At the last moment, I knew it was time. I lunged to my left, bending somewhat as I held my blade to his abdomen and let his oversized knife cut the air in a whoosh right over my head. He missed but I did not. My blade sliced into his gut, letting a spill of blood and ichor tumble out as I slid across the ground. I ended up rolling as my wound caused my leg collapse beneath me, breaking my slide and sending a ferocious pain, like knives, up my leg, rendering it useless. I tumbled across the ground and landed near the edge of the gaping hole. The wind rushed over my head, screaming in my ears as my hair flew wild and loose from its ponytail, blinding me in its dance.

  I winced as I rolled away from the precipice, dragging my unwilling limbs with me. I looked to where Christian lay in a lump, hunched over. His left arm cradled his gut as he used his knife to prop himself up a bit like a crutch. He was barely alive, yet the vampire in him kept him breathing. His wild look was gone and instead the serenity of a man accepting defeat washed over him, making him look slightly gaunt but handsome once more.

  I kept crawling away; I had lost my machete out the gap of the blasted window. I was weaponless but I was sure I could steal his knife away from him if I wanted to.

  “You know what, April?” His voice came out raspy and tense, as if his lungs could not bear the stress of speaking. I didn’t answer but continued my crawl across the floor, as far away from him as I could get. He watched me pensively, unmoving from his spot.

  “I thought humans were all dead. I thought they were the weakest of us all.” He let out a gurgled cough, shooting out clots of greenish, crimson blood. When he was done spitting the mess out, he glanced back toward me. I was closer to the door than I was before his fit and kept dragging myself along. “But you aren’t the weakest. You’ll be the last of us to walk this earth. You’ll be all alone, with no one else, the fittest of the fit.” He hawked again, hunching over and falling to the ground, moaning in his agony. I wasn’t one to condone torture and I shuddered to watch him suffer.

  To my shock, I heard footsteps running out in the corridor. I pressed my back against the wall, weaponless and hurt so badly I would be no match against anyone now. I grabbed a broken post of wood that lay beside me, still not willing to go down without a fight. I waited patiently as the trample of shoes spilled into the room. I dropped the wood when I saw none other than Blaze, Rye and a group from our own hive filling the room.

  “April! You’re hurt!”

  You think? My sarcasm was thankfully all in my head.

  Rye collapsed next to me, pushing my loose hair away from my face. “You’re drenched in blood! Where are you hurt?” I smiled at him, relived to see his steel grey eyes.

  “My arm and my leg on the–I can’t get up now.” I nodded down to the wraps on my arm and leg. He touched them, assessing how badly they were dripping.

  “But your face and chest are covered in blood, where did he get you–your neck?” Rye’s panic made me give out a haughty laugh.

  “No, it’s not mine. Seraphin got hit…she’s hurt bad.” I pointed to her crumpled body next to the chair. Blaze bent down to assess her but quickly glanced back up at me, shaking his head. His face tight and tense.

  Rye gave a nod and turned back to me, the same hard look on his face as he took in the fact that his ex was dead. I would have to tell him her actions in the end, still not sure where she had stood but after it all, she had let me go. I was hoping that would be enough for me to forgive her betrayal.

  “Rye, I don’t think I’m going to make it out of here. Promise me you’ll find my family.…” I gulped down the stone that now formed in my throat as the tears began flowing. The air was feeling colder as time went on and blood continued to course rapidly from my leg. I could feel a threatening darkness wanting to embrace me, take me deeper into its clutches.

  “No! I won’t let you die. Here, you have lost too much blood and you need to drink. Go ahead, drink April. Now!” His voice was urgent as he pressed his wrist to his teeth and bit down, bringing his crimson life force to the surface. He brought it to my lips and I let him, clamping my mouth over the wounds. The silken drink flowed quenchingly into my mouth. Its warmth seeped deep into me as it went. It heated my core and brought me comfort, shoving the pain away from my broken body.

