Undying Hate~ Book Three

“You’re so warm in the morning,” Kian’s muffled voice came from beneath the duvet as Sylvie rolled her hips.

“What are you doing?”

“Do I need to spell it out?” His tongue moved calculatingly, literally spelling something on her clit.

“Oh.”

He hummed and added a finger inside her, stoking her g-spot while swirling his tongue around in a way only he knew how. It was both the wrong time and the perfect time for oral sex, but Sylvie’s words came out in a jumble.

“We have to- to go soon... Full moon tonight... Fuck- I’m gonna...”

She moaned, arching her back and burying her fists in her hair as he hummed against her sex, forcing her to come hard.

“That’s it, princess.”

He slid up her body and buried himself in her, forcing another surprise, “Oh,” from her lips. She wasn’t expecting that either, not after Rowan and Elias said they wouldn’t fuck her to preserve her energy for the trip ahead.

Kian seemed to have no such worries. In fact, as he rolled his hips into her again and again, she felt his strength and calm merge with hers. It was as if, for a moment, his consciousness was her own, and she felt the world how he did. A surge of emotions lit up like pastels swirling outside herself, waiting to be let in.

To be experienced.

Only one set of emotions interested her right then: the ones rolling off Kian’s powerful shoulders.

She tentatively touched the unscarred skin and met his eyes questioningly. His eyes closed as he nodded, and she trailed her fingers beneath his arms to find the marked skin.

He tensed the second her fingertips hit scar tissue, and she froze. She searched his face, but he only lowered his lips to hers to kiss her, as if the touch of their lips could heal him or perhaps save him from hideous memories.

“I can stop,” she whispered as their lips parted.

“No. I am all yours, Princess. Every inch.”

She nodded, swallowing her fear and letting her hands wander up and over years of torture, the skin bumpy and uneven. Even as she touched the worst of his scars, she couldn’t help but be awed by his beauty.

His fearful eyes locked with hers, and the slight tremble to his lip made her bite her own. The ugliness of Lazuli’s abuse would never cloud her image of him. To her, her Fae husband was perfect. Pushing her energy to him, she smiled as recognition filled his eyes, and a sigh passed his lips.

“You will always be perfect to me, Kian. I love you.”

“I love you more than life, my Princess. My wife. My everything-” his jaw clamped shut as his orgasm took hold, and she raised her hips to take every drop of him. She knew it would amount to nothing, but feeling his cum drip from her as he pulled out kept her connection with him strong.

“We have to get ready.”

She sighed as he rolled from the bed, her heart hurting until he turned and reached out his hand. “Come with me. Let’s get you dressed.

After dressing each other in a way that almost felt more intimate than the sex, they had, Sylvie and Kian grabbed some breakfast from the kitchen before meeting the rest of the group outside.

“Took you long enough,” Natalie grumbled before taking a huge bite of a burrito. Elias and Rowan had run into town for food, and even though it was cold, the flavours were perfect on Sylvie’s slightly nauseous belly.

Everything would be fine.

All they were doing was rescuing an entire species while a tyrannical, abusive king, his loyal guards and a horde of monsters prowled in the kingdom, ready to slaughter anyone who stood in their way.

She bit her lip and wobbled from foot to foot.

It would be fine.

Finer than fine.

Everything would go off without a hitch, Kian would save his dad, and Sylvie would round up the vampires.

Easy peasy.

Her mind raced as Rowan chose which shifters would come with them. Many volunteered, but he refused anyone expecting a baby in the coming months or had already been abused by Hayes. In the end, he selected Claudine, the two shifters Sylvie first encountered when she met the pack, Alastair and Sadie, and two panthers, Joan and Remy.

He rubbed his jaw briefly, looking from Elias to Kian to her and nodded. “Alright. Here’s the final plan. Kian, Kerensa, Brodi, Claudine, Joan and Remy will head straight for Kol and will prepare the portal for the Vampires. The rest of us will cut past the castle and straight for the town, grabbing as many people as possible before following to the portal site.

