Page 160 of Fallen Nocturne

For centuries, it worked. But Vladimir Mircea Drăculea... Vlad fell in love with a mortal woman. We all thought it would end badly, but we didn’t know how badly. She eventually died as mortals do. Something in Vlad broke. He became Vlad the Impaler, painting the kingdom red with his grief. We had to lock him away for the sake of Morsvyenn. His screams still echo in my nightmares.

Bas traveled the world with Han, seeking knowledge and purpose. Then it was just Ruth and I.

Just us.

That’s when my brother made his move.

“I tried to release you earlier, my beloved.” Ruth’s voice pulls me back to the present. “But the spell failed. Do you remember, brother?”

How could I forget?

“The humans were so eager to help,” he continues. “All I had to do was whisper the right promises and show them the future they wanted to see. They believed they were summoning something that would protect them. They never knew they were helping me bring her back.”

He looks at Lilith with such reverence that I want to tear out his throat.

“You used me as the sacrifice when the humans were not enough,” I say quietly.

“I did.” Ruth does not even have the decency to look ashamed. “I trapped you in the labyrinth. The spell failed to restore our enchantress, but it kept you safely out of my way while I searched for another method. Thousands of years, brother. I spent thousands of years searching for a way to return our mistress to her full glory.”

He locked me in a fucking labyrinth. The darkness that became my world.

And then came Rhianelle. My little fawn fell down the well like a gift from the gods.

She bound herself to me and saved me.

Now I have to pretend to betray her.

Bas’s voice touches the edge of my mind. I want to fucking kill her.

His face remains still, his ancient eyes fixed ahead as though no communication passes between us.

Can you resist her? I ask.

No, Bas answers. Morgaine’s power has made her too strong. If Lilith orders me to kill you, Andras, I will do it.

The answer settles like ice in my chest.

Give me time, he continues. I am unravelling the hold she has on me.

Bas is still on my side. Lilith has bent his body to her will, but she has not taken him from us completely. Not yet.

My gaze shifts to Ruth.

For all these years, I have stood between Bas and my brother. Even after Ruth helped cause Gwyn’s death, I would not allow Bas to kill him. I protected Ruth long after he had ceased deserving it.

Not anymore.

If you escape her control, I tell Bas, I will not stop you this time. Ruth is yours.

Something changes behind Bas’s eyes. I can almost hear another chain inside his mind snapping open.

Do you remember what I taught you, how to layer the barriers? he asks. Lilith may have difficulty controlling two fortified Strigon minds at once.

My mental barriers are stronger now, I answer. Strong enough to resist her for a time. Though they are still nothing compared to my wife’s.

Bas’s eyebrow lifts.

Your wife? Despite everything, the faintest smile touches his mouth.