Tendra

We were hauled out of the bedroom by an enraged king and his guard. Idris’s strength had returned, and he’d recovered from most of his injuries due to his fast vampire healing. He did his best to hurt as many guards as he could, but he was outmanned, and quickly chained up so tight, he could barely move.

They didn’t even bother keeping the handcuffs on me. I was just a human after all. We walked up too many flights to count, and the cold, rough stone froze my bare feet. By the time we reached the top, I left behind bloody footprints. I gritted my teeth against the pain as we were shoved onto the rooftop in front of a group of vampires. They turned around at the sound of our arrival. I counted seven—four men and three women.

We were shielded from the sun beneath a canopy, but the sides were bare, exposing us to the daytime air. Beyond our cover, the roof of the mansion was covered in sunlight.

Once again, I knew that sunlight was going to be my salvation. If I could just slip out of the vampire’s grasp who held me…

“I’m sorry to say,” the king began, “that while Athan completed his journey to bring the Sanguivita to us, he did not survive the journey.”

Whispers rolled through the seven vampires, who were watching me while darting glances at a fuming Idris.

“I have more bad news,” the king said. “Something I’ve been keeping from the council for many years, but I needed the Sanguivita as proof. The truth is, she has no powers.” He yanked the necklace from my neck and held it up high. Then he tossed it, the stone and chain sailing over the edge of the roof. I watched it go, my hopes sinking with it, but hoping I could follow it and end this charade.

The wind picked up, and the thin fabric of my dress whipped around my legs. My short hair fluttered in my eyes and I did my best to toss it out of my face. The guard held my hands behind my back in his meaty fist.

The council was louder now. “What do you mean?” said a woman in a pair of jeans.

“What I mean,” the king said, “is that the Valarians have been right all along. We need to consider the possibility of an alliance.”

“What?” said a man who looked like an older Zeb. “But our elders…”

“That was a long time ago,” said the king. “The world has changed. Humans are outnumbering us, and it’s growing harder to keep our existence from them. If they should learn about us, we will not be remembered for our mercy. We will be snuffed out. As your king, I think we need to side with the Valarians and start to protect our way of life before it’s too late. And she,”—he pointed to me—“is nothing. She will not strengthen this clan, and without added powers, we have no chance of defeating the Valarians.”

“We need proof,” the woman in the jeans said. “I’m not ready to throw away centuries of Gregorie values unless I know the Sanguivita will not strengthen us.”

The king beckoned with his hands, and the guards shoved Idris toward me.

“Why is he chained up?” a vampire asked.

“Because Idris refuses to believe,” the king said. “He’s not willing to accept progress.”

“Progress, my ass,” I said. “How is enslaving humans progress?”

The king’s eyes widened, and then his lips curled. “It’s progress because it’s natural selection.” He took a step toward me and wrapped his fingers around my throat. He began to squeeze, and I fought for breath as he lifted me off the ground. I flailed, the very tips of my toes scraping the stones on the roof before I was in the air. “Even without this made-up prophecy we are stronger than humans. If all the vampire clans would unite, we’d be unstoppable.”

He dropped me to the floor, where I fell, gasping for breath. I touched my throat, glaring at him. What I wouldn’t give right now for a sharp blade to slice off his head.

“Humans will always be inferior,” he said.

“So just because we’re inferior, we deserve to be made into blood banks?” I asked.

He gripped my hair and tugged me to my feet. I gritted my teeth as pain shot through my scalp. The king was undeterred, and my strength no match for his.

“Feed,” he spat at his son. “Now.”

Idris shook his head, his lips peeled back to reveal his fangs. “Never.”

The king nodded at the guards and they dragged him over to the edge of the canopy, toward the sunlight.

They unchained his hand and while he struggled, he wasn’t strong enough for three of them. “Change your mind yet?” the king asked. “Do it or you will burn. Limb by limb.”

“Now, really,” said a vampire among the counsel. “Is this necessary?”

The king whirled around. “Yes,” he responded. “This is our future.”

The vampire who spoke up furrowed his brows but kept quiet. Would no one stand up for Idris?

Shit, this wasn’t good. They would torture him until he agreed, and the king still had a grip on my hair.

I fought him, but he didn’t let go, and Idris’s face went blank as they drew his hand toward the sunlight. He was going to let them do it. He’d burn before he fed from me. My heart pounded, and I thought about all Athan fought for, how he valued his clan and humans. How he fed Brex and took care of me. I wouldn’t believe he was dead. He was out there somewhere. But I didn’t have a choice now.

I couldn’t watch this.

The tip of Idris’s middle finger touched the sunlight. Wisps of gray smoke rose from his hand and his jaw clenched, eyes glazing over.

“Stop!” I screamed.

Idris didn’t even look at me, lost in the pain.

