Davina (The Immortal Prophecy 3)

“Because he fixed your problems?”

“Because I tested him. Every time he didn’t think we could come back from whatever trouble we were in, but we did. He always found a way. I did that. I raised him.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I love my brother. He’s the only one I love.”

“And he’s going to kill you.” I looked over.

He did, too. Our gazes met.

I finished on a harsh note, “Because he loves me. He doesn’t love you.”

I waited. He’d become the enraged vampire again, but it never

came. Instead, he smiled at me. “I would be honored if he was the one to kill me, but it won’t happen. He’s not coming, Davy.”

I looked away.

He leaned closer. His voice whispered to me, it teased over my skin. “He would’ve been here by now if he was coming. On the night I came for you, the Roane Army was at Benshire. They attacked the town when we were leaving. My brother is dead.”

This was a new torture. It had to be. “What are you doing?”

He stood and looked down at me.

I couldn’t look away. He wasn’t telling the truth. He couldn’t have been. Roane was alive . . . I felt it. I felt him.

Lucan smirked. “You can be with him. Just give me the thread.” He squatted at my head. “You see, I’ve started to think that maybe you’re the one holding onto the thread. I thought before that it was attached to you, but it’s the other way around. Isn’t it? You won’t let go of it, because of my brother. You think he only loves you because of the thread, don’t you?”

Shame filled me, but I couldn’t look away, not even when a tear came to my eye.

His voice grew soft again. “He loved Talia. She had the thread. He loved you. You had the thread. But you see that now it doesn’t matter. You don’t need the thread. And if you give it up, you can be with him again. He’s waiting for you, Davy. He’s been watching the whole time, waiting for you. He wants to be with you again.”

My stomach dropped. I’d been dormant for so long. My empathic abilities had died two weeks ago. I’d grown numb, but something sparked again. It was as if a hibernating monster had been poked too many times. It was starting to stir again. The Immortal was still inside of me. She was unable to get out, but she was there. She was angry again.

My body started to shake.

He didn’t notice. “I know my brother. He’ll still love you. If he had been alive, it might’ve been a problem. You know, if you hadn’t had the thread in you. Then again, he wouldn’t have even noticed you. There’s really nothing breathtaking about you. You’re beautiful, or you were before, but I think it was the thread that made you beautiful. I saw you before, too, when you went onto that roof with Talia. There wasn’t anything special about you. Meek. Dull. Your body is boring, but the thread makes you shine. Even now, you still shine.”

My hands started to jerk. My arms were starting to flail out. She was coming. She was rising.

“He will love you in the afterlife. If you die now, you’ll have his love forever. But if you don’t, it’s a matter of time. The thread will leave you anyway. I will get it one of these days. I can feel how close I am. Give it up, Davy. Let it go. Let go and you can have my brother again. You can be in his arms again.”

I was rising. My feet lifted off the floor, the toes barely touched. I stared at him. Waiting.

Lucan smirked to himself and lifted a hand to push through his hair. Silk strands of black hair slid against his fingers. They fell back in place, slightly ruffled. The bottoms touched underneath his ears. “I never told you before. I thought you’d die too soon and I had to get myself ready, but I’m ready now. I’ve been ready. It seems you aren’t. You can’t let go so I’m giving you that last push. It’s time to let go, Davy. My brother will love you in the afterlife, thread or no thread. He won’t care anymore. He’s dead.”

Something hot shot through my core. It jerked my body upright. My arms flew out to the sides and my back arched upward. The cage was big, but I slammed against the top. My chest, chin, and nose smashed against it.

Lucan was finally quiet.

Then my body started to shake again. The fury was white hot. My blood was boiling.

“Kill him,” a voice hissed in my head.

“I can’t,” I gasped out loud.

She hissed back, “You can. The channel is there. Open it. Do it.”