“If we’re quick, we can slip past before Hayes can organise his guards. Once they get here, we need to contain them fast. They will be hungry, and if any escape, the humans in Sagehill will be in danger. Elias has stocked a ground freezer by the Medbay with blood bags, so when we come through, grab the first Vampire you see and get them in there.”

He looked around at the Shifters staying behind. “They will be starving, and starvation makes vampires dangerous. So don’t put yourself in danger.”

Everyone nodded with a staunchness that set Sylvie’s mind at ease.

Rowan’s plan didn’t leave any room for Sylvie to break Magnus out, though, and she gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to be made a liar after she promised to free him. She’d just have to find a moment to slip away or something...

No, that was a fucking terrible idea.

She’d ask Elias when they got there.

Much better.

The full moon stared at them from the blue sky, and Sylvie shivered unease. Something about the sun and moon sharing the sky always unnerved her, but Kian and Kerensa looked excited almost. At least they were prepared for what came next.

Instead of forcing them all to hold onto each other like a sexy conga line, Kerensa and Kian walked around the group chanting unintelligible words. Rowan rushed over and grabbed Sylvie’s hand, swallowing when she furrowed her brows at him. “Just in case,” he grumbled.

Elias snatched up Sylvie’s other wrist and raised his brow at her. “He’s right. You’re often a loose cannon, kitten. No getting lost in the void for you.”

She scoffed, exhaling sharply through her nose and shook her head. “Jerks.”

The word barely passed her lips when the space around them turned grey. She couldn’t tell earth from sky, near from far; she simply existed in the void, and the only thing keeping her grounded was the warm hands holding her arms. She blinked and took a tentative step forward. The sooner she could get onto real land again, the better.

This time, the men holding her pulled away, their energy uncertain as she walked towards the shimmering mirage of Argyncia. “Hold on,” she called to them. “Stay with me.”

Their grip on her hands tightened as she pulled them through the portal and landed upright inside the castle walls. She had no time to think before an arrow whizzed past her head, and she ducked, pulling her mates down with her.

“Why are we inside? Fuck!” she pulled Rowan and Elias for a second before their instincts kicked in, and she was flying over one of their shoulders and disappearing behind a brick wall where the Vampire guards already stood, throwing small blades towards the archers.

She turned back to check the rest of her companions trickling through the portal and almost vomited in her mouth. Alastair lay on his back, staring unseeing at the sky with an arrowhead through his eyesocket as Sadie wailed. Rosie helped her take one of his legs and dragged him to Sylvie’s cover, and her face streaked with tears.

“We’re too close.”

“How’d they know we were coming?”

Elias pulled Kian over as another arrow skimmed his ear, and Kerensa cursed. “Fucking stupid portals.” The rest of the group managed to find shelter before signalling for Kian’s group to head for Kol.

“We’ll meet you there, okay?” Sylvie said in a rush, kissing his cheek as he, Kerensa, Brodi, Claudine, Joan and Remy darted away from the brick wall of the castle and scaled the wall before dropping to the safety of the other side.

Sylvie sighed with relief once they were no longer in danger of the vampire archers and looked at Elias. “Now what? They know we’re here, so how do we get to the town?”

He worked his jaw and looked over the panting group, his eyes darker than usual. The travelling didn’t seem to agree with him, and Sylvie rubbed her hand up his forearm.

“Let me get behind them. Rowan, you know the way?”

“Yeah.”

They nodded to each other as Elias kissed Sylvie’s hand. “Be careful.”

“You be careful,” she said, pulling his arm to kiss his lips. He pulled away quickly and disappeared in a blink, the sound of arrows piercing dirt and mortar decreasing until there was only the sound of Sadies sniffling.

“Let’s go,” Sylvie whispered, taking Rowan’s hand.

“I can’t leave him,” Sadie cried, trying to lift Alastair on her back, but his dead weight strained her. “I won’t.”

Sylvie gnawed on her lip and looked at everyone. “Okay. Mila, can you help get them to Kol?”