  “That’s enough, Rye. Let me give her some, too.” Blaze came up to us and bit his wrist, pulling Rye’s arm away from my starving mouth, replacing it with his own. I felt immediately better and the darkness pulled away from my vision almost as quickly. My body felt tingly, renewed. When Blaze pulled away, I’d had my fill. I licked the last remnants of his blood off my lips, feeling the euphoria filling me up again and I relished it.

  “Oh, wow.” Rye’s excited voice bounced in my ears and I turned to see what he was looking at. He had unwrapped my leg and the skin was a soft pink color, knitting together before my eyes. I shifted my eyes to my arm as Rye undid the tie on it and gasped to see the skin there healing as well. I smiled, amazed at the power surging through me.

  “I’ve never seen any vampires do that,” Blaze offered, his voice solemn as he observed the wounds. In just moments, I felt good enough to stand up. Rye helped me into his arms but the pain was not completely gone. I gritted through it as I held onto him. He smiled calmly at me but I was far from ready to let my guard down. I still hadn’t found my family.

  “Have you found them?” I asked quietly, hoping to hear something I wanted to hear. I waited but impatiently. I waited and fought the overwhelming urge to run out and continue to look for them.

  “Yes.” Rye’s voice came out stiff, making me pull away from him to stare into his eyes. There was something he wasn’t saying underneath his answer. He looked reluctant to tell me, his eyes pained as he avoided my gaze.

  “What is it Rye, tell me what happened!” I pulled and yanked at his shirt.

  “They’re alive, April. Just barely, but they’re alive.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The battle was over but we were left with scars so deep, nothing would ever be the same again. And there were other wars to be fought. I had finally reunited with my broken family but my mother was weakened nearly to the point of death. Her only chance for survival was endless transfusions of human blood boosted with an occasional dose of vampire blood. I wasn’t sure if that was what she would have wanted but I was pretty sure we “humans” could not be turned from the vampires’ blood; our immunity seemed to prevent it, at least up until now. But we were no ordinary mutations. Something had to be done.

  Her initial refusal of vampiric blood frustrated me to no end, but how do you change the mind of someone so traumatized, someone who did not wish to go on in a world like ours? She had lost her will to live. Even if Jeremy and I were there for her, she would not return from the deep chasm inside her mind that she had let herself descend into. She lay almost catatonic, lost inside herself. She accepted human blood to be transfused into her veins from the frozen stores in the hive but anything vampiric, even disguised as a unit of human blood, she’d somehow sense and would begin bouts of endless screaming until the unit was removed. That was torture to me in itself. I often left the room when this happened, hoping it would end soon. Despite her protestations, I felt that the little bit of vampire blood we’d managed to put into her body would help her recover.

  Jeremy was much less affected. He was a strong young man and had remained at my mother’s side at all times, when they had let him. They had left him alone, unsure of what to do with a young boy. Even the desire for a cure had not brought them to the point of harming a child, not one as young as him. Maybe someone my age, but not him. It had been his salvation.

  I’m hunting game again, having brought my mother and Jeremy back to our mountain sanctuary for some peace and normalcy. But it’s not the same and I fear we’ll have to return to the company of others soon. My mother seems more at ease in the mountain air but she’s still a shell of her former self. She had lost something in those missing days of her life. I have no idea how to get it back. She was no longer withdrawn inside herself but she wasn’t the same either. Her spark, her light, was missing, and the darkness within her made me wonder what exactly had happened inside the enemy hive. She did not tell and I did not ask.

  I miss Rye, even though he comes to visit regularly and see if I need anything. I never do, but his love keeps me going. Even though he wants more from me he knows that for now, this is enough. It has to be enough.

  For now, the days rush by and the nights are mostly silent. The soothing hum of the camera monitors, Jeremy’s soft snores and my mother’s weak whimpers from her nightmares keep me company at night. They keep me calm as I wait for another dawn.

