Chapter 109: The Vampire’s Gambit
Dmitri POV
The scream that tore from my throat echoed through the falling cave as Marcus’s magic ripped through my chest like liquid fire. I hit the ground hard, blood pooling beneath me, but I forced myself to stay aware. Lily needed me. The children needed me.
"Dmitri!" Lily cried out, her voice breaking as she reached toward me. But another wave of wild magic crashed between us, turning the air solid for a moment before dissolving into sparks.
I’d been fighting Marcus’s creatures for three days straight, using every vampire trick I knew to stay alive. My kind didn’t usually work with werewolves, but everything changed when the Reality Storms started tearing apart our world. Now supernatural enemies had to become friends, or we’d all die together.
"The vampire’s injured," Marcus laughed from his three flickering forms. "How touching that the bloodsucker thinks he can save the day."
Pain shot through my ribs as I fought to sit up. Being a vampire meant I healed fast, but Marcus’s dark magic fought against my natural healing. Still, I’d survived worse. Much worse.
"Stay down, Dmitri," Caleb growled, his werewolf eyes glowing with fear. "You’re bleeding too much."
"I’m fine," I lied, wiping blood from my mouth. The truth was, I felt weaker than I had in ages. Marcus’s power was draining all of us, but I had an idea. A bad, desperate idea that might save everyone.
Or destroy the woman I’d grown to care about more than my own undead life. Elder Iris helped me stand, her old hands surprisingly strong. "What are you thinking, young vampire? I can see plans brewing in your eyes."
I looked at Lily, who was trying so hard to calm the chaotic magic spinning around us. Her reality-anchor skills were incredible, but they weren’t enough. Not against Marcus and his machine. She was fighting a war with a knife when she needed a sword.
"There’s something I haven’t told you all," I said, my voice hoarse from pain. "Something about vampire magic that could change everything."