Page 95 of Dusk Macabre

Dagger.

Next, he removed a tiny glass vial from his pocket and tipped the contents into the dish. Adrian’s blood.

Dangerous.

Kiam straightened and stood by my side, staring intently at the bowl until flames suddenly consumed the contents. Then he turned to me and smiled, the grin turning into a smirk.

Deception.

Finally, he lifted our hands and a flash of light bounced around the room before plunging us into darkness. “It is finished,” Kiam whispered in my ear.

Darkness.

The candlelight returned and the brass bowl was gone. “What did we do to them?” I asked.

“They’re cursed to only fall in love with a human; just like their prince,” he stated.

Delusion.

My grin could have broken my face. Too bad I couldn’t tell that tarot reader she was right about everything.

“You know how I feel about you, right?” I threw my arms around Kiam, my grin still firmly fixed on my face.

He licked his lips. “Of course I do,” he said.

I punched him in the arm.

EPILOGUE

Brittney

The sand poured out of my boot in a stream that seemed much too large for my size seven footwear. When I stood up, I could feel the powdery residue all over my ass. This beach was way different than any along the southern New England shore, the smooth grit sticking anywhere and everywhere.

A couple of months had gone by since we performed the ritual cursing Leander and Adrian, and I no longer felt the need to look over my shoulder wherever we went. This was a nice excursion, and I was excited for what lay ahead. Nobody was going to bother us while we fulfilled one of my life-long dreams.

“Where are we?” I asked Kiam.

For once, he wasn’t wearing a suit. I never thought the day would come, but I wasn’t sure I approved of his new attire. Sure, he looked great shirtless and in leather pants, but it was like six hundred degrees out. Even vampires must get uncomfortable sometimes, too. Right?

The shovel I was carrying dragged through the seagrass and sand as I followed along behind him. I stopped every now and then to wipe sweat from my eyes, keeping his muscular back firmly in my sights. He had red scratch marks down his back that I knew I was responsible for. His skin normally healed almost immediately, thanks to his immortality, but he’d let this one go, for whatever reason.

Probably because he had finally taken me to a cemetery, one I’d chosen in New Orleans. It was just as hot—both figuratively and literally—as I’d imagined. We’d even managed to find a relic he’d been looking for, one he made me swear not to tell a soul about.

Who would I tell?

At this rate, the sweat pouring out of my body would raise the red flag.

“Western Caribbean,” he finally said. “I can hear you back there, moaning and groaning. This was your idea, remember?”

Yes, I remembered. When I read about the lost treasure of Saint Blevor, I knew I wanted to go digging. Supposedly, one of the relics enhanced your magic, and I needed all the help I could get. Even better was that it was said to be in a lost pirate’s treasure trove.

“Right here,” Kiam said, dropping his bag and shovel.

“It’d be cool if there was a giant red X marking the booty,” I mused. “Pirate booty.” I laughed at my own words.

Kiam’s lips thinned and he leveled me with a gaze. “You’re no fun,” I shot at him, planting myself on a large piece of driftwood. Taking my water bottle out of my own bag, I downed several gulps and screwed the cap back on.

“I don’t like this weather,” he grumbled, rifling through his bag.