A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,64
this realm, doing whatever it is she does when she’s not around. Forgive me if I’m not in charge of her daily itineraries.”
His sarcasm died along with everything else as the double doors opened brusquely. A heavy, silent darkness oozed from inside, pouring down the steps like liquid smoke. My blood ran cold as I realized we had been expected. Torrhen emerged, tall and proud and grinning with tremendous satisfaction, his third eye gleaming with violent delight. “Ah. There they are,” he declared, looking straight at Brandon. “It took you forever.”
“You set us up?” Myst croaked, then grabbed Brandon’s arm.
He yanked it back, livid and insulted. “No, damn it! I had no idea!”
A delicate laughter echoed from inside the house. Torrhen straightened his back and stepped aside as a Valkyrie came to stand beside him, stopping at the head of the stairs. She was stunning, with golden hair, blazing blue eyes and glossy pink lips. Her skin was fair and smooth as milk. She didn’t wear the Valkyrie armor, though. No, she was neatly squeezed into a black-and-white leather dress. Half of it, from high neck to ankle, was white. The other half was black, both meeting along the middle seam in a perfectly straight line. The leather was so thin and soft that it clung to her body like a second skin.
“Hrista,” Myst gasped upon recognizing her sister. “What… what is the meaning of this?”
“Forgive Brandon. He really didn’t know we’d be expecting you,” Hrista replied, her voice as sweet as honey. I had identified a clear pattern regarding the Valkyries. They’d been made to entice, to conquer, and to take your breath away. The same could be said about the Berserkers, albeit in a darker sense. Hrista’s appearance made it hard for me not to stare, and I wasn’t the only one: Thayen’s jaw was on the ground; Jericho was at a loss for words; Dafne was frozen in place. Regine and Myst, on the other hand, were vivid portrayals of anguish and heartache. Brandon glanced my way, looking vindicated.
“Please, tell me this is all a bad joke,” Regine snapped, drawing her sword with a metallic screech.
Hrista exhaled sharply, and the liquid darkness swallowed the grass and the yellow flowers, rushing toward us in an unforgiving tide. As soon as it reached Regine’s ankles, her sword dropped, its glow lost. Its blade turned dull and gray. “Oh, honey. It’s not a joke. It’s something I’ve been working on for a very long time. And frankly, it doesn’t concern you.”
“How can you even say that?” Myst replied, stepping back to escape the black mist. In an instant, I caught her wrist and pulled her away before she could touch Regine. Her sister was paralyzed, unable to move or speak. Something within me had screamed danger, and I didn’t want Myst to get sucked into whatever this was.
“It’s a pity,” Hrista sighed, shaking her head as though she were genuinely disappointed. “You should’ve stayed in Purgatory. Now, you may never leave this place.”
Myst gave me a petrified look and tried to reach Regine again, but Brandon helped me pull her farther back. “Don’t,” he said. “Whatever is paralyzing your sister will affect you too.”
Our troubles were only just beginning. Merely looking at Hrista told me that much. She was too calm. Too pleased with herself for any of this to be sheer coincidence. All at once, the truth exploded in the back of my head like a heat bomb. Every step we’d made thus far. Every decision. Every push and every pull… They had served her, not us.
“She wanted us here,” I whispered.
Hrista had allowed us to move around, to make friends, and to fight our way through this place. The languid smile on her face all but confirmed it. By Brandon’s will or by ours, it didn’t really matter. We had been pawns, gradually taking the necessary steps to reach Hrista. She didn’t bother to hunt us down. This black mist alone would’ve been enough to trap us quickly and easily, but no, she’d let us stew for a while before drawing us to her.
Now the pawns were in their positions, and Hrista was ready to play.
Astra
“We’ve been following your lead this whole time,” I said, raising my chin in defiance. Pink light burst from within me in a menacing fashion. It made Torrhen squirm, I noted with satisfaction. Even Brandon took a few steps to the side, unaccustomed to so much brightness.