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  Alicia Rades

  Copyright © 2019 Alicia Rades

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever without written permission from the author except in brief quotations used in articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Crystallite Publishing.

  Produced in the United States of America.

  Edited by Megan Linski.

  Cover design by Covers by Combs.

  To my fans, who make writing possible.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  1

  When you’ve been stripped of everything, the only thing left to hold on to is your free will. Matias Vayne was trying pretty damn hard to rip that away from us, too. No one should have that kind of power.

  Even Valkas, the most ruthless vampire in history, hadn’t stooped that low. When he’d imprisoned blood slaves on his island, he gave them time to do as they pleased. Valkas knew how valuable free will was—and that even slaves needed a bit of it to comply to bigger demands.

  Matias thought this was the only way to cleanse the world. He thought he was the only one who could handle free will, that everyone else would only use it against each other. But when you take it away from someone, you strip them of their humanity—of what makes them unique.

  Everyone had a choice, and Matias was making the wrong one.

  I paced back and forth in Genevieve’s living room, my hands fisting at my sides. The room was just as lavish as the rest of the house, with dark walls, velvety red couches, and a black chandelier hanging over the coffee table. The news played on the big-screen TV across the room, but I could hardly process what the newscasters were saying.

  “He’s holding our magic hostage!” I growled under my breath.

  With The Wise Owl in his hands, Matias had the power to block magic from every witch and shifter on the planet. I wasn’t sure what I was madder about—the fact that the heartless bastard had done it, or the fact that I’d let him.

  I didn't know, I kept telling myself—but I couldn't shake the guilt settling like heavy rocks in the pit of my stomach.

  “Rachel,” Jenna sighed. She turned to me from where she sat on one of the dark red couches. “Take a breath and sit down.”

  How could I breathe at a time like this?

  It’d only been a day since we escaped Gregor Island, freed the blood slaves trapped there, and returned to Genevieve’s. We left the Soulless up to the Department of Magical Regulation after calling in an anonymous tip. The vampire curse was broken now, which was exactly what Matias had wanted all along. He used to be a vampire, unable to perform magic. Now without the curse holding him back, he had access to his witch magic again, and he was using it to manipulate a powerful artifact that severed any supernaturals’ connection to Synchrony at his command. He was now the most powerful man alive.

  Jenna’s eyes pleaded with me, causing me to pause. Words she’d spoken to me on Gregor Island came rushing back. I could wallow in my regret all day, but it didn’t change what Matias had done. The only thing we could do was decide how to handle it going forward.

  I inhaled a deep breath and sank into the empty spot beside Venn. He reached out and curled his warm fingers around mine. I felt that weight in my stomach ease slightly.

  Venn didn't look good. We all looked like crap, but he looked particularly rough. I guess that was what nearly being turned into a vampire did to you. His eyes looked hollow, and his lips were dry and cracked.

  He almost looked as bad as Sondra, who sat curled beneath a blanket on the couch opposite us. She'd been beat unconscious on Gregor Island and still had the bruises across her face to prove it. I'd managed to administer a healing spell on myself before Matias struck. But by the time I got to Sondra, I could no longer access my magic to help her—and she hadn't been conscious enough to do the spell herself.

  Everyone else was here: Jenna, Fiona, Ryland, Teagan, Ronark, and Genevieve. Even Genevieve's husband, Richard, was here. They'd come to help as soon as we got back to the mainland and found a phone. Genevieve had been helping us locate Matias, and we didn't know who else to call. Too late to locate him now, I suppose.

  “A number of theories have surfaced for the unexplained events,” the newscaster was saying. “As of now, we are still waiting to hear from the Department of Magical Regulation to confirm exactly why vampires have mysteriously reverted to their healthy human state. Is this a trick from the magical community to lure us into a false sense of security, or have we finally found a cure for the magical plague that swept across our nation eight years ago?”

  “What are we going to do?” I asked. My eyes scanned each of theirs, waiting for someone to give the answer, as if they were all holding back a secret.

  “What can we do?” Fiona replied, chewing her bottom lip. “I mean, we can't exactly go up against Matias without magic of our own.”

  She was right. It was hopeless. But if I'd learned anything in the last few days, it was that anything was possible. I'd killed Valkas when I thought for sure I'd failed. I watched my boyfriend undergo the transition from human to vampire—something I once thought was irreversible. Yet here he was, sitting right next to me with blood pumping through his veins and life flourishing in the clear brown eyes I'd come to cherish.

  Anything was possible. We just had to find our loophole—but I had no idea what that might possibly be.

