24 parts Complete MatureHe was the nightmare she feared... and the only reason she's alive.
Their worlds are at war. Their bloodlines are enemies. Silvia's escape from captivity was only possible because a TaintedBlood helped her. But when their worlds collide again, the line between ally and enemy blurs to a connection that defies all reason-and threatens to shatter their worlds.
But he's not the same.
And neither is she.
"We are the night," he murmured, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw. "We are the shadows, the whispers in the dark. We are the predators, and the world is our prey."
His eyes, which had always been able to see straight into my soul, seemed to glow with an inner light-not the warm, comforting light I had always found there, but something colder, more otherworldly. His gaze, normally a striking, gentle green, was now blood crimson, like that of a predator. I found myself unable to look away, even as a chill ran down my spine.
"And you, my love," he breathed, leaning in close. "Are our prey. Yours is the blood that sings to us, calls to our eternal hunger. Yet you are so much more than food to me. I am drawn to your spirit, your fire. But more than that... you're the one I chose. The one I need."
His voice was reverent. Like prayer. Like mourning.
A tear slipped down my cheek. I wasn't sure when I'd started crying. It felt like I'd been crying for days, years, centuries.
I shook my head, "No. No, I'm not... I can't be..."
But even as I said the words, I felt a sickening sense of recognition, of inevitability. The dreams, the paranoia, the sense that something was deeply, fundamentally wrong... it all fell into place with a clarity that was almost blinding.
Khali's hand slid to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. He pulled me close, his forehead resting against mine.
"Don't fight it," he whispered, his breath mingling with mine. "Don't fight what you are, what you're meant to be. Embrace it. Embrace me."