I took a breath, hearing a quick approach of more attackers.

  I turned around. Four, to be precise, and they just kept coming. It seemed like they would never stop after I’d slaughtered around eight.

  Time stood still and I kept checking to ensure we were all still here. Each time I worried, I looked and was reassured. Our training and preparation had been for the best. We were working together, just as my grandfather had instructed.

  I finally started to see fear and apprehension on the faces of some of the vampires still fighting. Perhaps their numbers and reinforcements in this area were dwindling. I could only hope.

  A few more came at me, and I started with the same graceful movements I’d been using, as if it were a dance I’d practiced a million times before.

  I swung my blade around, taking care of one, two of my opponents. I took a breath and raised my sword against the last vampire.

  I frowned before I could deliver my final blow when I saw a smirk on his face.

  Before I could move to plunge my sword in his heart, I was shoved forward into the vampire in front of me, with a pain I’d never felt before. I looked down and saw a blade pierced through my side, and then I heard shouting.

  I looked up to see Seeley and Henry, eyes wide and full of fear, making their way toward me. With the speed I’d acquired, it was like I could slow down everything around me. I was watching their approach in slow motion.

  Then I felt something else.

  Fangs descending into my neck from the vampire in front of me. I gathered what little strength I had and shoved the sword in my hand upward into the vampire who had bitten me. He died in front of me and fell before my feet, but I knew the damage had been done.

  I wobbled to my knees, and as I fell, Henry attacked the vampire behind me, and I lurched again, feeling the blade slide out of my side.

  I started shaking, and Henry’s arms wrapped around me, slowly bringing me to the ground.

  “No, no, no.” I heard him saying, but my body was weak.

  “Stay with me,” Henry whispered, bringing his head to my ear, trying to make sure I was listening. I didn’t want to close my eyes. I knew if I did, I’d be gone.

  “Henry!” Seeley’s voice shouted out so strongly, that I could feel it inside of me. “Keep her alive, I’ll give her blood, just keep her alive,” he commanded urgently.

  I would be gone anyway. I was dying.

  The bite from the vampire had definitely been an attack, and the poison was seeping through me, crawling with a vengeance that would leave no chance of survival.

  A body fell to the other side of me, and I felt someone pick up my hand and place light kisses across the top.

  “Jules.” Seeley’s voice was on the other side of me. He ripped part of his sleeve off and bit his own wrist dropping it to my mouth. I shook my head. He hadn’t seen the bite marks.

  Seeley was on the wrong side, but Henry’s sharp intake of breath told me he saw the punctures on my neck. I was sure there was also black veins surrounding it by now, and I’d meet the same fate my grandfather had. We had all witnessed what happened with him. But with the injury to my side, I wasn’t sure I had very long at all.

  “You can’t heal her, Seeley.” Henry’s voice came out strained, broken.

  Seeley frowned and I felt Henry turn my head slightly. The horror that filled his eyes broke me, and I felt tears running down my face. Not for myself, but for him. My vampire king.

  “Andrew,” Seeley cried out.

  I turned my head to Seeley. I had to tell him again, one last time. He had to know how I felt before I was gone.

  “Seel…” I tried to talk, but only noise gurgled out of me. I strained, desperate to get my voice to work.

  No, please. I begged upward, praying I could at least tell him. For all we’d done, for all the good we were working toward, please just let me tell him I loved him once more before it’s too late.

  “Shhh.” His voice tried to calm me. “Don’t speak, Jules. Everything will be okay. You’re going to be okay. I won’t lose you,” he muttered over and over.

  “Seeley.” I tried again. “I…” I felt stronger, more frequent tears rolling down my face while his fingers brushed at them, trying to keep them at bay.

  Seeley’s eyes met mine, but they were getting blurry. He was moving his mouth, but I couldn’t hear anything.

  I felt a sob escape my throat and shut my eyes. I couldn’t hear anything, and I was struggling to breathe. I knew Henry was holding me now but couldn’t feel him anymore. I was fading.