  I glanced from Sondra to Genevieve. If anyone knew a loophole, it'd be one of them. Sondra stared forward blankly, like she wasn't really with us. I'd never seen her like that before.

  Genevieve, on the other hand, looked well rested and alert. She sat at the edge of the chasse and kept her eyes on the TV, like she was trying to absorb everything the newscasters were saying. She ran a manicured index finger along her lower lip, as though she was concentrating hard.

  “I don't know, Fiona,” I finally said. I couldn't stand to let the statement hang without a response. “All I know is that the longer we wait, the more powerful he'll become.”

  “He can't actually use the Artifact to take more power, can he?” Teagan asked. Even she looked pale beneath her normally tan skin. “He can only block magic, right?”

  Genevieve nodded, though she didn't speak.

  “True,” I said. “But if he's the only one with magic, he can use it against everyone else. No one will be able to defend themselves anymore. He'll build an army and ensure only his followers have access to magic.”

  “Okay, but if magic is illegal anyway, he can't get away with it, right?” Jenna offered.

  I frowned at her. “We'll have an army of guys with guns up against an army with magic. Which are you gonna bet on to win?”

  My money was on the magic.

 
“Besides,” I said before she could answer, “magic shouldn't be illegal to use in the first place. It's people like Matias that give it a bad name. If the government wasn't so scared of it, then maybe we could use it for good on a large scale. I mean, think of all the people I could heal! Matias has stolen that from me—from all of us—and it's not okay.”

  Ronark shot to his feet, like he couldn't take it anymore. “This is bullshit. I didn't spend eight years on that island to come back to a world where I couldn't shift anymore. It's part of who I am, and I'll be damned if someone keeps me prisoner any longer. I say we go after the bastard!”

  “I agree.” Ryland stood beside Ronark and crossed his huge arms. “I've spent years using my shifter magic to protect people. I’m not letting that go without a fight.”

  Genevieve finally tore her gaze from the TV. “I think we can all agree this is wrong. If Matias builds the army he's planning, he could force anyone to comply or die. Innocent lives are on the line. But we’re going to need time.”

  “We don't have much,” I said. “He's no doubt already started building an army.”

  Venn's fingers tightened around mine, and his jaw clenched. His eyes glossed over, like he was thinking of something else entirely.

  “You know,” I said, feeling that anger bubble up inside me again, “the vampire curse might be gone, but we're still fighting a vampire. He's sucked our magic dry just as he used to suck his victims dry!”

  “We don't know if he ever actually killed anyone,” Fiona pointed out.

  “No, but I wouldn't put it past him,” I replied. “He told me himself he would kill to get the world he wants—a place where he decides who lives and dies so that peace can reign. His idea of peace, anyway. According to him, the rest of us can't handle free will. I can't see a world where stripping people of that leads to peace.”

  Just thinking about it made my blood boil. Matias might've thought he was doing the right thing, but he was going about it in all the wrong ways. His plan would only lead to bitter anger and resentment—because that was exactly what his plan was built on. Synchrony didn’t work that way. It would backfire just as it had in his past life.

  It’d been nearly two centuries ago when a group of witches teamed up to imprison Valkas. Matias and his followers had planned to double cross them and twist the spell in their favor. They wanted to steal other witches’ powers, but it didn't work. Their spell backfired so hard that magic was wiped out for over a century, until Matias freed Valkas in this life and broke the curse holding magic back. On his search for power, he lost it.

  Why couldn't he see he was making the same mistake all over again?

  Fiona tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Vampire or not, Matias seriously needs to get his ass kicked.”

  Ryland nudged his sister and chuckled. “You gonna do the honors?”

  She punched him in the arm playfully. “If I have to.”

  “Not without me, you won't,” Ryland argued. “If we're going after him, we're going together.”

  Venn let go of my hand and knotted his fingers together in his lap. His breathing increased, like he was agitated. His gaze locked across the room, but it didn't look like he was focusing on anything in particular.

  “You okay?” I asked. It was a stupid question. Something was obviously bothering him, and it went far beyond the current conversation.

  Venn snapped out of it and looked at me. Emotions I couldn't quite place—perhaps sadness and sorrow—swam in his eyes. He shook his head, then promptly stood and left the room.

  The room fell silent, apart from the TV. Teagan and Fiona both shot me confused expressions, like I could explain his sudden disappearance. I gave them an equally shocked look back.

  “What's wrong?” Jenna asked.

  “I don't know,” I said in a rush before jumping to my feet and following Venn down the hall.

  “Venn,” I called, but he didn't slow.

  By the time I caught up with him, he’d already made it to the guest room we shared. Genevieve’s house looked modest from the outside, but it was laid out like a maze, with endless rooms I hadn’t even realized were there. I’d probably only explored half of the house.

