Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) by Amy Miles Page B

“You can.”

    Roseline
wraps a cloth about her wrist, staunching the blood flow from the
bite marks where she buried her teeth deep into an artery. The sting
has already begun to fade. She doesn’t care about the pain.
    The
sound of Nicolae’s fluttering heart is like the finest music. He
will live, she
thinks wearily as she sinks back onto her heels.
    She
is weak from the blood loss, weary from the battle, yet there is an
unusual energy bursting through her. She rises to her feet and looks
about her. So much senseless death.
    Ashir
had said that without Lucien alive to keep the Shadow Lands in
control, this would happen. Fallen Ones scrambling over each other to
gain power. Who will be next to take Lucien’s spot in the
world? Malachi surely would have been groomed for that position, but
he is long gone.
    Lucien
never spoke of another, but then again, he didn’t speak about a
great many things to her. Her stomach clenches painfully as she
remembers him saying she would rule at his side. A tremor begins in
her fingers and worms its way up through her forearm and into her
shoulder. She clutches her arms tightly to her stomach and doubles
over. I
was meant to lead next.
    She
can’t help but wonder if Ashir is right. Is there enough good
in her to keep the evil at bay?
    The
Arotas prophecy joined Roseline and Gabriel together, forged an
unbreakable bond, but Ashir said the prophecy isn’t done with
them yet. Does that mean they haven’t completed their task or
that there was never meant to be an end?
    Gabriel
is a guardian, gifted with extraordinary abilities that even Roseline
struggles to understand. What is she but a sick, perverted use of
black magic?
    You
are an angel of light too, she reminds herself as she leans back. You
made a choice to live for good. So do it. Fight back!
    The
humans know that her kind exist now, even if they may not label it
correctly or ever truly understand. Perhaps one day they will be able
to live in harmony with each other, once the myths have been
dispelled and they see that they have nothing to fear from her kind.
    If
the hunters and immortals can coexist, is it really so much to hope
that humans can one day accept them too?
    Roseline
sinks back and releases a weighted sigh. Her hands tremble as she
clenches them tightly together. She is bone weary from the events of
tonight, but she knows this is only the beginning. The battle has
come to her doorstep. They will regroup tonight at the castle and
then split into teams to track down those creatures who have killed
her friends, her family.
    This
isn’t over.
    Her
head whips around as the door at the top of the stairs bursts open
and Gabriel appears. Roseline’s stomach clenches in terror. He
is covered in blood from head to foot, but she can’t tell if it
is his or not.
    She
sprints toward the stairs and leaps, landing halfway up. “What’s
happened?”
    “These
were just the scouts.” Gabriel’s face is grim but his
gaze steady as he looks toward the lifeless figure of the tawny hound
that he killed. “We’re under attack.”
    Roseline
is instantly at his side, pushing to get past him. “Then we
have to get back to the castle. Claudia will need our help.”
    Gabriel
latches onto her arm and shakes his head. “They’re not
attacking the castle,” he says. He looks pained as his gaze
shifts, unfocused. She has seen this look before, when men have seen
unspeakable horrors. When he looks back at her, his face is pallid
but his jaw clenched with determination. “They are attacking
Brasov.”
    Ashir
warned that a war was coming. She had prayed that it would not be
quite so soon, but there is no turning back now. No brushing this
under the rug and pretending all is well with the world. If anything,
the world appears to be worse off without Lucien, and that is a thing
she never thought she would say.
    She
will fight tonight and many nights to come. She knows this with every
ounce of her being. It is what she was created to do,