Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

by Carissa Broadbent

I had nothing to mourn. I had gained more than I had lost. This is what I would tell anyone who asked me.

Years ago, I might have wanted to kill him immediately. But I knew now what it was to cut off the head of a snake and have two more grow in its place. It would take more than a single dagger to his heart to end this.

I made a mental note to come back to that one later. Maybe sometime I could make sure he had a bit too much to drink. He struck me as someone who would be a very chatty drunk.

“I don’t believe that.” He jabbed his pen at me. “That little chin wobbling thing. Enough of the theatrics.” My brows lurched a little. This man. Full of surprises.

“Stay with me,” Atrius ground out. “Right here.” A command. Firm and inarguable. I couldn’t even take issue with his tone. I was mostly blind.

How could the man who was about to kill me feel so comforting? Why did I want to press his threads to my soul, deep enough I’d take their memory with me when I went?

But that night, watching my brother talk, looking so much like the boy I had thought I lost so long ago, I thought, It’s worth it. The fight will always be worth it.