  About the Author

  Alexia currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada–Sin City! She loves to spend every free moment writing or playing with her four rambunctious kids. Writing has always been her dream and she has been writing ever since she can remember. She loves writing paranormal fantasy and poetry and devours books daily. Alexia also enjoys watching movies, dancing, singing loudly in the car and Italian food. She is the author of Ever Shade: A Dark Faerie Tale, published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing and Whispers of Dreams (A Poetic Collection), both available via Amazon.com. Ever Fire: A Dark Faerie Tale #2 will be released in October of 2012. She is currently working on Ever Winter, the third installment of the Dark Faerie Tale series.

  Connect with Alexia Purdy

  Alexia Purdy’s Blog

  Alexia Purdy’s Website

  Twitter

  @AlexiaPurdy

  Goodreads Author page

  Alexia Purdy’s Facebook Fan Page

  Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale) Facebook Fan page

  Reign of Blood Series Facebook Fan Page

  Sneak Peek

  Coexist

  Keegan’s Chronicles

  Julia Crane

  Prophecy: An elfin child on the side of light will be born with the gift of sight. He will be the son of a great warrior. His father will lead the great battle with his son by his side. This child is the only chance the elves have to avoid extinction.

  The Book of Elfin Prophecy

  Compiled 112 BCE

  Chapter 1

  Keegan’s call echoed in Rourk’s mind as he was finishing his set. She always came to him when he least expected her, after which he was unable to focus on little else but her. His hands gripped the bar tightly, and he tried to ignore the pull of her thoughts. He tried to focus on training, on the cold steel and the smell of sweat in the room—anything that could take his mind off of the one girl who owned it.

  Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and unclenched his jaw, quickly finishing up the set. He had to force his hands to uncurl from the bar; it was almost painful. The tips of his fingers were bloodless—a fine metaphor for how she usually made him feel. He wiped his face and tossed the towel in the bin. The rest of the workout would have to wait.

  Using one of his secondary gifts, he closed his eyes and visualized her face. It was nothing for him to picture her, to bring her into focus like a high-powered lens. Rourk smiled. She was at her favorite spot: A private corner of paradise on her parents’ land.

  Her beautiful auburn hair blended in with the fall leaves that surrounded her. The dress she wore was pale green and ankle-length, flowing ethereally around her body so that she was like an oasis in the rust-colored woods.

  Rourk watched a smile spread across her face as she inspected a rock from the creek, and he laughed when she slipped it into her camera bag.

  The first time she had thought his name—several years ago—it had taken him hours to navigate to her location. When the pull came now, it was just a twenty-minute hike through some familiar woods.

  Grabbing his bag, he jumped in his old, beat-up truck and headed towards his chosen, probably driving a little faster than necessary. It was an urgent need to be near her when he heard her call, so he could never get there fast enough.

  When he reached her location, he hastily climbed the rugged terrain. The dirt had the loose feel of earth unpacked by human feet; with every step, he sank a little, hindering his progress. The sun sparkled through the canopy above him, illuminating the path he forged through the trees, though it didn’t offer any warmth in the cool afternoon. A branch scraped him across the face and he impatiently pushed it to the side, hardly caring whether it had left a mark. Finally, he reached the top, bursting through the tree line and into pure daylight.

  Rourk stood rigid, his lean body tensed as he looked over the edge of the jagged cliff. Why do I do this to myself? I shouldn’t even be here. She’s killing me. I have no self-control.

  In the elfin society, life mates were predetermined using complicated methods to ensure ideal matches. The secret of this formula had a need-to-know basis; meaning, he would never know how the auburn-haired beauty was chosen for him. There were many creatures in this world, but his kind held their secrets close to their chest.

  There were certain rules his kind had to follow. One’s lifemate may have been chosen at birth, but the first and most important rule was that they could not meet until they both turned 18. Growing up knowing that one’s other half was out there waiting brought a sense of comfort to Rourk. Ordinarily, neither knew their other half until they became of age. Their society believed it was better this way so they could enjoy their childhood.

  So how did he find her?

