••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
My breath catches in my throat.
"The princess belongs to me."
The words roll like thunder across the cathedral. My fingers loosen around the bouquet. It slips from my hands, tumbling to the floor.
Cyrus turns, cupping my face in both his hands, forcing my eyes away from the pale figure striding down the aisle. His voice is steady though I feel the tremor in him.
"Rhia. Look at me. Nothing's going to happen to you. I swear it."
I nod though my body shakes violently, my heart hammering against my ribs like it's trying to break free.
"Princess," a familiar voice calls out.
I turn to see Garrick striding toward me. When he reaches me, he takes my hand in his.
"I swore an oath to protect you from the day you were born, Rhiannon. And today," he turns, facing the vampire slowly walking down the aisle toward me, "I'll continue to fight in honor of that oath."
Tears gather in my eyes, relief mingling with fear. "Garrick…"
Garrick presses a kiss to the back of my hand then places a hand on Cyrus's shoulder and gives him a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"Your Highness," he says, "If anything happens to me, I trust you'll be able to keep her safe."
"I will," Cyrus nods.
Garrick gives me one last look before he turns to face the vampire.
••{GARRICK'S POV}••
Every step I take toward him feels like walking into a storm I might not survive. Even though every part of my being is afraid, I won't let this monster take Rhiannon.
I will die before that happens.
The vampire's gaze lands on me as I draw my sword. A smirk creeps onto his face as I charge at him.
I swing my blade for his head but he moves faster than my eyes can follow, dodging the attack.
I strike again and again, but he keeps sidestepping my attacks effortlessly, all with his hands folded behind his back which angers me even more.
I growl and run at him, arcing my sword wildly. The blade finally grazes his neck, drawing blood.
His eyes harden and he says, "I've had enough of this."
Before I can blink, he lands a sharp blow to my shoulder and I hear the sound of bone crack. I scream as pain shoots down my arm.
Then the vampire flicks his fingers and my sword wrenches out of my grip, spinning away across the cathedral floor.
He slowly lifts his hands and a few of the guests gasp. Their eyes widen in horror and their mouths open as if they want to scream but nothing comes out.
Then suddenly, tendrils of blood start to rip from them in the most horrifying way. The blood lifts into the air from their eyes, their ears, their noses, even their mouths.
They scream, choke, and writhe, clawing at their faces as if they can stop it. But the blood doesn't stop flowing. Their skin turns dry and grey as they collapse to the ground, trembling violently until they go still.
The blood rises, coiling around me like a serpent. Before I can react, it crashes into me like a tide, slamming me into a pillar. Pain explodes across my entire body as the blood sears and congeals, anchoring me to the marble.
I struggle with all my strength, but I can't move my hands or legs no matter how hard I try.
"Your highness!" I gasp, turning my head toward Rhiannon. "Protect yourself! Run!"
••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
Garrick is trapped.
And as he screams at me to run, my body refuses to move. It's as if I'm rooted to the ground, pinned in place by the vampire's gaze as he slowly advances toward me.
My father steps in front of Cyrus and I with his hand on his sword. His green eyes burn with fury.
"Go back to the abyss you crawled out of you dæmon!" He says. "My daughter belongs to no one!"
He raises his voice so everyone can hear. "Guards, kill them all!"
The red-haired vampire smirks. He lifts two fingers and flicks them forward and all hell breaks loose.
The guards charge. The intruders move faster than my eyes can follow. I watch in horror as one vampire seizes a man's head and twists until bone snaps; another drives a hand into a guard's chest, ripping ribs and entrails free in a spray of blood. Limbs tear, torsos split. The cathedral floor turns into a slaughter house in seconds.
Silk gowns drag through pools of blood, golden circlets clatter to the stones, gems scattering like tears. Screams rise in a terrible chorus, prayers to Astoria cut short by wet gurgles as throats are torn open. The music of the choir still echoes faintly from the rafters, mingling with the shrieks, as if heaven itself refuses to stop singing while hell devours us whole.
And still, the red-haired one walks calmly toward me, his golden eyes never leaving mine.
"Father, No!" I scream as my father draws his blade and charges at him. His blade cuts through the air as he swings. The vampire dodges each attack effortlessly. On the third swing, he raises his hand and my father rises from the ground, his feet kicking the air. With a flick of his wrist, he hurls him into the far side of the cathedral. The stone wall cracks with the force of impact.
"Father!" I scream, running to him. I kneel beside his body. Cyrus drops down too, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck while Rayn and Jesenya crouch close.
"He's alive," Cyrus says at last, letting out a sigh. Relief washes over me.
Jesenya sobs. "Anna… is father going to be all right?"
"He'll be fine," Cyrus assures.
I grab his hand, my eyes stinging with tears. "Cyrus… what are we going to do?"
