The Vampire's Luna
Chapter 134: Sarah McLachlan - In The Arms Of An Angel

Chapter 134: Sarah McLachlan - In The Arms Of An Angel

With a vampire’s speed and a lover’s instinct, Damien grabbed Luna, twisting her behind him as the claws met flesh. They raked down his back, slicing through his coat and into his skin. Damien gasped, his knees buckling. He fell on top of Luna, shielding her even as pain lanced through him.

"Damien!" she cried. She quickly pushed him off and scrambled to her feet, placing herself protectively in front of him. Her arms were spread wide, a wild, furious shield of woman and wolf. Her body shook from rage.

"You cannot do this, Kyllian!" she screamed at the massive beast. "He has done nothing wrong!"

Kyllian shifted back slowly. "Princess Luna," he said. "The king banished you for your bond with the vampire prince."

"Now that I am king, I can lift the banishment. You can come home. You can belong again. But you have to make a choice—your people..." He gestured around, to the torn land, to the bruised warriors. Then his finger pointed directly to Damien. "Or the blood sucker."

"Kyllian, he is my mate!" Luna cried. Behind her, Damien lay curled into himself, his body twisted in agony, fangs clenched. The sight tore at her.

"I was your mate!" Kyllian bellowed back. His golden eyes were heartbroken. "He stole you from me! Marked you to keep you from me! He took our heiress from us!"

Luna’s heart thudded as he stepped forward. There was nothing calm about him anymore.

"Choose now."

The words were thunderous. Final.

Luna’s knees nearly buckled. Her lips parted, trembling. "Kyllian, I cannot. I am begging you, just... just let us leave."

"Then you leave me no choice," he said. He turned to the soldiers who flanked him. "Seize the princess."

Luna took a step back in disbelief. "Kyllian!" she shouted, horror and betrayal mingling in her cry. "Don’t do this!"

The soldiers began to advance.

Damien, still on the ground, heard everything. Through the pain, one word snapped him awake: Seize.

In a blur of supernatural speed, he rose. Every muscle screamed in protest, but he moved anyway. He surged to his feet, crossed the space between them, and grabbed Luna in his arms. Her gasp was barely out before he vanished, wind snapping the leaves behind them as they disappeared into the trees.

Kyllian lunged forward with a howl, but it was too late.

"Find them!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Bring them back here! Do not harm the princess, but the vampire can be either dead or alive. Preferably dead." fr\(e)ew(e)b.(n)o (v)(e)l.com

The wolves obeyed instantly. They scattered, fanning out into the darkened streets and the woods beyond the kingdom’s heart, howls and snarls echoing through the night.

Kyllian remained behind, chest rising and falling, as though trying to contain a storm inside him. Around him, the remnants of the battlefield groaned. The stench of blood was everywhere.

He turned back, to the place where his king had fallen. The body still lay there.

He approached slowly and knelt, lifting Magnus’s limp form in his arms. He cradled the dead king against him.

The king’s blood soaked into his clothes. A crown not yet placed upon his head had already begun to crush him with its weight.

Kyllian rose.

He said nothing.

His steps were heavy as he walked through the death-stained field, the king’s body held close, carried toward the castle gates.

And all the while, he wondered what he was going to say to Queen Ravena.

How could he tell her that her mate was gone?

Kyllian turned sharply, and narrowed his eyes at Talon, who was limping several paces behind.

"Bring the queen back here now!" Kyllian barked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Talon responded with a slight nod, even though every muscle in his body protested. He turned away with a barely disguised grimace, muttering under his breath, "He’s not thinking straight... again. Moon goddess, help us all."

Talon was already formulating a plan. If there was going to be any hope of avoiding a full-blown war then Luna and the vampire prince had to escape.

Kyllian didn’t realize it yet, but his heart was leading his soldiers—and his people—straight into a firestorm.

*****

Far away, nestled deep within the forgotten hills, Morvakar’s lair stood untouched by war. It was silent. Which was exactly how the exiled sorcerer liked it. .com

The sound of doors crashing open echoed through the hall. Morvakar remained seated in his high-backed chair. His eyes flickered with amusement as he cocked his head, listening.

Footsteps.

One strong, one dragging. One determined, the other nearly lifeless.

He could hear the heartbeat approaching.

He smiled.

"Ah," he murmured, reclining slightly, "visitors. I should put out a tray." fr.eew eb novel..com

Moments later, Princess Luna stumbled into view, her clothes stained, her hair damp with sweat. Her shoulders heaved with the weight of the unconscious prince she was carrying—Prince Damien’s limp form clinging to her back, his arms barely hooked around her.

His head lolled, and even his usually cocky mouth had gone slack.

Morvakar raised an eyebrow as Luna half-dragged, half-dropped him onto an old sofa that creaked under the sudden weight.

"So soon?" he asked. "The prince must be weaker than I thought. He was supposed to have months left."

"No!" Luna snapped, collapsing beside Damien. "It’s not the poison. He’s wounded... he isn’t healing. You have to mask our scent, Morvakar. Now. Please."

Morvakar leaned forward slightly. "What," he asked, with mock curiosity, "have you kids been up to?"

"Please!" she cried, ignoring the jab, her chest rising and falling erratically. "Kyllian wants to kill him. And I... I can’t lose him, not like this, not now."

Morvakar studied her for a long moment. His gaze lingered on the fresh tears shining in her eyes, the panic trembling in her limbs, the quiet, unconscious way she gripped Damien’s hand as though willing him to stay tethered to life.

"Now, Morvakar!" Luna snapped. Her eyes were wide, her body trembling.

The sorcerer blinked at her outburst before exhaling through his nose. "Yes, yes, always the tone of urgency with you lot," he muttered, more amused than offended. Still, he moved—his fingers raised, spinning into the air. A shimmer rippled outward from the cracked stone walls of the ruinous castle.

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