Cursed By Blood, Bound By Power

ding, closing in on her, suffocating her with their dark, jagged edges. There were no windows, no light save the occasional flickering torch outsi

the flickering shadows. Her thoughts were a whirlwind, disjointed and con

dangerous? She could feel it-a dark presence that tugged at her soul, an overwhelming force that she was struggling

now what she

d never felt like this before. It had always been a part of

the heat building inside her, the blood rushing in her veins as her heart rate quickened. There was an undeniable hunger,

ll hear his voice, silky and mocking, echoing in her ears. Y

ad known something about her magic, something she didn't understand. And as much as she hated him,

this power consume her as it h

ght terr

orget the look in her father's eyes, that last moment of connection before he died, when he had transferred ever

y, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the shadows. A figure appeared in the doorway-a tall, cloaked

ized him i

d, her voice hoarse,

knowing, fixed on her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable, as though he could see through her very soul.

his gravelly voice reverberating through the small room. "You may b

she snapped, bitterness rising in her chest. "I've f

rying an unspoken weight. "You need to understand it. You are not just a werewolf, Sylva.

r feet, her fists clenched tightly by her sides. "I don't want to be either of those t

"Revenge will not heal you. Vengeance will not free

t the rage growing inside her, the deep need to tear the King apart. But what the shaman s

ntrol her. She couldn't let it become the thing that de

softly. "The last of those who carried the ancient magic of your people. But you carry more than just that. You carry the bl

ling. "What are you trying to tell

e not a monster. You are the key to the future, the one who can unite the we

as long as history could remember. There was no way she could unite them. But as the shaman spoke, the fragm

e stone walls of the cell. "The hybrid magic you possess is unlike anything we have ever known. But if you embrace it, i

g deep within her. Could it be possible? Could she real

eld this power, to become the ruler you are destined to be, you will have to sacrific

ainty flooding her chest.

you must train. You must unlock the potential that lies dormant with

her once again. The shaman was right. This was the only

r. "I will return tomorrow. Prepare yoursel

sing down on her like a thousand stones. The future seemed uncertain, a blurr

n in the Vampire King's game