Fae of the South (Court of Crown and Compass Book 3) by E. Hall (libby ebook reader .txt) 📕

this war. I’ve developed a serum to employ the vampires. There are many in this city and they’ll bend to my will, destroying the nats as you call them.”

She takes a needle from her work area and pricks Tyrren’s arm, driving the plunger down until the red, viscous substance disappears beneath his flesh. He twitches once and then begins to writhe in pain, absolute agony. His back arches. Straps attach him to the table, keeping his limbs from flailing, but sweat pours from his skin and his eyes roll wildly in their sockets.

“Stop.” I’m not bound and lunge at Glandias, but she blasts me back. I slide across the filthy floor.

“Your realm has useful tools and instruments. This is a trial formulation. I’m still perfecting it. When I have it right and when he’s been given enough, he won’t be able to fight his nature and choose not to bite people.”

She’s going to control the fae and the vampires? “You sicken me,” I say, “I’ll fight until my last breath.”

“Yes, under my orders.”

“I’ll never bend to your will.” A dark thought crowds my mind. Maybe death will be more peaceful than the existence we’ve known. The tension between the vampires and fae, the theft of shadows... No. I can’t think that way.

“I’m not offering you a choice,” Glandias says. “You’re a fiery one, Lea, which is exactly what I want. Anyway, I’ve never met a person who I can’t break.” Her lips turn up, but not in a smile. She lifts one of the needles.

I flinch, afraid she’s going to inject me, but she places it in my hand.

“Your turn. You can begin to bleed your friend Tyrren dry.” She laughs at her little joke.

I let the syringe fall, smashing to the floor.

“There is more where that came from. Let’s try again.” She gets another needle.

Glandias forces me to grip the cold metal in my fingers.

The room shifts slightly. For a moment, I think it’s dizziness. “What was that?” I ask, buying time.

Her gaze darts to the door.

The four walls in the room shake again.

“Go on, Lea. Give Tyrren a dose. Do it now with the knowledge that soon you’ll be doing it to him and others. I’m still working on obtaining your uncle. I look forward to unleashing him in the city.”

Every part of my body is screaming. On fire. Filled with hate.

“I see the revulsion in your eyes, but I trust that in time, you’ll come to understand that sometimes we have to do difficult things to reach our aims.”

“Yes, yes we do,” I say. I always have a choice. I take a deep breath and plunge the needle into my arm.

Her expression blanches.

I use the pain that sweeps through my veins to attack. Glandias is faster and stronger than I expect. She knocks me back. Her hand presses against my face, mashing my cheek into the nasty floor. I try to fight back, kicking and punching, but her hands grip my neck and tighten, choking me...

I suddenly feel an undertow, the pull of light from shadow. It’s like going too fast on a rollercoaster, the sinking feeling when you hit the bottom, and the thrill as you hurtle and loop, letting go, giving in to the wild freedom of it.

She’s rending my shadow. My shadow. It’s my choice whether or not I let her.

The room shakes again and plaster from the ceiling rains down on us.

Spots dot the edges of my vision. A suctioning feeling comes next, gripping, tugging, ripping me up.

“Give me your worst. I dare you.” I manage to say these last words as I let my shadow slip away.

Chapter 22

Tyrren

 

 

I thought the worst pain I’d ever experienced was when I was turned into a vampire. It was agony. Blinding. Piercing. I was human with a human body going through the change. Makes sense. Now, I’m a vampire. Organs, muscles, blood—everything that made me human on the inside is different now.

And yet. And yet my entire body is on fire. Inside and out. The blinding and piercing pain before was nothing to what I experience now. Something vicious courses through me. It moves slowly, inch by inch, devouring me with sharp teeth.

I didn’t know vampires could feel, well, anything.

I moan.

I howl.

I shout.

Something dry rains down, filling my mouth and I cough, sputtering. A cold hand lands on mine. I blink open my eyes. I wasn’t asleep because vampires don’t sleep. I don’t know what happened to me. I do know that I’m hungry. Starved. Can someone be turned twice? The desire I felt the first time, the longing for blood, is amplified tenfold. I must feed. I start to get to my feet. Before I was an even split between my human mind and driven by my vampire body. Whatever happened in this room, pushed the ratio toward instinct.

A shadowy figure hovers over me. When our eyes meet, I stagger backward.

I’d recognize them anywhere—they’re Lea’s mysterious eyes, only duller, almost hollow.

Something is different about her. Forgetting my agony for a moment, red flags and alerts lift and sound in my mind. My connection to her goes deeper than curses and magic. It’s older than the monster I’ve become. Through all of this, my feelings for her persist and have grown in strength.

From the floor, someone in a robe groans and begins to rouse. The room shakes.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” Lea’s voice is thin.

The scene at RIP Jr comes back to mind in fits and spurts.

Emeric. The truth of his identity as a vampire.

Jurik. The headmistress transforming herself into a mage.

That mage, who called herself Glandias, gets up from the floor.

Anger, unlike I’ve ever known, courses through