Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) (13 page)

Nothing
seems as it should, almost as if I have awoken into a terrific
nightmare.  If only I could pinch myself and wake.

My
sister’s golden hair should be easy to spot in the firelight
but she is nowhere to be seen.  “Adela, answer me!”

I
slip on the blood slicked floor and crash to my knees before the
altar, jarring my jaw so that I nearly bite my tongue in half.  Blood
seeps between my teeth, but I ignore it as the copious amounts of
fabric from my dress shield my knees from the brunt of the impact.  

A
terrible crash from behind sends me scrambling to my feet.  I
glance back over my shoulder to find the timbers nearest the door
have collapsed, sealing me inside.  I can no longer see my
brother upon the far wall.

“Help!”
 I stagger up the steps toward the altar, terrified. Flames eat
away at the wooden crucifix before me.  Already half of the
Lord’s body has been destroyed, the other portrays a gruesome
reminder of the eternal torment my mother so loved to preach to me
about when I was headstrong as a child.

Am
I dead?  Is this my damnation?

  My
gaze lands upon a glint of silver and I lurch forward to retrieve a
bloodied dagger, clutching it tightly to my chest as another memory
envelopes me:
Adela’s
wide eyes latch onto mine.  Mewling sounds rise from her throat
as she thrashes against Lucien’s grasp.  The muscles along
her forearms pull taut as she fights to touch my outstretched hands.

“
It
is time, brother,” Lucien growls as his gaze focuses on the
moonlight streaming in through the windows.

“
Time
for what?” I whimper as I turn to face my new husband.

Vladimir
smiles down at me, curling his finger along my cheekbone.  “Do
not fret.  It will all be over soon.”

Adela’s
piercing screams tear at me as Lucien waves the silver blade before
my sister’s eyes.  She bucks wildly as his arms snakes
about her chest and her cries give way to wailing pleas.

“
No,
please!”  I beg as stinging tears blur my vision.  “Take
me instead.”

Vladimir’s
hauntingly handsome face shows no emotion.  “The pain will
only be for a moment.”

“
Roseli-”
Adela’s cry gurgles in her throat as the blade slices clean
through her flesh.  A thin red line appears first, and then a
shower of blood cascades down from her neck, staining her pale pink
dress.  Her eyes bulge as she fights from breath.  Delicate
fingers attempt to staunch the outpouring.

I
fall to my knees and the dagger clatters from my hands.  My hair
falls in a heavy veil over my face as I bow my head.  Salty
tears stream down the curve of my cheeks, pattering against the
heated floor.  Small puffs of steam rise from where they fall.
 My shriek of agony weaves among the rafters of this desecrated
church and up into the night.

That
is when I smell it.  The heady bouquet that clings to my skin is
sweet, delicious.  My throat clenches as the scent rolls over me
and I fight the urge to lick my lips.  I lower my gaze and
notice fresh sheets of blood staining my corset for the first time.
 It trails down from my throat and oozes into a deep, cleanly
edged wound just over my heart.  The hole has already begun to
mend, sealing over with a new layer of pale flesh.

Reaching
up with quivering fingers, I touch the sticky warmth that adheres to
my chest.  “No, no, no!”  

I
shake my head at the memory of Vladimir plunging the dagger deep into
my chest, tearing flesh and scoring bone.  The pain had been
excruciating, but it paled instantly as a new pain surged through my
veins.  The fires burned hotter than any mortal flame, charring
everything in its path.  The darkness had come...but not fast
enough.

It
was all real!  
I
cannot breathe as mocking laughter draws my gaze upward and I meet
the dark, maniacal eyes of Lucien Enescue perched among the charred
rafters.  His long hair drapes about his shoulders, thickly
matted with blood.  The flesh of his right cheek is scored
deeply with claw marks.  His chin is layered red with fresh
blood.  As he peels his lips back into a grotesque smile, I feel
faint at the crimson that paints his teeth.  

The
scent of death permeates the air around him as he leaps down to the
floor before me in a billow of black silk.  There is no sound as
his feet connect with the ground.  Only the whisper of air
shifting.

“She
remembers.”  His words feel like a thousand snakes
writhing across my skin.  Goosebumps rise as I flail backward,
scuttling away from his slow, purposeful approach.

My
fingers snag in something moist and stringy as I frantically try to
flee.  I turn slowly toward my hand, terrified of what I might
discover.  Tears roll unhindered down my grimy cheeks.  Lifeless
blue eyes stare back at me as I untangle my fingers from my sister’s
golden strands.  

“Adela!”
 I wail as the room begins to darken around me.  My head
grows unusually light as I blink against my shock.  

The
wooden floor trembles beneath my hands as something lands beside me,
but I can only see my sister.  A clean gash is carved into her
throat, cut deep to her spine.  I can see bone protruding from
the wound and realize her head is only partially attached by a thin
layer of stretched skin.  The blood that spilled from her wound
has already begun to congeal against her ashen chest.

It
is not this wound that consumes my attention, but the semi-circle of
teeth marks on the tender flesh nestled in the hollow of her neck.  A
tremor rises through my body at the taste of Adela’s blood on
my lips.  
I
bit her!

“Guard
the door, Lucien.” A husky voice seems to call from the
distance.  “I do not want to be disturbed.”

“But
the fire-”  Lucien’s protest cuts off and I hear him
move away.  

My
vision blurs as a dark face appears before me.  I try to focus
as strong hands press me roughly to the floor.  I know that I
must fight back, to scream for help but my thoughts splinter.

I
can feel my skirts being lifted and a weight pressed down upon me.

“Congratulations,
my dear.”  Cold fingers slide down my inner thigh as the
hard voice of my husband whispers in my ear.  “Your first
kill.”

Tears
spill down my cheeks as my head rolls to the side.  I stare into
the unseeing eyes of my sister as my husband takes me for the first
time

Also by Amy Miles
 

THE AROTAS TRILOGY
Forbidden
Reckoning
Redemption
Evermore
 

THE RISING TRILOGY
Defiance Rising
Relinquish
 

THE LOVE & LUST TRILOGY
Captivate

Amy Miles was born and raised in a military family but has now settled
with her husband and son in South Carolina. She is also the author of
Defiance Rising, Forbidden, Reckoning and Redemption. To learn more
about her and her books, visit
AmyMilesBooks.com
or @AmyMilesBooks on Twitter.

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