  I found Venn sitting on the dark black comforter with his head in his hands. My stomach sank. Quietly, I shut the door behind myself and tiptoed across the carpet to sit beside him. He didn't move, as if I weren't even there.

  “You don't have to say anything,” I whispered, “but I want you to know that I'm here. Whatever it is.”

  Venn nodded, though he didn't speak. When he pulled his hands away from his face, I saw that his eyes were bloodshot, like he was struggling to hold back tears. Which only made me want to cry. I couldn't bear to see him like this.

  Testing his limits, I reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. When he let me, I wrapped the arm all the way around his body and held him in an embrace. He melted into me, then shifted until his arms were around me, too. He leaned back and pulled me onto the bed with him.

  For the next several minutes, we lay there in silence, staring up at the ceiling. As I waited for him to speak at his own pace, I listened to the sound of his heart. It was the only thing keeping out the deafening silence and the worrying ache entering my chest. What could've caused him to walk out of the room like that? What was bothering him so much?

  Finally, after several agonizing minutes and at least a hundred scenarios rushing through my mind, Venn spoke. “I can't stop thinking about him, Rae.”

  I lifted my head off his chest to look him in the eyes. Water brimmed across his lower lids.

  “Your brother?” I asked softly. I understood the feeling all too well.

  Venn nodded. “After Tyson was changed, I couldn’t save him. He was already gone. But now…”

  “He’s cured,” I finished for him.

  Venn nodded solemnly. “I need to find him.”

  A gaping hole opened up in my chest. It reminded me all too much of what it felt like to lose Jenna. A silent beat passed between us before I swallowed down the lump in my throat and spoke again. “You said he was attacked by a vampire and changed. Do you know where he ended up after the attack?”

  Venn shook his head without meeting my gaze.

  “Do you have an idea of where to start?” I asked.

  “I might know some people I can talk to,” he admitted.

  Before I could ask him about that, quick footsteps sounded outside the door, then a heavy knock came.

  “Come in,” I called.

  Fiona whipped the door open, and her wide eyes connected with mine. “It’s Matias. You need to come see this.”

  2

  Venn and I jumped off the bed and rushed down the hall behind Fiona. I came to a dead stop in the doorway as I caught sight of Matias’s eyes on the screen. Everyone in the room had gone silent, but they were more alert than ever. Sondra had snapped out of her daze and sat at the edge of her seat. She leaned forward with her gaze locked on the TV. Breaking News! scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

  My heart hammered as the camera zoomed out to show Matias hovering above the streets of Chicago, showing off his magic. Dark clouds rushed by above him, and lightning crackled out of his hands, connecting with the sky scrapers. Violent winds whipped through the street, though not a hair on his head moved.

  All around him, onlookers were trying to keep hold of their belongings. Couples clung to each other, and people crouched behind cars to protect themselves from the violent winds. Newspapers and litter tumbled down the street. The traffic had come to a complete stop as Matias floated casually above each vehicle.

  Behind him, a group of half a dozen men followed like soldiers flying behind their captain. They all wore the same black tailored suit and shiny shoes. They each had a look of anger fixed to their faces, though they held their heads up high in confidence. One guy even smirked to the crowd, like he thought being at Matias’s side automatically made him better than anyone else—as if the rest of th
em were mere dirt on his shoe. Each of them showed off a different type of magic. One guy made flames shoot up from his palms, and another used his telekinesis to manipulate a deck of cards in his hands—like a real magician.

  “I have full control of magic!” Matias shouted to the crowd below him. “Join me, and you will see your magic restored. You can be a part of something better—a powerful force stronger than any that has ever lived before. Together, we can overthrow the government and establish a world built on peace.”

  Several people stepped forward.

  “No!” I cried. “You idiots!”

  Couldn’t they see how flawed Matias’s plan for power was? Couldn’t they see they were volunteering as his pawns? Matias didn’t even look peaceful. Everything about him screamed evil!

  Matias shouted above the strong winds. “Join, or surrender!”

  The camera switched back to the newsroom, where an old man with a white mustache sat beside a younger woman with dark brown hair and a red pantsuit.

  The man faltered with his words. “This confession is… quite shocking.”

  “Yes, it is,” the woman agreed. “We are currently waiting on the Department of Magical Regulation to comment on this turn of events. We’ll be back at nine o’clock with an update on these details—”

  The sound instantly cut off, and the screen went black. All eyes turned to Genevieve, who was holding the remote.

  “I can’t stand to watch any more,” she snarled. “Something needs to be done straight away.”