Undying Hate | Book Three

Twenty-one | Apart

Kian 

Days earlier.

"Kill the girl."

Kian shoved Elias after Sylvie and darted to the manic face of his father, shoving him back and screaming at him. "What have you done? What is wrong with you!"

He stared at Kian blankly, lifting his hand and starting the summoning words of the demon realm.

"Kol, stop!" He wrenched his hand down by the wrist and grabbed his throat with the other, hoping to cut his words off at the neck.

"Orrvask. Devkir. Rusoi."

Kol forced the words from his constricted throat, and a portal wavered at his side. His wasn't going to stop. The man that sired him would be the man that killed him. But, instead of the demons he expected to be clawing at the portal entrance, he sensed something different and familiar. 

Vampires. 

Did he let the vampires in? No one else could've had that much power. Kian had been confused about how a vampire killed his mother so quickly, how they had gotten past guards and appeared in her bed chambers to drink her dry without alerting anyone. But it all made sense. He shared her bed, and he let someone kill her in it.

"Bastard!"

A lightness flickered in his eyes before it hardened again, reciting the demonic words. "Orrvask. Devkir. Rusoi!"

"It is over," Kian said, pulling the dagger strapped to his hip. He never wanted to use this one, the iron designed to deliver fatal wounds to his kind, but after Lazuli, his paranoia had grown. A pale, veiny hand reached through to grab him when he lifted his dagger and pierced it to the hilt in Kol's ribs. 

Twisting it and slicing deeper, he darted from the reach of the vampire, and the portal closed as Kol fell to the ground, clutching at his chest, eyes searching but not quite seeing until froth bubbled from his lips and his rattling lungs ceased rising and falling.

Kian stared at him for a long time before her voice caressed his turmoiled emotions. He wasn't sad as humans often described grief to be. But there was an emptiness. The knowledge that things would never be the same in Evergreen and it was his fault.

"Kian."

He leaned over Kol, hoping to perhaps shelter her from the mess he had made, but the terror gave him clarity.

"Over here."

"Kian!"

"It's not mine." He assured her as a door slammed from the other end of the hall, and Kerensa jogged towards them all. She faltered when she saw him in a pool of blood. Her emotions were much like his. Her resolve washed over them both, even as she bit her words out in anger.

"What the fuck have you done?"

She asked, but Kian could sense she knew it had to be done. Her violent words were for Sylvie's benefit.

"It was him," Kian said.

Sylvie pulled away from Elias and stepped closer to Kol. Kian shuffled, hoping he could shield her, but the emotions flowing from her proved his attempts were useless.

"Him what? You better have a damn good excuse for fucking over our whole goddamn kingdom. Now what, King Kian? Are you going to walk in there with the crown on your fucking head? Oh, fucking hell-"

"Kerensa-" Sylvie barked, grabbing Kian's forearm and pulling him away from the body. "Not fucking helpful-"

Kian let Sylvie hold him despite the fear pulsing through her veins. Why did Kerensa have to say it like that?