Mila looked ready to say no, but Shan nodded in her place. “I’ll help you,” she said, lifting Alastair’s body easily. The copious blood bags seemed to strengthen her immensely. Sadie followed, still weeping, as Shan leapt over the wall after the others.

“Shit,” Sylvie sighed. The group was dwindling, and her chances to save Magnus seemed impossible, at least this time.

“Let’s go,” Rowan said, tugging Sylvie’s hand. She followed, keeping a fast pace as they looped around twisted and crumbling structures, not a guard in sight. Sylvie wondered for a moment if Elias was killing them all when he appeared beside them, drenched in blood. His eyes matched the liquid staining his clothes, and she shook her head.

“Overkill...”

“Not at all. Anyone that harms my mates will die.”

They ran through brambles and messy, overgrown red willow-looking trees before the familiar homes that led to the marketplace rose. It seemed they were coming from the opposite end of the town, and nobody made a sound. Maybe everyone was still desiccating?

Or they were dead...

She wouldn’t let herself think it, shaking her head as they ran to the courtyard. When they reached it, they froze, taking in the scene. Born vampires milled slowly, their voices low and monotone.

“What’s wrong with them?”

Elias narrowed his eyes and pulled Sylvie closer to him. “I don’t know.”

“Is this everyone?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where’s Hayes?”

“Sylvie-”

“Sorry.”

Mila tutted and ran into the crowd, pushing through people and disappearing in seconds.

Natalie walked forward, but Rosie tugged her back. “Wait-”

“We can’t waste any more time. These guys are giving me the creeps.”

Rowan pulled them back until they were all huddled as close as possible. “Do we just go for it?” Sylvie asked.

“Yeah,” Natalie said, crossing her arms. “Just hurry up. They look like zombies.”

Rosie rolled her eyes with a blush and nodded. “Just be careful.”

“Should we wait for Mila?”

Elias shook his head. “No. She’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” Sylvie uncurled from their little huddle and approached the nearest Vampire. “Excuse me? Are you okay?”

He didn’t even look at her. Instead, he seemed to peer through her as if she didn’t exist. “She told us not to speak to strangers. Don’t speak to strangers. Don’t speak to strangers.”

Elias scooped her into his arms and marched away from the rambling zombied-out Vampire.

“Elias-”

“There’s something wrong here. These Vampires have fed recently- we should go.”

“We can’t leave them!”

“They’ve fed Sylvie, and someone is controlling them. They’ve survived this long without our help; they can last a few more weeks while we devise another plan.”

“But we’re here now!”

The horde of vampires turned towards her shrill voice, still staring through her, their ramblings synching until their words chilled Sylvie to the bone.

“Kill the girl. Kill the girl. Kill the girl. Kill the girl. Kill the girl...”

It wasn’t until Mila shuffled from the crowd, eyes clouded over and mouth moving in the same hideous pattern, did Sylvie’s brain start firing.

“Go, go, go! Run!”

Elias squeezed her against him and ran as Rowan, Nat, and Rosie sprinted behind, weaving through between the townhouses and over the castle wall.

“I don’t remember the way,” Sylvie cried, her head swivelling through the forest. And what about the Roehnie? She thought of Mila, and her chest ached—another person she was abandoning.

What a failure.

“It’s okay. I can sense Kian.”

“And I can smell them,” Rowan shouted from their side. “And something else. Sweet?”

“It’s a weird monster thing-”

“Roehnie,” Elias stated, running faster. When Rosie and Nat started falling behind, Sylvie nudged him.

“We can’t leave anyone else behind.”

He slowed and wiped the tear from her cheek.

“Keep up,” he yelled over his shoulder, and they did. The voices of the other group slowly sounded, and relief flooded her body. They were safe. She failed her goal, but at least Kian and Kerensa would free their father, and the shifters would be safe from kidnappings.

They came into sight when a thump and squelch sounded behind Elias’ back. When he turned, Sylvie followed his gaze to the noise, and she screamed.