ETERNAL BONDS

glow on her path. Her senses were sharp, honed by years of training, and the air around her felt heavy with the stench of decay. The city, at

he scent of blood and the unmistakable pre

teel glinting in the dim light. It wasn't a weapon meant

mily's

brother's teasing smile. And then the fire. The screams. The blood. The vampires who had torn them apart. That was when Cassandra

amed Aldric who had been causing havoc in the city. He was powerful, a brute who fed

n't hesitate. She moved swiftly, her body pressed low against the walls, her eyes scanning for moveme

r, and Cassandra spun around, her

, with hair that fell in dark waves around his face. His eyes gl

hunter," the vampire said with a

blade. "Who are you?" she

ed, stepping closer, his hands raised in mock su

ra spat. "I had him rig

ing her. "You think you can handle him? I k

your help,"

ng darker. "I wasn't offerin

d to what's coming. And what's coming? It's bigger than you, bigger than anyone." He tilted his head, studying her like a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "You th

ghtened. "Don't waste my time wi

omething about it made Cassandra pause. It wasn't the name itself, but the way he said

e laced with suspicion. "I've h

ve to choose sides eventually. You can keep fighting this war on your own, but you won't win. Valerian Arkane has been playing this game for centuries. And right now? He's

ing inside her-something she had buried for years

I've been fighting this war since I was a child. Alon

The vampires you've been hunting aren't the real threat. Val

d sense that there was more to this than just a rogue vampire try

t telling you that you don't have much of a choice. If you keep going dow

nd this conversation with a blow to his throat, but some

d, her voice quieter now, filled wit

, his gaze intense. "And if you want to sto

nly noise between them. Cassandra's mind raced. She couldn't trust him, not

ng it because I trust you. I'm doing it because you

d into a faint smil

shadows. "We don't have much time. Valerian's plans are already in motion. Follow

at, he disappear