Vivienne had always thought that when the time came, she would look death in the eyes and watch as it stole the final promises of life that had been given to her on the night of her Making.
She’d been wrong.
Vivienne turned her head away from the monster and looked at the bloody clearing. Her heart beat one final time, and her mouth opened on an exhale as Marius’s brown eyes locked with hers.
The fire abated. Just a little. Just enough for a tiny nugget of peace to settle in her heart.
She breathed his name.
The princeroared, the sound unlike anything she’d ever heard from him. It was fury and anger and despair twisted into one.
The First charged at Marius, a feral shriek ripping from its chest. Matching horrible sounds came from all the undead creatures at the same time.
And then, death descended upon Vivienne.
A Bloody Battleground
No, no, no.
That was the only thought running through Marius’s mind, the only thing he could think of as Vivienne’s eyes locked with his.
Across the way, he could see his sister and brother-in-law fighting another one of those creatures.
Death, blood, and gore surrounded them.
The cold air was heavy with the weight of dozens of lost lives. Who knew so few creatures could be the bringers of so much destruction? He’d never been to war, but by all the gods, it was an awful sight.
How had it come to this?
A crazed laugh came from behind him, pulling him from his thoughts.
The First.
Anger was the driving force in Marius’s body as he turned and ducked, avoiding the ancient vampire’s attack. He had to end this. Vivienne needed him.
The dagger vibrated in his hand, the hilt so hot it nearly burned him. The blade had been guiding his movements this entire battle, strengthening him in a way that didn’t entirely make sense.
Now,it seemed to say.
Marius didn’t question the blade’s magic or the way it spoke to him. He didn’t have time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched in horror as one of the undead creatures slammed into Vivienne’s bloody, bruised body. Marius screamed as the blond monster lifted its head, its too-sharp fangs glinting in the moonlight.
He spun on his heels, nearly slipping in the bloody snow, and shouted his rage and fear. His body moved of its own accord, and he charged at the First with a speed that didn’t seem to belong to him. He raised the Forsaken Blade, the hilt searing his palm.
The ancient vampire raced towards him with a snarl, and Marius knew this was the end.
The final stand.
Red tinged his vision, a roaring filled his ears, and the Spirit of the Water’s words echoed in his mind.Aim for the heart.
This was their last hope.
The First snarled and grabbed Marius’s arm with an iron grip. The ancient being cackled, the sound sending shivers down his spine.
The blade vibrated in his hand. His fingers twisted on the hilt. Before he could send a prayer to the gods asking them to guide his movements, his hand was already moving.
The First’s fingers dug into his skin, tearing through flesh and making him bleed even as he slammed the Forsaken Blade into her chest. A sizzling sound filled the air as the obsidian dagger sank through flesh, finding itstarget.