  Lost in a blackness that would eventually disappear into nothingness and take me with it.

  Forever.

  19

  Henry

  “Jules, don’t talk. Just hold on.” I needed to calm her, and bring her some sort of peace.

  We would save her. We had to. But the fear in her eyes, the struggle. She was trying to talk. As she let out a sob and closed her eyes, I felt my own eyes swell. I had to be strong. There had to be some way.

  And then I felt it. A tug I’d only ever felt around Jules.

  I had the same pulling sensation when we were kids. The first time I met her I was drawn to her. She was sitting on the Falcone playground with a skinned knee. I knew I needed to help so, I gave her a piggy-back ride to her mom. She was three and I was only four. Most people probably don’t remember those minor details, but it was the day we became friends. It was the first time I felt that tug and weight, how could I ever forget that moment? I didn’t know it at the time, but it would only ever be with Jules that I’d feel that particular sensation.

  When Marissa took her a few years later to run her tests, I sensed her again and brought her parents to save her. That was the day I thought I lost her.

  Until a crisp fall day five years ago. I was working in the library and remembered being overwhelmed with that sensation I hadn’t experienced in years. I followed my gut, leading me back to an alcove no one ever used, and there she was. My entire being knew her immediately. She might have said Jules Parker, but I knew who she really was.

  She was Jules Van Helsing. And I’d vowed to protect her.

  The tug now wasn’t the same tug I’d experienced before, though. It was instructions, guidance. And I knew what I had to do.

  Jules Van Helsing was and always had been my mission.

  The last of the vampires had been eliminated and the others had joined us, all stunned and not sure what to do next, but also aware that we didn’t have much time to think. I made brief eye contact with my father who nodded. I had no idea if he knew my mission was Jules all along. He certainly didn’t look like he knew it would come to this. But it was now clear to me what I had to do.

  I laid her head down gently and brushed her hair from her forehead. It was slick with sweat. She had fought so hard, killing more vampires in this attack than even myself. She was strong, and it was her that this world needed now. It was Jules Van Helsing who needed to end this war and bring back the peace that these species needed in order to thrive.

  I gently placed my hands on her neck, over the wound the vampire had inflicted which took her life. I turned and saw Rebecca. She was so misunderstood by the others. She actually had a big heart and was simply a bit broken because of her love for Gabriel. She looked like she was breaking more now. But she was trying to be strong for the others. Her eyes nervously darted over to Seeley to see how he was going to handle this. He loved Jules, after all, and I didn’t know if he’d be the king he needed to be without her.

  I closed my eyes and felt my power stirring and radiating under my skin. I breathed it in, focusing on bringing it to the surface. Focusing on my soul, my life. Jules had become like family to me. If she needed my soul to continue on, then so be it.

  When I opened my eyes again, my power was humming in my fingers. The others stared at me.

  “Henry?” Seeley’s face held utter amazement as he spoke.

  They were in the presence of a guardian, baring his soul after all. I’d heard it was something humbling to witness. Of course, it had only ever been in tall tales that I’d heard about this kind of power. My father stood a little straighter watching me, and I knew he was overwhelmed as well, even if he knew what was coming.

  “Take care of her. Finish this, and take care of her,” I said to Seeley.

  I turned to Rebecca. “Don’t waste your second chance. Let it go and tell him.” She blinked at me a few times in shock.

  “Henry, what are you going to do?” Rebecca’s voice was never small, but it was small now. She hadn’t had many friends, and I had enjoyed our friendship and time together immensely. I tried to give her a reassuring smile.

  Gabe was watching, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. They’d be okay. I looked toward him. “It’s been an honor to fight beside you. Beside all of you. The hardest mission lies ahead, and you’ll need Jules. When she wakes up, get her focused and get to Kellan and Mathias. It ends tonight,” I instructed.

  I closed my eyes again and focused on pouring my energy into Jules.

