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SEBASTIAN HAD TRIED to forget about the black-haired half fae woman who had bewitched him with her beauty. His focus was supposed to be on finding a match who could boost his power once they became bonded. Even though he knew how crucial it was for him to find a suitable partner, he couldn’t get her out of his head. Her dark eyes had captured him and he didn’t know why. He’d met many beautiful women over the past millennia. None of them had affected him the way she did.
Several weeks had passed since he’d last seen her, but her allure hadn’t lessened. He’d done his best to avoid the areas where they’d previously met. His hopes that he would eventually forget about her weren’t coming to fruition. If anything, his longing for her was growing stronger. “What is this strange hold she has over me?” he murmured, but he didn’t have an answer to that question.
Snow was falling thick and fast. It was blanketing the Fae District and was making it hard for him to blend in during his search. He’d debated about switching to wearing white clothing, but instead stuck to the shadows as much as he could. Few people were walking around in this area, but he wouldn’t find anyone suitable in the Vampire District. None of the inhabitants there possessed a soul. The only way he was going to find his match was to go out and search for one.
Sebastian could hear voices coming from the elven woods a short distance away. He’d heard the elaborately landscaped woods used to be brightly lit with fairy lights, but the magic had dimmed to almost nothing now. Only fae creatures were allowed to enter the woods, all other beings were banned. Once, magic had kept interlopers out. Now, anyone could enter, but they would face the disapproval of the fairies, elves and other fae beings who visited the grove if they dared to intrude.
The master vampire figured this would be a good place to search for a female. Surely, there had to be someone with enough power to boost his strength as Xiara Evora had stated. She was the Guardian of Nox, so Sebastian and his allies felt they could trust her word. Ms. Evora’s job was to protect the inhabitants of the city. No one had caused more harm than the Immortal Triumvirate. She wanted them gone and she’d helped the rebels as much as she could. She’d even informed them that they would have to kill her before they could take down their enemies. That didn’t sit well with Sebastian, but he would do whatever he needed to in order to get his revenge on his nemesis, even if it ultimately led to the destruction of the City of Night.
Hushed voices intruded on his thoughts as he drifted closer to the elven woods. They drew his focus back to his mission.
“Padavion should have become our new Magic Guild Master,” someone was complaining. “I’m sure Onvier cheated during his duels.”
“How could he cheat during a magical duel?” another person asked.
“I don’t know, but you saw what his opponents looked like when he was done with them,” the first person said darkly. “No elf with a conscience would ever treat others like that.”
“It doesn’t matter if he cheated,” a third person said harshly. “We’re stuck with him now and he’s already starting to make changes in our guild.”
“Guild Master Hahn was crazy and unpredictable near the end, but even he wasn’t as cruel as Onvier is,” a fourth guildmember muttered.
Sebastian wasn’t surprised to hear dissent among the fae beings. Guild Master Onvier was ruthless and ambitious, from what he’d heard. The master vampire was glad he and Kade Sinclair hadn’t formed an alliance with the elf. Then again, the third member of their trinity was Raum and the demon lord was far from a saint. No one really knew what went on in the catacombs beneath Nox. The Demon District was a mystery and outsiders weren’t welcome there.
The voices receded as the fairies and elves moved deeper into the elven woods. Sebastian and his two allies needed to choose powerful women to become their partners. Thanks to the Energy Tax, most of the population had been drained of their magic or energy over the past two and a half decades. New arrivals to the city still had their full strength, but finding someone suitable was the hard part. Kade was a member of the Magic Guild, but he was a low-ranking lackey. He had to hide the fact that he was half warlock. If the Immortal Triumvirate ever discovered how strong he truly was, they would see him as a threat and they would have him eliminated.
Sebastian’s upper lip curled in amusement at the thought of a secret Assassin Guild. “Do they have a lair somewhere in the city?” he mused quietly. Dozens of assassins had been hired to try to hunt him down after he’d been branded a murderer and a traitor to the Vampire Council. None had even come close to succeeding. He’d left their broken, drained bodies hidden in the woods so they would never be found. Their disappearances struck fear into the hearts of even the most hardened killers.
Eventually, the assassinations had petered out. They’d stopped completely fifty years ago and Sebastian now knew why. Lord Kreaton had created Nox, along with his allies, and he’d become imprisoned in the city. He couldn’t send any messages out to order more assassination attempts.
Now their roles had been reversed and Sebastian was hunting for Lord Kreaton. The only difference was that he wasn’t going to use an assassin to complete his task. He planned on being the one to end his rival’s life. First, he and his allies needed to figure out how to use the silver tablet that Xiara Evora had given to Kade. Jardine hadn’t heard from the person who had brought the artifact to Nox in several decades. Either the mysterious person was dead, or they were staying under the radar to avoid being branded as a rebel.
Time seemed to be speeding past faster than normal as Sebastian searched for a candidate. He needed to find his match and convince her to join with him for eternity. He now only had nine and a half months left to pull off the feat before Halloween would be upon them.
He continued to lurk near the elven woods until dawn drew near, then he used his phenomenal new speed to race home. His mansion lay on the outskirts of the wealthy area of the Vampire District. He entered the house moments before the first rays of sun filtered through the snowfall. A fire was crackling merrily in his favorite living room. He shucked off his cloak and tossed it onto an armchair, then sank down onto the couch. A glass of fresh warm blood appeared on the coffee table. He drank it down before it could go cold.
Sitting in his huge, quiet house, Sebastian realized he was lonely. He missed his kiss, who had been like a family to him. Once he’d become strong enough to be a master, he’d chosen ten humans to be his fledglings. He’d taught them how to control their bloodlust and had guided them through their first few decades as vampires. They’d shared his values that they didn’t need to drain their meals to death and he’d loved them all like his children. His kiss had been slaughtered without mercy and the pain of losing them was still raw a century and a half later. One way or another, Lord Kreaton was going to pay for his treachery.
Sebastian’s fingers clamped down on his glass and it shattered. Black blood dripped to the carpet for a few seconds before the wound healed. The shards of glass vanished and the blood disappeared from the rug. He looked at his unwounded hand, wishing the magic of Nox could find him a mate as easily as it had fixed the mess he’d just made.
