When Cora arrives home with no recollection of the previous week and two bite marks on her neck, she begins to retrace her steps straight back to notorious vampire Damon Harrison-Altera. He claims to have loved her - but so does his best friend, Nat...
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HE'S GONE. HE'S gone, he's gone, he's gone.
Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
I had repeated the word in my head so many times that it had lost its meaning. Had pictured Nathan's face so many times I could no longer envision it. Now all that I saw was a blank space, and my ornate surroundings that were too beautiful for a world as deadly as the one I was in.
I tried to take my mind off Nathan's murder and the strong hand clasped around my arm by glancing up at the high arches of the church. They towered above me, fingers of grey stone trying to branch off into the night sky like dry veins. For some reason, the vampires had opted to hold the ancient coronation and ceremony in London's largest church. For unholy creatures, it was strange they would choose hallowed ground for the next king to emerge.
The man clutching my arm was not tall or particularly sturdy, but the emotionless expression set into his face like stone was enough to make my heart skip a beat. The door to the church screeched on its hinges as it swung shut behind us, the loud thud reverberating off the chasm of stone walls. I had expected the venue to be empty, but every pew of the church was packed with men and women thirsting for the pure blood coursing through my veins. Flames lit the space in an array of orange, red, yellow, spilling into the nooks until every hollow face was permanently ingrained in my mind. The stone path to the altar was clear, and as the vampire holding me captive took his first step forwards, every single head turned in our direction.
Fangs flashed, eyes narrowed. I gulped, my heart beating so fast the thuds became one. I had never been so petrified in my life. None of the vampires could kill me - unless they had the obsidian blade. Yet, the fear managed to block out my sadness and rage over Nathan's death. Instead of feeling an overwhelming emptiness for losing Nathan and Damon in one day, I felt numb. Even as I chewed my gums till they bled, I could feel nothing. No pain. No emotions. Just fear.