He leans in and kisses me like a drowning man stealing one last breath. Fierce, desperate, and aching like he's trying to pour every unspoken vow, every dream of a life we'll never have, into that single moment. His lips tremble against mine. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on mine and in that moment, I feel it deep in my bones that this is goodbye.
Then he rises to his feet. His voice hardens. "Stay with your father. I'll fight them."
Rayn grabs his arm. "Let me come with you."
"No!" I snap, whipping my head toward him. "We stay here to protect Jesenya and Darren. To protect Father."
I turn back to Cyrus. My heart aches as I whisper, "Go."
He nods once before ripping himself from me to jump into the battle. But he stops in his tracks then turns to look back at me.
"I love you, Rhia," he says.
Before I can even reply, he's gone.
••{CYRUS'S POV}••
"Cyrus!"
I turn just in time to see my brother Alexei toss me a sword. I catch it, unsheathing in one motion. Steel sings as he draws his own. Together, we face the red-haired monster.
We charge. Our blades strike fast and hard, a rhythm of brothers—one strike high, the other low. But the vampire slips through every blow, weaving around us like smoke. I slash, Alexei thrusts, but he seems to disappear before can land a hit, always a step ahead.
Then he strikes, swinging his fist into my ribs he sends me skidding back. A single kick topples Alexei but still, we rise to our feet and press on.
My blade nicks him at last, slicing across his face. Blood seeps out of the wound and for the first time, he staggers.
For a heartbeat, I stop in my tracks as he raises his fingers to graze the cut across his face.
He looks at the blood on his fingers then slowly, he smiles. The wound knits closed before my eyes.
I lunge again but his hand shoots out and grabs my wrist. He twists and it snaps with a sickening crack, bone tearing through my skin. My sword clatters to the ground as I scream in pain.
"Cyrus!" Alexei shouts, panicked.
He rushes forward but the vampire flings him aside with an invisible force. Alexei slams into a pillar and crumples to the floor. He doesn't get back up.
The vampire wraps his hand around my throat.
I kick and claw at his hand but he lifts me higher, tightening his grip. My lungs burn, and my vision blurs.
"No…" I rasp, struggling to breathe.
••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
"NO!" I scream as I watch the vampire lift Cyrus high above the ground with one hand.
Cyrus's face turns red, then purple. His eyes find mine, wide with pain and fear. He claws at the vampire's grip with his good hand, his broken wrist dangling at his side, the bone still jutting through skin. My chest heaves with each strangled gasp that fails to leave his lungs.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the vampire drives his other hand straight through Cyrus's chest.
I hear the sound before I can comprehend it. The wet tearing of flesh, the snap of bone.
"CYRUS!" A raw scream rips from my throat, tears streaming down my cheeks as his back arches, his mouth opening in a silent cry. Blood gushes over the vampire's wrist, down Cyrus's clothes, dripping all over the floor.
"CYRUS!" His mother's wail echoes throughout the cathedral. His sister Arielle shrieks, trying to break free of her father's grip. My heart breaks with every sound.
I stare, frozen as he withdraws his hand. In his palm, glistening with blood and beating faintly, is Cyrus's heart.
"No…" I stagger forward, my knees weak. The world tilts around me. My ears ring, my vision blurs but the sight stays sharp.
He looks at it with idle disdain. "Pathetic," he mutters, then lets it drop. The organ lands with a wet slap against the floor. He crushes it beneath his boot like it's nothing.
Cyrus's body crumples to the ground like a rag doll. His eyes are still open, staring at nothing.
My body shakes so violently I can hardly breathe. Tears sting my eyes, blurring everything except the red-haired monster standing over the body of the man I love.
Rage sears through me, boiling like fire in my veins. My eyes fall on my father's sword beside me. Without a thought, my hand closes around the hilt.
"Anna, no! Please drop it, you'll get yourself killed!"
I ignore her and charge with a growl.
I swing with everything in me, fury screaming through my veins. The vampire sidesteps, parries with unnatural grace. I fake left and he falls for it, then I spin right. My blade cuts deep across his hand.
He looks at the wound, then at me. His golden eyes gleam with amusement then his lips curve into a grin.
"A warrior bride… how unexpected."
He stretches out his hand and a sword flies into his palm, summoned from the corpse of a guard.
Our blades clash, sparks bursting in the air like fireflies. I fight like my life depends on it, each strike faster and harder than the last. He deflects, blocks, never striking to kill.
I realize he's holding back, almost like he doesn't want to hurt me.
Then I see an opening and I go for it. I drive my sword deep into his chest, his blood spilling over my hands.
Gasps rise around me.
I stagger back, my chest heaving as he falls to one knee. Blood spills from his mouth onto the floor then slowly, he rises to his feet, pulls the sword free and tosses it aside.
He starts walking toward me.
"No…" I whisper, backing away.
But he closes the distance between us. He wraps his hand around my waist, pulling me against his chest. His golden eyes glow like twin suns as he stares into mine.
Then he leans in and captures my lips in a kiss.