  I felt it trickling out of me and flowing into her. She was barely there anymore. My light would have to work hard to find and wake her, but I had faith in her. She was the strongest woman I knew. Jules and Nadia.

  I felt a devastation but pushed it aside. I couldn’t think of Nadia now. Jules was right; I should have told her how I felt sooner. But my love for her would be with her, just like it would be with Jules.

  I stayed still, pouring everything I had into her, until I felt her heartbeat start again and heard her shaky breath.

  I tried to maintain my concentration because this wouldn’t work unless she had all of me, all of my energy. I couldn’t break our connection until it was done, or I’d risk losing her.

  “Henry,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open as she made eye contact. It was hard to stare into her perfect green eyes and continue to do what I had to.

  But I did. I held on, starting to feel my own life slipping away.

  She watched me and suddenly her eyes filled with fear again. She brought her hands up to mine and pulled.

  “No, Jules,” I ordered sharply, breaking the beauty of the moment.

  It was enough to cause her hesitation. I knew that I could hold her off, but I didn’t want her struggling and trying to break away in our last moments together. “You were always my mission. I know that now. I think I always knew it.” I smiled at her.

  Her eyes filled with tears again, and the last thing I wanted was for her to cry.

  “Henry, no, I need you. Please, don’t do this.” She was shaking again, trembling.

  She knew what was happening. I had only mentioned it jokingly once, and somehow, she knew what I was doing. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned slightly to see my father standing over me. Encouraging me and supporting me until the end.

  “I will always be with you,” I said to her, looking into her eyes again to make sure she knew, make sure she believed me. I grasped her other hand in mine, making sure to never break contact from the hand on her neck.

  “You can’t do this for me.” The pain in her voice was tremendous, and I wished there was another way.

  My own eyes filled with tears as we stayed there looking at each other. I felt the end of my power now. It was like the end of a long tether, slipping away, and I wouldn’t try to grab it back. It was traveling down my arm and would soon be with her and I’d be gone.

  “Tell Nadia I’ll always love her,” I whispered, and Jules let out a sob.

  “Please, Henry.”

  My time was here. I’d give Jules one more thing. A memory that I hoped was strong enough to give her what she needed to finish this war.

  “Be strong and know that I have faith in you,” I whispered and let what I had flow through my fingers and into Jules.

  I smiled as I felt my body give out, and I collapsed beside her.

  20

  “Henry!” I yelled, feeling stronger than I had ever been before, but more broken than I ever thought possible at the same time. I scrambled to my knees and hovered over his body.

  “No, this isn’t how it ends. Henry.” I shook him, knowing deep down he was gone. “We all survive. Do you hear me!” I screamed, pounding his chest in what I knew was a wasted attempt to change what had just happened.

  The only way a guardian could die is a willing sacrifice or losing their soul. Henry had said it as a joke, but I’d read it during my lessons with Lars. He had just done both by giving his life to me. I had felt his energy as soon as I was conscious enough.

  I brought my head down to his chest and clutched his arms. How could this be happening right now? We needed him to defeat Mathias.

  I turned to look up at Andrew who was watching his son’s lifeless body.

  Arms circled around me and pulled me up. I turned my head and was met with Seeley’s chest.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he soothed. I let out a fresh round of sobs. I was on the verge of hysterics.

  I’d just accepted death, only to have Henry stupidly give up his life for mine. I didn’t deserve Henry’s life. He would have been more helpful to everyone now than I could be. He was the stronger one. How was I supposed to complete the task at hand?

  “His body will disappear soon,” Andrew said. “You all must go. We’ve spent too much time here as it is.”

  “What do you mean, we must go? Aren’t you coming?” I turned away from Seeley’s hold, but he grasped my hand, not letting me go fully as I watched Andrew. I blinked as Henry’s body began glowing with a white light and started to disappear, just as his father said it would.

  “My own mission awaits me now. It does not lie here with you,” Andrew said, softly.