“Stop!” I cried, looking up at the king from under my hair. The wind was louder now, howling around us and kicking up the ash—all that was left of the tip of Idris’s middle finger. “I’ll go to him. I’ll make him feed,” I pleaded. “Please don’t do this to him.”

The king glared at me then tossed me toward Idris. “Maybe it’s a good thing you are smart and have a soft heart. Do it.”

There were no hands on me now. Nothing. I placed one foot in front of the other, keeping my eyes on Idris, not wanting to alert anyone to my plans. I had a hard time staying upright as the wind roared around me. It was maybe ten feet to where Idris stood with three men holding him, watching me, but it felt like a mile.

When I reached him, I tilted my head to the side to show my neck. “Please let him go. He doesn’t want to burn, and I don’t want to watch it. He’ll feed.”

The guards looked to the king, who nodded. And they slowly released a still-chained Idris. His hands were tied in front of him, and he was hobbled. But I…I was free. I stepped toward him, turning us so my back was to the sun. This was a dance I had to get right. The sunlight was right behind me, and although my death would be the end of the Sanguivita, they’d never be able to prove I was a dud.

I wasn’t a dud. My blood made Athan fly.

And now, well. I was going to fly, too. I gripped Idris’s head, breathing in the air one last time, looking into the eyes of the man who was the closest thing alive to the vampire I’d fallen for. The vampire who showed me honor and duty. This was my last hurrah, my last fuck you. I was giving up my independence so others could keep theirs.

“The prophecy is true,” I said loudly, peering over Idris’s shoulder where the council watched me with bated breath. “But Idris isn’t the right son. It’s Athan. Find him and you have your king. But I won’t be your pawn.”

And then I turned on my heel and ran into the sun. The king roared but I kept running, my feet slipping on the stones, pain scorching up my legs. The sun was warm on my face, the fresh air delicious in my lungs. I reached the end of the roof and without hesitation, I leaped.

For a moment I was suspended in the air, my dress billowing around me. I closed my eyes. I didn’t hear a thing, and in fact, felt at peace. I heard Athan’s voice in my ear calling me Tendra, and I felt Ruby’s warm hugs, and Brex’s fur in my fingers.

Then I began to drop.

The ground rushed toward me in seconds, a concrete walkway, the place where my body would break, where my then-useless blood would spill.

Where they’d never be able to use me for an agenda.

My body jolted, which was an odd feeling when I was supposed to be dropping toward the ground. Wait, why was I no longer…descending?

I flailed, trying to get my bearings, but I seemed to be moving sideways. What the hell? When everything should have been happening so fast, and become so final, it seemed like time had stopped.

A shadow loomed over me, something big and dark and for a moment terror seized me. No, no, they couldn’t have found a way to get me. I was supposed to die damnit. Arms closed around me and I pounded at my captor with my fists as I was buoyed back up. Until a voice, a voice that I swore I’d never hear again, said, “Be still, Tendra.”

I went limp, sagging in Athan’s arms as his black wings flapped around us. We were flying, he and I. The desperation I’d felt for humanity evaporated with the rush of the air through my hair.

I no longer wanted for him to spirit us away. Oh, hell, no. I wanted on that damn roof where I could fuck up a king.

We rose through the air, and I glanced up at Athan’s face. His eyes glowed a fiery red, and his jaw was set. We reached the lip of the roof and sailed over it to find a battle already being waged.

“Who are all these vampires?” I asked, spotting several cutting their way toward Idris.

“Idris’s soldiers,” Athan said.

Ah, Athan must have broken them out of wherever the king had imprisoned them.

We landed on the roof, and Athan placed me on the ground, then turned around. He rose from his crouch and two daggers flashed in his hands. He stood in a pair of jeans and boots, his back rippling as his wings melted back into his skin.

His father stood with his jaw dropped at the sight of his son, alive and well and stronger than ever.

“Athan,” he whispered.

The council members were being protected by Idris’s soldiers, who were battling the last of the king’s guard to get to Idris. The council members were pointing at Athan and whispering about the prophecy. He stood strong in the sun, his pale back glistening with sweat. I’d known in my heart he was still alive, even if I’d given up hope we’d be reunited. I felt a pull toward him like a magnet, and I couldn’t wait until this was all over, because I wasn’t sure I’d leave his side for weeks.

He twisted the daggers, so the metal glinted on the sun’s rays, then raced to his brother’s side. He dispatched the remaining of his father’s guards, sending arcs of blood through the air.

The king didn’t bother to fight as Idris’s soldiers grabbed him and held his arms behind him. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Athan. When Idris was freed from his chains, Athan strode over to his father. His torso was stained with blood, his eyes beginning to darken. He glanced at me, his gaze taking me in, confirming I was well, then he focused on his father.

The wind that had whipped into a frenzy moments ago was gone, and all that remained was a quiet and motionless council. They watched, eager to see this battle of the kings.

“You lied,” Athan said, his voice echoing around the rooftop. “Tell me why.”

