dead before I heard him say my name again.
He reached for his hood and lowered it, releasing dark curls that framed his pale face. His pitch-black eyes glinted in the moonlight.
“No,” I breathed. “No.”
I shut my eyes tight and, pulling my knees against my chest, buried my head in my arms.
I’m still dreaming. This is just a nightmare. I just need to wake up.
Wake up, Mona. Wake up.
The floorboards creaked as he neared me, and his heavy leather boots thudded.
Wake up. Please, God, let me wake up.
His deep breathing came directly above me. I dared not open my eyes and look up.
“Don’t you miss having purpose to your life?” His voice rumbled through the night air. Each syllable was a dagger in my wounded soul.
I remained silent, my rasping breathing filling my ears.
“Or have you convinced yourself that you find pleasure in this wretched life you’re living?”
I felt him bend down to my level. I trembled as he reached out a hand and placed it on a bare patch of shoulder that the blanket wasn’t large enough to cover.
“You’re freezing.”
He removed his thick black cloak and motioned to wrap it around me. I jerked backward, struggling to keep the blanket covering me as I moved.
“Leave me,” I whispered.
“Leave you?” His voice had become dangerously quiet. “To perish here in the ocean? For a ship of ogres to find you once day breaks? Sometimes I think you don’t realize what a gift you’ve been given. The honor that’s been bestowed upon you just by being born
as one of our kind. You take too much for granted.”
I couldn’t find words to respond. All I knew was that, no matter what, I couldn’t let myself fall back into his arms.
“I can fulfill your every need,” Rhys continued, pacing up and down in front of me. “I can show you a life most can’t even dream of. Is surrender such a big price to pay in return for that? Pride always was your greatest weakness. It blinds you from seeing what’s good for you. What’s in your best interest.”
I bit my lip, keeping my mouth shut. I wished I could cover my ears from his poison, but doing so would mean the blanket falling away from me. I tried to bury my head against my arms, but his words still leaked through.
Before I could react, he reached around me and fastened the cloak over me. Then, taking hold of the damp blanket beneath it, he pulled it away from me. I held on tight to the cloak to not reveal myself to him. But he didn’t stop at the removal of the blanket. His hand crept up to my thigh where he rested it for several seconds. The area became instantly warm. I realized what was happening. Looking down in horror, I gasped.
I’d tried to forget the brand—a thorny pitch-black rose—was ever imprinted on my body. I’d thought it had finally disappeared from my years of scrubbing away at it.
But now that Rhys’ cool fingers ran along it, it emitted a dull red glow, coming alive beneath his touch. Finally, he removed his hand and showed me his palm. His brand—identical to mine, in the center of his palm—glowed red too.
“We bonded ourselves for a reason,” he said softly, his face barely a few inches from mine. The intensity of his black eyes made my breath hitch. I wanted to look away, but something about them had arrested me completely. “Do you not remember that? What happened to your fire, Mona? We used to be so good together. We accomplished… so much.”
I stood up, knocking his hand away from me. Turning my back on him, I looked out toward the ocean.
“You think you know why I want you back,” he continued. “Yes, since we are bound, it can’t be denied that we are stronger when we are together in service of the Ancients. But more than that… I do still love you, Mona.”