AllFreeNovel
Share Us
35
Mina’s body melted as the ecstasy of his bite flooded through her body. She was going to die in the arms of the man she loved. She didn’t know how to make it out of this with everyone she loved alive. All she could do was let him take her. Let him—
A foreign energy pulsed through her skull, and she felt it tingle along her temples until a vision filled her mind. Like Lucy had worn a knife on her belt, Erik had one too. And he wanted her to take it. She could feel it the more the vision went on. Erik was reaching out to her. He wanted her to take his knife and drive up between his ribs. It was the only way to stop him.
Mina flinched and tried to push against his chest. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t hurt him. Cloud she?
Sliding one hand down his body, her hand wrapped around the hilt of the blade. She couldn’t kill him, but to get him to stop. To give herself a chance to take Evangeline out with her…that she could do, but she had to move fast. With Erik drinking her blood, her body grew weaker by the second.
Pulling his dagger free, she took a shaky breath, and threaded the fingers of her free hand into his hair. She turned the blade in her hand.
“I love you,” she whispered, and with a grunt she drove the blade up into his chest, slipping it through the opening in his shirt, piercing his chest right beneath his heart.
Erik broke away from her with a cry of pain and he staggered to the side, his knees giving out.
Mina dropped to the ground, tears blurring her vision as she turned the blade around. “I’m so sorry.”
“No!” Evangeline shouted, surging forward. She grabbed Mina’s hair, and as she wrapped a hand around her neck in anger, Mina drove the blade up into the witch’s chest. It slipped up beneath her ribs, and she twisted it hard remembering all her father’s lessons on how to kill.
The witch howled in pain, blood spurting from her lips, and pain spread through Mina’s body. Pain that wasn’t hers. Magic raced over her skin, and then everything went cold and silent as Evangeline staggered back away from her, the blade still lodged in her chest.
“I don’t understand,” she said, as more blood dripped along her chin.
“I’m not surprised,” Mina said, feeling the bond between them snap. “People with power often forget they aren’t invulnerable.”
“You’ve killed yourself,” she said, moving back another step towards the water. “And the man you—” she broke off coughing.
“You were using my lifeforce,” Mina said, staggering to her feet. “I never needed yours.”
Evangeline shook her head and she staggered into the lake. Her body began to shake and black lines shot across her pale skin. “It’s not fair. I was meant to be queen. You’re nothing. You—” Blood shot from her lips and her body bent back at a sharp angle as she collapsed as a black shadow down into the water.
A burst of wind exploded in every direction and Mina heard Lucy and Harker cry out as her spell holding them in place broke. But she couldn’t think about them yet. Turning to where Erik had fallen, Mian hobbled to his side and dropped to her knees.
“Erik? Erik, please.” She grabbed his head and turned his face to hers. “Open your eyes. Talk to me. Tell me you're okay.”
He coughed and blinked slowly as he opened his eyes. “Starlight?”
“Yes,” she said, tears clouding her vision once again. “It’s me. I’m here.”
“Is it over?”
She nodded, brushing the hair back from his forehead, scratching her fingers over his stubble. Her entire body ached with how much she loved him. He couldn’t be dying. He had to live.
“Good.” He nodded. “At least you’re safe.”
“No. No. No.” She shook her head. “Don’t you dare say goodbye to me. You’re not gonna die. You’re not allowed to die. Not when we just found each other.”
“I don’t know that I really have a choice,” he exhaled. “Your aim was true.”
“No.” She sobbed. “You can’t.” Turning she shouted for her cousin. “Lucy! Help him!”
“I…” Lucy paled. “I can’t. He’s a vampire. The only thing that heals them is blood.”
Mina nodded and turned back to him. “Okay. Okay. Take more blood. Take my blood.”
“No, Starlight. I’ve already taken too much,” he exhaled, his breath rattling on his lips. “If I take what I need to heal from you I’ll kill you.”
“I don’t care,” she protested. “You have to survive.”
