A Tangle of Hearts (A Shade of Vampire #44)(54)

But I didn’t get to relax for long. He rolled over to his side shortly afterward, and spooned me into a tight embrace. His arms snaked around my waist and pulled me into him, and I felt his body heat melt into mine.

I stiffened. I opened my mouth to say something, but words didn’t want to come out.

“Just go to sleep.” He dug his face into my hair, quieting my protest.

I felt his breath on the back of my neck, a sublime reminder of the previous night, before the Destroyers. It warmed my skin and spread throughout my body, ultimately softening every muscle and every bone that I had.

Lying there in his arms, I closed my eyes. His breath continued to warm me, and my spine disintegrated one vertebra at a time.

I wanted to stay awake for longer lingering in the feeling of him, yet a deep sleep snuck up on me and robbed me of my consciousness. But it was okay, because I was in Draven’s arms.





Phoenix





[Hazel & Tejus’s son]





I need to see her.

I woke up in the basement. I sat up and looked around. I was in one of the beds. Aida and Field were asleep on the floor beneath me.

The lights were dim, barely flickering in two oil lamps on the other side of the chamber. I couldn’t feel much. No pain. Just the urge to see her. Nothing else.

My mind was devoid of any other thought.

I felt something cold under my hand. I picked it up. It was the stone knife that the Daughters had given me, the twine around its handle smudged with dried blood. I thought I’d dropped it in the swamp during my tackle with the shape-shifters.

I remembered everything. Sparring with Jovi. Hearing the shrills. Seeing two succubi get torn to shreds by shape-shifters in the jungle beyond the protective shield. Their blood like mercury sprayed against the trees as the monsters killed them. A third succubi running out and falling into the swamp. Jovi rushing to help her. Me jumping in to distract the shape-shifters while Jovi tried to get her out of there.

My feet getting knocked off the ground. The knife leaving my hand in the fall.

Then the darkness.

My dream of her. Of us.

I looked at the knife again.

The Daughters must have returned it to me. I had a job to do.

I need to see her.

I got off the bed, careful not to wake Aida or Field. I walked toward the stairs, my steps silent on the cold floor. My body moved faster than my thoughts. I went outside.

My mind was a blur.

I looked up to find the indigo sky speckled with a myriad of stars. My feet took me into the garden, to the magnolia tree.

Her tree.

I need to see her. I need to help her.





Vita





[Grace and Lawrence’s daughter]





I had spent most of the afternoon practicing my newly-awakened fae abilities. There had been so much joy and energy flowing through me that I felt it would have been a pity to let that go to waste. I had to harness what I’d brought to the surface. I needed my fae strength for what waited ahead for me, for us.

Being an Oracle felt like a horrible fate if I couldn’t do anything to stop the horrific future that I had seen in my first visions. Developing my fae power had given me a newfound sense of strength. The self-confidence that flowed through me made it easier for me to manipulate the candle flames.

I was so entranced by what I could do, I’d forgotten to take any breaks.

I must have dozed off at some point. I woke up under the magnolia tree to the midnight breeze rustling through the grass. The sky above was a dark, almost black blue, speckled with stars. The temperature had dropped significantly, sending shivers down my spine.

It was quiet around me, except for the cicadas chirping in the distance. I sat up and rubbed my hands over my face. I was shaking from the cold, and my skin was like ice. I rose to my feet and stretched my arms out, ready to continue my sleep in my bed upstairs under a dozen blankets.

I turned to walk toward the house and stopped as Phoenix walked out.

My eyes grew wide, and my chest inflated with the pure delight of seeing him up and about.

“Phoenix! You’re awake!” I exclaimed and took a few steps forward. I intended to hug him, but something was off, and I stilled. He kept walking toward me, and I noticed something in his hand.

“Phoenix, are you okay?”

He didn’t answer. His face was devoid of any expression, his eyes half-closed.

He stopped in front of the magnolia tree, just a few yards away from me. I looked at him, but he completely ignored me, staring blankly ahead.

His hand came forward, and I got a better look at what he was holding—a strange-looking knife with a long blade made of stone. My heart stopped.

“Phoenix, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer.

Panic surged through me. This wasn’t right.

Phoenix drove the knife into his chest. It happened so quickly that I barely registered the movement.

I froze. It went all the way in. Blood spurted from the wound, trickling down his shirt and into the ground.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t react. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Phoenix’s expression was blank, as if he didn’t feel anything.

Blood poured and seeped into the dirt at his feet.