  “You can’t leave us, too.” My pain was turning into anger that he’d choose a moment like this to walk away from us.

  He smiled sadly, but with a firm look in his eyes. “You have all that you need. You have each other. Rely on your strengths. The time is now. Act. End Mathias’ reign and save everyone. This war must end, and it’s up to the four of you to do it. The role of guardians is finished here for now.” Then he turned to me directly. “Henry had more faith in you than you’ll ever comprehend. Do not make his sacrifice in vain.”

  Andrew nodded to us and began to fade alongside Henry.

  I turned to face the others, shocked, and not sure how to pull myself together.

  “I’m so sorry, Jules,” Rebecca said, touching my arm. I nodded at her, seeing that she, too, was struggling with what had just happened.

  Seeley tilted my chin up to meet his eyes. “We are all beside you, but Andrew was right. This is our war, and it’s up to us to bring back peace. We’re here together. We’re with you, my love. Can you do this?”

  I nodded. “Yes.” My voice sounded stronger.

  “We will grieve him, Jules. But right now, we aren’t anywhere close to being in the clear,” Seeley continued.

  I nodded. Seeley was right, and so was Andrew. Henry’s sacrifice would not be in vain. Mathias would pay for what transpired here. For everyone I’d lost on his quest for power, but also for the world he was trying to hold hostage. None of it would be forgiven.

  “Let’s do this,” I said, looking among my comrades.

  “For everyone they took from us,” Rebecca’s voice rang out, strengthening my resolve.

  We all transformed together, into our unit, though it was down by three. We marched, toward the double doors, knowing they’d hear us coming. Mathias and Kellan would be there, thinking that they’d easily defeat us, but they had no idea what they were in for.

  I glanced over at Seeley, and he pulled me in and kissed me. “We’ll do it together,” he whispered, giving me a small smile and a confident nod.

  I took one more deep breath and pushed the doors back, hard, letting them swing open to announce our grand entrance into our final battle.

  The doors opened to reveal just Mathias and Kellan. They were standing together in front of an old wooden table that was filled with maps and paperwork.

  Kellan smirked as we entered. “So few of you?”

  The rage inside of me was bubbling and I clenched my teeth, breathing through my nose to keep from giving in to any snide remarks he would make. He’d try to throw us off that way, but I wouldn’t be distracted.

  “Jules Van Helsing.” Mathias’ voice was seductive, and I was sure he lured many in with that low, non-threatening act. “We meet at last.”

  He stalked forward and Seeley tensed next to me. I commanded my body to stay relaxed and not show fear. Which was extremely difficult to do given who this man was.

  I’d seen him through Kellan’s eyes before, and even then, I could sense the danger radiating off of him. In this moment, it was clearer to me that he tried to subdue it, perhaps to lull those in front of him into believing he was something he wasn’t.

  The closer he came to me, the higher I let my chin rise, determined to show him that I was strong and worthy of my name. His smirk indicated that he knew all too well what I was trying to do, and it was as if he was excited at the prospect and challenge of making me feel weak.

  I didn’t speak; I wasn’t sure what to say. The others knew this man. I was the stranger in the room.

  He stood before me, and a smirk twisted and played at his lips. His eyes shot to the side toward Seeley.

  “Seeley Ronan. I was hoping Kellan would be better suited to convince you than I. But, now that you’re here, I suggest we talk. There is much to discuss and, where Kellan has failed in his persuasion, I trust I will not.”

  “There’s nothing you can say that will change why we’re here. We’ll never stand with you.” Seeley’s still-as-a-statue body proved his resolve that his heart wouldn’t budge, either.

  Mathias let out a tsk.

  “And what of you, Rebecca? You know firsthand that being on the wrong side of me can be deadly.”

  There it was, finally. The sinister inside leaking out through his handsome façade. Mathias had murdered Rebecca’s entire family, and it was as if Seeley’s blatant refusal rattled him enough to let his evil show.

 

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