A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(52)

The pain was too much. My thighs, my calves burned. Bones cracked in my legs.

I cried out and pricked my tongue with my fangs, tasting blood. I was growing fangs.

I brought a hand up to my mouth and touched my aching gums. I felt them, long and sharp.

I looked down and watched in horror as my legs fused together, the skin rippling as they morphed into a massive black serpent tail. My clothes were torn, useless on the floor as my physical form grew in size.

Time to let go, Draven, Asherak said. Don’t fight me.

It was happening too fast.

I found Serena’s terrified gaze and stilled for a brief moment.

There was no turning back.

My heart broke, and I realized what hurt more than the fact that I was becoming a Destroyer. What hurt more than the process itself.

This would be the last image that Serena would have of me. The monster I’d sworn to defeat.

The monster was now me.





Serena





Black clouds moved over our heads, like thick rolls of charcoal dust. Lightning shot through them, spreading out into incandescent spider webs, followed by ominous thunder. Cold winds rose and smacked into us as the storm gathered on top of the platform, where Asherak was in the process of taking over Draven’s body and soul.

I couldn’t let him go like this. I couldn’t bear to see the man I loved go through with this horrendous transformation. I couldn’t lose him to Asherak.

“Draven!” I screamed, my eyes burning as I blinked away more tears.

“Kill me now!” Draven growled, heaving on the floor, his lower body turned into a large black snake tail. His yellow eyes were fixed on me, and I could feel the shame and the grief pouring out of him.

“No! Nobody touches him!” I snapped, and struggled harder against Jovi and Phoenix’s hold on me.

I couldn’t let him do this to himself. To me. To us.

Maybe I could talk him out of it. Maybe I could help him fight Asherak.

Azazel had never had someone to love, someone to guide him away from the darkness.

Maybe I could help.

It was that thought that finally gave me the push I needed to release a barrier strong enough to knock my brother and Jovi back. I ran to Draven and fell to my knees next to him, just as Malachy used the other Druids’ energy to fashion a sword from his glowing hands, and began walking toward us.

I raised my arms up in a defensive gesture, while Draven groaned below.

“Don’t!” I pleaded, my voice trembling. “Don’t! Not yet, please!”

“Serena, it’s too late,” Draven gasped, his hand clutching my wrist. “He’s taking over. Kill me now while you all still have a chance!”

The pain was unbearable, just watching him go through this horrific metamorphosis. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what mourning him would feel like. It would kill me. I simply couldn’t accept a life without Draven in it.

“No, Draven, you can fight this!” I cried, cupping his face in my hands.

Viola took several steps forward with a pained expression on her face, her eyes glowing violet. I could see her from the corner of my teary eye. I looked up, my gaze finding hers, and shook my head.

“No, please… Please, Viola…”

“I’m sorry, Serena. I truly am,” she said in multiple voices. “But Draven is right. I couldn’t kill Asherak because he already had full control over Azazel. The complete Soul Fusion spell was too much even for a Daughter of Eritopia to handle. But he’s yet to consume Draven. We can end this now, while Asherak is still vulnerable.”

Draven hissed suddenly, baring his fangs at me, but I knew it wasn’t him. It was the dark Druid feeling threatened. He knew what was coming.

“Viola, please… I beg you, wait. I can try, I can try to help him…”

I shifted my focus back to Draven, his big yellow eyes sending shivers down my spine. He struggled, his breathing ragged, while little currents of green light flowed through his body like pulses of Asherak’s power eating away at him.

“Draven, please,” I said gently. “I love you. I’ve only just found you. You’ve taken hold of my soul, my body, my entire existence. We were going to stand up today, overlooking Calliope and celebrate Eritopia’s freedom. Together. You and me, Draven. You love me. I can feel it. You don’t want this. I don’t want this… Please… Fight it. Fight him!”

“He’s strong, Serena,” Draven replied through gritted teeth, further twisting my heart into a painful knot. “Kill me before he takes over.”

“I… I can’t kill you, Draven,” I sobbed.

I noticed the snake pendant in his hand twisting back into its eight-loop, its beady ruby eyes glistening with green reflections. I moved to take it away from him, but Draven slapped my hand back so hard, it nearly broke my fingers.

I bit my lower lip to hold in a gasp, ice tumbling through my veins as he looked at me, his eyes flaring furiously green. He let out a menacing hiss, the air around us engaged in a friction that raised the temperature and amplified the pressure, making it difficult to react. As if a centuries-old weight were being pushed down on my shoulders.

“He’s strong.” Draven’s lips moved, but it wasn’t his voice. It was raspy and poisonous. Asherak was speaking through him. “I must say, I’m pleased with him. His soul, so bright and golden, is ripe and ready for me. Don’t think you can stop this.”