“You fed from the Sanguivita,” the king said, ignoring Athan’s request. “You weren’t supposed to.”

“I was dying,” Athan said. “Tendra saved me when I needed to feed. Imagine my surprise when I grew wings,” he sneered.

The king flinched, and he glanced at me. “So I guess you’ll kill me now?”

“I want answers.”

“Why should I bother?”

“Because,” Athan said, gripping his father around the throat and squeezing until the king’s eyes bugged out. “I get to choose. I can burn you slowly like you planned to do to my brother. I can starve you, or I can make it quick.” He tapped his knife point on his father’s chest. “And just maybe I’ll let you live.”

The king’s nostrils flared. “I lied because I don’t think we will survive much longer the way we are living. Humans breed like rabbits, and are ruining this world with their filth.” He narrowed his eyes at me, but I was no longer afraid of the king who was all talk and gold rings. “Son, listen to me, we should side with the Valarians—”

“Why did her blood affect me, Father?” Athan said.

The king swallowed. “Son—”

“Who’s my mother?” Idris said, stepping forward.

The king was nervous now, his fingers twisting behind his back where a soldier held his wrists. “You have different mothers.”

Idris swallowed and swayed on his feet. He asked again, his voice wavering. “Who is my mother?”

“A nobody,” his father spat. “A drug addict I found on the streets of Mission. I got her with child and once you were born, I killed her.” The king was emboldened now as his chilling, hateful gaze swept to Athan. “Just like I killed yours. It was the only way to hide the order of your births.”

Athan’s father was a monster. The impact of his lies settled heavily on me. The soles of my feet ached from walking on sharp stones barefoot, and my blood felt hot, while my heart pounded loudly. I felt my forehead, wiping away some cold sweat. I bit back a roll of nausea and focused on the scene in front of me.

“Why?” Athan asked.

“Because when Idris drank from the Sanguivita and she did nothing to his blood, then I could prove the prophecy was false and gain the council votes necessary to form an alliance with the Valarians.” He curled his lips. “I knew as soon as you were born, Athan, that I’d never convince you to use your powers for the good of vampires—”

“For the good? By enslaving an entire species?” Athan said.

“See?” His father spat. “You can’t see beyond your morals. I raised you on them so you’d do your duty. So you’d deliver that human to your brother like you were supposed to—”

“Duty?” I couldn’t take this any longer. Despite the pain in my feet, and the weariness in my bones, I refused to stand by silently while Athan’s father spoke to him like that. “You’re speaking to Athan about duty? He taught me what duty was. He’s not human but yet he showed me what humanity was. He’s a leader to this entire clan, and maybe if you left this fucking mansion once in a while, you’d see that. He’s respected by the vampires in Mission, and he will defeat the Valarians.”

“Ah, a human talking to me about humanity. This is the problem.” The king went back to imploring his sons. “They have too much free will! They will choose to eradicate us if we become public knowledge—”

“Don’t speak to me about human free will,” Athan said, holding a knife to his father’s throat. “Tendra had free will, and she used it to save me, knowing it would turn her. Did you know that? She has a day, maybe hours, before she becomes one of us. She knew that, and she chose to save me anyway. So that’s your human free will. And you can go to hell.” With a grunt, he swiped the knife across his father’s throat, severing his head and sending one last arc of blood through the air.

Idris stepped to his brother’s side as the headless body of their father fell onto the stones. He placed a hand on Athan’s shoulder and bowed his head, his shoulders slumping. “Glad you’re back, brother.”

Athan hugged him, and the council began to murmur. One by one, the other vampires came and knelt before the brothers. Idris tried to step back, but Athan didn’t let him, tugging him forward so they stood side by side.

The council swore allegiance in some weird ritual that seemed second nature to them. Their words blended together in my head, and my vision went blurry a couple of times. I lost my footing as the last vampire rose, and I fell to one knee.

I lost my sight for a moment and blinked rapidly as strong arms wrapped around me. “Tendra.” Athan’s voice sounded like it was in a tunnel.

“Can’t…see,” I muttered, but my tongue was thick in my mouth. “What…”

“She’s turning.” That sounded like Idris.

Oh, right, the vampire thing. I wondered when that would hit. “Hot,” I managed to say, which was an understatement. I felt like I was burning up from the inside.

“It’ll be okay,” Athan said as I was lifted off the ground.

I lost consciousness for a bit and came to as I was laid down on a bed. Every single muscle was stiff, like rigor mortis. Holy shit, was I dying? Wait, I kinda was dying, right? Wasn’t that how I became a vampire? I should’ve asked more questions. My hair was smoothed off my face. “It’ll pass. I’ll be right here.”

“Dying,” I said.

“Yeah,” Athan whispered. “That’s kind of what happens.”

Something brushed my hand. Was that fur? And the last thing I heard as I slipped away was the sound of Brex’s purr.