It’s a desperate time for rookie vampire Alyssa, and her sanity is hanging by a slender thread. Her clan is still reeling from the monumental battle with Aniketos; a battle that claimed the body of Lysander, her sire and lover, and trapped his spirit in a mysterious crystal. A Soulstone.
Unfortunately, no amount of magic has been able to release Lysander’s spirit, and the stone is starting to fade. Weeks of effort have proved futile. Her clan, the Peregrinus, have all but given up hope. Only Alyssa still believes her lover can be released. In despair, Alyssa begs the help of the local witch coven, and unwittingly exposes the supernaturals of Boston to unwanted attention from the Acta Sanctorum.
The Saints converge on the city and begin their cleansing crusade to rid the world of all things “Unnatural.” In the middle of an all-out war, but no closer to a solution to the dying stone, Alyssa is left with an unenviable choice: save her mate, or save her clan.
Excerpt
As I went upstairs to get ready for my night with Ian, I
stumbled upon my clan members seated around a large cherrywood table in the
formal dining room. I stepped inside to see if any of them wanted to join me
for a night out on the town. I opened my mouth to speak and caught the awkward
glances that Nicholas, Crystal, and Drew were giving me. Silence enveloped the
room, as if my presence were unwanted.
“Did I miss dinner?” I asked, hoping to break the
awkwardness of the moment with a little humor, but none of them laughed at my
bad joke.
Nicholas folded his hands in front of him on the table. He
shook his head and clenched his jaw as if he wanted to say something but was
holding back. Drew looked down at the dining table, pretending to be intensely
studying the grain of the wood, while Crystal sat back in her chair, picking at
her long, manicured fingernails. If I wasn’t mistaken, they seemed to be
avoiding eye contact with me. This was one of those many times I wished I were
an older vampire and had developed the ability to read thoughts. Being a
newbie, as I was, I had almost none of the nifty abilities that the more
experienced vampires had. I could sense emotions, but that wouldn’t do me much
good here. I did, however, have the sneaking suspicion they’d all been talking
about me.
“Okay then,” I said to break the silence. “Lysander’s
crystal is in the coffin if anyone is looking for it. I noticed something
different about it today. Possibly a good thing. Fingers crossed. When Ariana
gets here we need to have her take a look at it. Maybe the spell is reversing
itself. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Crystal glanced up for a brief second and smiled awkwardly
at me.
Drew cleared his throat and it sounded like he said, “Okay,”
but didn’t bother to turn and look in my direction.
I found it odd that none of them bothered to comment on what
I had said about Lysander or the crystal. Come to think of it, they’d been
acting funny for the last few evenings; avoiding me, ignoring me, and spending
a lot of time in their own little group. Did they know something I didn’t? And
if they did, why weren’t they telling me? I wanted to blurt these questions out
but knew better. If they were trying to hide something from me, the direct
approach wasn’t going to get me any answers. I’d have to keep a close watch on
them to find out myself.
“Anyway… Ian is dragging me out of the house. We’re going to
hit the bar. If anyone else wants to join us, I’d love to have you. Please
come.”
Crystal shook her head and folded her arms across the table,
but maintained her silence.
“Drew, Nicholas, either of you guys want to tag along? Don’t
make me go out with Ian all by myself.” I figured that would at least get a
rise out of one of them. They’d been like overprotective brothers, and Ian was
just the kind of guy that brothers kept away from their little sisters.
“Actually, that might
be best.” Drew said in his usually chipper tone. “You get along well with the
Boston crowd. I feel you should go out with them more often. It would do you
good.”
“I’m sorry… what?” To say I was startled would be an
understatement. “Remember we’re talking about Ian here. Mr. Wannabe Casanova.
You want me to go out with him tonight?”
“You can handle him,”
Drew responded.
“What I think Drew is trying to say,” Crystal said softly,
“is that we want to see you going out and having fun. We’re worried for you.
The Boston crowd is younger, and you can relate to them better. Maybe that’s
what you need to move on.”
“Move on!” I said a bit louder than I wanted to. “Nicholas,
back me up here. Have you moved on from Rozaline?”
I realized about two seconds too late that I probably
shouldn’t have reopened that wound. And I was right. Nicholas’s face tensed.
His jaw clenched. His eyes zeroed in on mine, and without needing to hear the
sound I knew he was still screaming in pain on the inside.
Rozaline, Nicholas’s mate, had died days before Lysander had
been charred and trapped in the crystal. We’d all watched her decapitated and
drained at the ghostly hands of Aniketos. Her death had been gruesome and very
final, and I doubt even the coldest heart out there could have gotten over that
pain so quickly.
“Sorry, that was wrong of me. I didn’t mean it to come out
like that. All I’m trying to say is, she died and he is allowed to mourn.
Lysander isn’t dead, and you all seem to want to act like he is. There is
nothing for me to move on from.”
Crystal stood and walked purposefully toward me. “We just
feel like you might be holding false hope. We don’t want you to hurt more if things
don’t work out.”
“At least I have hope.” I couldn’t hold back the raw emotion
in my voice. “At least I want things to be better. What are you all doing? Have
you lost your humanity completely? This is no different than if he were in a
coma in a hospital. If we were human, I’d be by his side every day, because I
love him. That’s what you do when you love someone.”
She put her arm around me. “You’re not wrong to care. And we
do want things to be better. Even if that means letting go.”
I jerked away from her.
“Not of your hope,” she added. “Let go of some of the pain.
Don’t forget you have to live too. Transfer that energy into something
productive, so you’re not constantly dwelling on the uncertainty of his
situation.”
“And what if I’m not ready to let go of the pain? What if
all I have is my pain?”
“You know that’s a lie.” She pulled me back into her arms.
“You have us. We care… in our own way.”
Drew stood and joined us. His massive height dwarfed both
Crystal and me. “So go out tonight. Have fun with Ian and Zuri and anyone else
you can drag along with you. Get out of this house. That’s all we want.”
“Then I want you all to come too.” If I was to be forced
into going out and having fun, they should have to go too. It was only fair.
“We’ve already hunted,” Drew said with an obviously fake
smile. “And I don’t really care much for the dance clubs here.”
“There is nothing you can say that will get me to go to
another bar,” Nicholas said with a note of finality.
I knew better than to push him. We shared a common pain,
though not exactly the same, and I wouldn’t blame him at all for locking
himself away to mourn. Losing a mate with whom you have shared eternity is not
something you can just walk away from. He’d been ready to join her, offering
himself as a sacrifice, but that too had been stolen from him when Lysander
took his place.
“Well, I know Crystal will go with me.” I gave her my best
you’re-not-getting-out-of-this look. Crystal liked to go to parties and clubs.
She’d been the first to take me out dancing after I’d been turned. “No excuses.
If you don’t go, I don’t go.”
She sighed and for a brief moment, I almost believed she was
angry at me for giving her an ultimatum; but then a smile blossomed from her
tight lips. “Oh, all right. I’ll go out tonight.”
Drew cleared his throat. “I thought we had our own plans for
tonight.” He put his arm around his mate. “Remember, just the two of us?”
She stammered for a moment and looked up at her mate with
confusion in her eyes. “Oh… yes… I completely forgot. Alyssa, let’s have a
girls’ night some other time.”
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but they were all acting
very suspicious. I sighed in disappointment. “Fine. I’ll see you all later.
Will someone call me if Ariana gets here before I return?”
“If we’re home.” Drew said with a cocky tone that didn’t
suit him.
Something was definitely up.
“Yeah, okay. If you’re around, give me a call,” I said, and
then turned and headed toward my room to get ready.