  Someone had told her his name. His chosen pulled him closer to her each time she thought of him. It was as involuntary as breathing. When he was younger he could resist with ease. As he got closer to being of age, curiosity got the better of him. Sometimes he wished he’d resisted so he didn’t have to endure the agony of waiting now.

  Although, he loved seeing her even if it caused him pain.

  Rourk focused his attention back on his chosen. She was standing on the rocks as the water rushed around her feet—camera in hand, as usual. One minute, she skipped across the rocks like a child, and the next she would stop, a look of total concentration taking over her face. That was when she started snapping photos.

  Staring at her, Rourk squatted and rested his hands on his knees, wondering what she saw through her lens. He watched as she jumped from a rock and slipped as she landed on another, her arms flailing as she almost fell into the water.

  His heart lurched. A strong need to protect her filled his body, and if her laugh hadn’t echoed up to him like music, he was poised to jump in after her. But instead, her face broke into a huge grin as she steadied herself and continued to take photos. Rourk relaxed, content to stand and watch her for hours.

  Rourk didn’t even know her name, but he knew he’d never seen anything so magnificent in his life. Her wavy hair glistened in the sunlight. She had a delicate, round face with large, blue-green eyes and full lips. With her cheeks flushed from the cold fall air, she reminded him of a porcelain doll. He knew all too well, though, that looks could be deceiving. She looked sweet and innocent, but it was her eyes that gave her away. They were bold and daring, constantly observing her surroundings. Rourk smiled to himself; she would soon belong to him.

  It took a lot of self-control not to approach her, but Rourk knew that would be breaking the rules. He had long ago accepted that they were in place for a reason, and he had to be patient. Their time would come. Unfortunately, she was over a year younger than he, which meant he would have to wait longer than he would like.

  He pondered this as he watched her pack up, lovingly storing her camera away in its bag while her hair fell softly over her face. It wasn’t until she had disappeared down the path to her house that Rourk finally turned and left.

  Keegan sat at her small, black desk looking through the photos she’d taken that morning. Her hair had been driving her crazy for the last hour, falling over her face with nearly every movement, so she pulled it into a bun. Securing it with a pencil, she continued to study the shots. She noticed there were a few decent ones she could add to her Tumblr page; she had a small circle of followers there who seemed to enjoy her pictures as much as she loved taking them. She loved photography. Life was nothing more than a series of moments and a picture could capture that moment.

  Her moments often felt empty. Sighing, she turned her head to gaze out the window, her chin resting in her hand as she let her mind wander. If she had Rourk, maybe she would feel…more fulfilled. All she knew about her partner was his name. Thaddeus, her brother, was a seer. He had told her when she was younger that if she ever felt she was in danger. she should think of Rourk’s name.

  Of course, she thought his name often, even when she wasn’t in danger. She loved the sound of it: Rourk. She believed he would be a powerful warrior like her father, but she wouldn’t know for sure until they met. It was possible he could turn out to be a seer like her brother or a healer like her mother. There were many powers passed down through their elfin bloodlines.

  Keegan smiled, leaning back in her seat to prop one barefoot on the edge of her chair. Most humans automatically imagined elves as Santa Claus’s little helpers with enormous ears and fuzzy green tights. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

  Seriously, she had never met an elf that worked for Santa.

  Evolution had allowed them to blend in with the humans. The females tended to be smaller than average. Most were only between 4’9”-5’2” tall. The part about pointed ears was true. However, their ears were pointed in a cute way, and not overly large like those in most mythology projects. Due to the fact that their ancestors were from Ireland, the elves tended to have reddish hair.

  Her room didn’t look like an elf’s room that was for sure. Two of her walls were pale lavender, a color complimentary to the vivid emerald green of the other two. She had posters of her favorite bands and several of her favorite snapshots framed all around the room. The bed was large with a fluffy purple comforter and four fat pillows upon which a few of her childhood stuffed animals were propped.

  And there was the light—lots of daylight from her windows. Her room was her safe haven, almost as much as her spot in the woods…