Chapter 46: forty-six

Olivia

A deafening boom jolted me awake. I teetered on the edge of the bed as the castle trembled, and fragments of the ceiling rained down.

The door burst open, nearly torn from its hinges, as Leon and Jack stormed in. They each exhaled a breath of relief, but my heart was pounding in my chest.

A surge of energy coursed through me, despite my healing sleep being rudely interrupted.

I found myself rushing out of the room, my pace quickening as I navigated the hallway. The closer I got to the main entrance, the more violent and intense the castle’s shaking became.

Jack and Leon were hot on my heels, shouting for me to slow down, but I was desperate to find Cole.

I skidded on the stone floor as I burst outside and was met with a horrifying sight. Hundreds of vampires, their eyes glowing red and fangs bared, were advancing. And leading them was Samael.

The moonlight was the only source of illumination in the pitch-black night. Cole turned towards me, his fangs already extended.

“Get back where it’s safe,” he hissed. But I couldn’t heed his warning, not while he was in danger, not while we were all in danger.

I sprinted over to him, throwing my arms around his neck.

“I can help. There are too many for you to handle alone. Where is everyone else?” I whispered, my lips brushing against his as I spoke.

“You’re not fully healed, and vampires are at their strongest during the night. You’re at your strongest during the day. The others are on their way. I just have to hold them off until then.”

His response did little to ease my worry.

“Don’t send her away, Cole; after all, she’s the one we came for,” Samuel taunted, his laughter echoing ominously. Cole gripped my arms and positioned me behind him, shielding me with his body.

“Why do you want her? I thought you were here to stop ~me~? Leave her the fuck out of this,” Cole growled, his fangs clashing against his lower teeth.

“Yes, well, I found someone who could help with that, and all he wants in return is the fairy bitch,” Samuel sneered. Cole pushed me back until my back hit the stone walls.

His eyes narrowed, and though he didn’t say it, I knew he wanted me to stay put and out of harm’s way. But I knew I could help.

Jack and Leon plunged into the sea of enemy vampires; their screams of agony echoed each time they sank their teeth into their necks. Cole and Atticus joined the fray, and within moments, the scene turned into a bloodbath.

My eyes darted around, but it was hard to keep track of everyone. Four against a hundred—the odds were never in our favor.

They were each captured and forced to their knees in front of me. The scent of blood and sweat filled the air, making my nose wrinkle in disgust.

“Come to me, little fairy, and I won’t kill them,” Samuel cooed. He had a hand tangled in Cole’s hair while three other vampires held him down, forcing him to kneel.

“Run, Olivia! Don’t you fucking dare come over here!” Cole warned, but his words fell on deaf ears. I was already inching towards them.

The blue markings appeared on my skin as they brushed against the grass.

“Get away from them, and I’ll come closer,” I bargained. Samuel grinned, his fangs retracting into his mouth. He threw his hands up in surrender and slowly backed away.

I stepped forward, and dark vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Samuel just like they had with Rayna.

“You stupid bitch, you think you can trap me, stop me with some fucking grass,” he roared, thrashing against my vines.

Cole was shouting at me, but it was too late. The darkness within me was seeping out. The memory of that scene played on a loop in my mind.

The smile on his cruel lips as he held poor Rayna, plucking her wings off as if she were an insect, as if she were nothing.

Other vampires charged towards me; my eyes snapped in their direction, and the grass around their feet grew taller, holding them in place for later. I turned my attention back to Samuel.

His mouth was open, ready to spew more insults. My fist clenched; the vines sprouted long black thorns, and the longer my fist stayed balled up, the longer they grew.

They pierced his vile flesh like he was a pincushion, penetrating his bones and making a crunch as they extended to the other side.

Samuel’s blood seeped out between the rows of vines, his screams filling the silence. Blood dripped from my nose, but I wouldn’t let go until I squeezed every last drop from him.

A cold hand touched my fist, and I shot a glare at the intruder, but my expression softened when I realized it was Cole.

“It’s okay now, little dove; I’ve got you. Come back to me now,” he whispered. My hand relaxed. The vines continued to squeeze until they snapped.

They sliced through Samuel’s body, blood, skin, and even his head flying through the air, landing with a thud.

Cole curled his fingers under my chin and tilted my head up to meet his gaze. “I told you to run. I told you I only needed to hold them off,” he murmured.

My lips parted to tell him why I couldn’t run, why I couldn’t stand by and watch the person I loved most in this cruel world die in front of me.

Before I could say anything, he pulled me close to him as a gust of wind swept past us. The guards they called ‘the Damned’ had returned and formed a protective circle around us.

“Why are you here? Helios-” Atticus began, but was cut off.

“We were too late. Someone had already opened the gates.” I peeked through my lashes at the pool of blood and the mutilated remains of Samuel.

No one said it, but we all knew it was him, even if he hadn’t done it directly.

“Finish off the traitors. We need to travel to Helios and figure out who exactly escaped that prison,” Cole ordered.

A gasp slipped from my lips as the guards, Leon and Jack included, unsheathed their black fangs and launched themselves at the vampires.

Blood splattered, staining the ground as they tore into the vampires’ flesh with the ferocity of starved beasts.

“There’s one in Helios we need to find—fast,” Atticus announced as we stepped into the castle. Cole’s eyebrow arched in anticipation, waiting for him to elaborate.

“Azazel,” Atticus murmured.

“Are you fucking insane? He’s been dead for years,” Cole snarled, but Atticus simply shook his head. “She couldn’t kill him, so she banished him there. She built that prison just for him,” he countered.

“Who’s Azazel?” I ventured to ask. They both glanced down at me, their faces etched with hesitation before they both answered in unison.

“Your brother.”

^End of Book One^