••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
My breath catches in my throat.
"The princess belongs to me."
The words roll like thunder across the cathedral. My fingers loosen around the bouquet. It slips from my hands, tumbling to the floor.
Cyrus turns, cupping my face in both his hands, forcing my eyes away from the pale figure striding down the aisle. His voice is steady though I feel the tremor in him.
"Rhia. Look at me. Nothing's going to happen to you. I swear it."
I nod though my body shakes violently, my heart hammering against my ribs like it wants to escape.
My father steps in front of us with his hand on his sword. His green eyes burn with fury. "Go back to the abyss you crawled out of you dæmon. My daughter belongs to no one."
He raises his voice so everyone can hear. "Guards, kill them all!"
The red-haired vampire smirks. He lifts two fingers and flicks them forward.
All hell breaks loose.
The guards charge. The intruders move faster than my eyes can follow, shadows ripping through flesh and steel. I watch in horror as one vampire seizes a man's head and twists until bone snaps; another drives a hand into a chest, ripping ribs and entrails free in a spray of blood. Limbs tear, torsos split. The cathedral floor turns into a slaughter house in seconds.
Silk gowns drag through pools of blood, golden circlets clatter to the stones, gems scattering like tears. Screams rise in a terrible chorus, prayers to Astoria cut short by wet gurgles as throats are torn open. The music of the choir still echoes faintly from the rafters, mingling with the shrieks, as if heaven itself refuses to stop singing while hell devours us whole.
And still, the red-haired one walks calmly toward me, his golden eyes never leaving mine.
"Father, No!" I scream as my father draws his blade and charges at him. His blade cuts through the air as he swings. The vampire dodges each attack effortlessly. On the third swing, he raises his hand and my father rises from the ground, his feet kicking the air. With a flick of his wrist, he hurls him into the far side of the cathedral. The stone wall cracks with the force of impact.
"Father!" I scream, running to him. I kneel beside his body. Cyrus drops down too, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck while Rayn and Jesenya crouch close.
"He's alive," Cyrus says at last, letting out a sigh. Relief washes over me.
Jesenya sobs. "Anna… is father going to be all right?"
"He'll be fine," Cyrus assures.
I grab his hand, my eyes stinging with tears. "Cyrus… what are we going to do?"
He leans in and kisses me like a drowning man stealing one last breath. Fierce, desperate, and aching like he's trying to pour every unspoken vow, every dream of a life we'll never have, into that single moment. His lips tremble against mine. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on mine and in that moment, I feel it deep in my bones that this is goodbye.
Then he rises to his feet. His voice hardens. "Stay with your father. I'll fight them."
Rayn grabs his arm. "Let me come with you."
"No!" I snap, whipping my head toward him. "We stay here to protect Jesenya and Darren. To protect Father."
I turn back to Cyrus. My heart aches as I whisper, "Go."
He nods once before ripping himself from me to jump into the battle. But he stops in his tracks then turns to look back at me.
"I love you, Rhia," he says.
Before I can even reply, he's gone.
••{CYRUS'S POV}••
"Cyrus!"
I turn just in time to see my brother Alexei toss me a sword. I catch it, unsheathing in one motion. Steel sings as he draws his own. Together, we face the red-haired monster.
We charge. Our blades strike fast and hard, a rhythm of brothers—one strike high, the other low. But the vampire slips through every blow, weaving around us like smoke. I slash, Alexei thrusts, but he seems to disappear before can land a hit, always a step ahead.
Then he strikes, swinging his fist into my ribs he sends me skidding back. A single kick topples Alexei but still, we rise to our feet and press on.
My blade nicks him at last, slicing across his face. Blood seeps out of the wound and for the first time, he staggers.
For a heartbeat, I stop in my tracks as he raises his fingers to graze the cut across his face.
He looks at the blood on his fingers then slowly, he smiles. The wound knits closed before my eyes.
I lunge again but his hand shoots out and grabs my wrist. He twists and it snaps with a sickening crack, bone tearing through my skin. My sword clatters to the ground as I scream in pain.
"Cyrus!" Alexei shouts, panicked.
He rushes forward but the vampire flings him aside with an invisible force. Alexei slams into a pillar and crumples to the floor. He doesn't get back up.
The vampire wraps his hand around my throat.
I kick and claw at his hand but he lifts me higher, tightening his grip. My lungs burn, and my vision blurs.
"No…" I rasp, struggling to breathe.
••{RHIANNON'S POV}••
"NO!" I scream as I watch the vampire lift Cyrus high above the ground with one hand.
Cyrus's face turns red, then purple. His eyes find mine, wide with pain and fear. He claws at the vampire's grip with his good hand, his broken wrist dangling at his side, the bone still jutting through skin. My chest heaves with each strangled gasp that fails to leave his lungs.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the vampire drives his other hand straight through Cyrus's chest.
I hear the sound before I can comprehend it. The wet tearing of flesh, the snap of bone.
"CYRUS!" A raw scream rips from my throat, tears streaming down my cheeks as his back arches, his mouth opening in a silent cry. Blood gushes over the vampire's wrist, down Cyrus's clothes, dripping all over the floor.
"CYRUS!" His mother's wail echoes throughout the cathedral. His sister Arielle shrieks, trying to break free of her father's grip. My heart breaks with every sound.
I stare, frozen as he withdraws his hand. In his palm, glistening with blood and beating faintly, is Cyrus's heart.
"No…" I stagger forward, my knees weak. The world tilts around me. My ears ring, my vision blurs but the sight stays sharp.
He looks at it with idle disdain. "Pathetic," he mutters, then lets it drop. The organ lands with a wet slap against the floor. He crushes it beneath his boot like it's nothing.
Cyrus's body crumples to the ground like a rag doll. His eyes are still open, staring at nothing.
My body shakes so violently I can hardly breathe. Tears sting my eyes, blurring everything except the red-haired monster standing over the body of the man I love.
Rage sears through me, boiling like fire in my veins. My eyes fall on my father's sword beside me. Without a thought, my hand closes around the hilt.
"Anna, no! Please drop it, you'll get yourself killed!"
I ignore her and charge with a growl.
I swing with everything in me, fury screaming through my veins. The vampire sidesteps, parries with unnatural grace. I fake left and he falls for it, then I spin right. My blade cuts deep across his hand.
He looks at the wound, then at me. His golden eyes gleam with amusement then his lips curve into a grin.
"A warrior bride… how unexpected."
He stretches out his hand and a sword flies into his palm, summoned from the corpse of a guard.
Our blades clash, sparks bursting in the air like fireflies. I fight like my life depends on it, each strike faster and harder than the last. He deflects, blocks, never striking to kill.
I realize he's holding back, almost like he doesn't want to hurt me.
Then I see an opening and I go for it. I drive my sword deep into his chest, his blood spilling over my hands.
Gasps rise around me.
I stagger back, my chest heaving as he falls to one knee. Blood spills from his mouth onto the floor then slowly, he rises to his feet, pulls the sword free and tosses it aside.
He starts walking toward me.
"No…" I whisper, backing away.
But he closes the distance between us. He wraps his hand around my waist, pulling me against his chest. His golden eyes glow like twin suns as he stares into mine.
Before I know it, he leans in and captures my lips in a kiss.