A Sneak Peek at Infernal Vow
It’s nearly here!! The finale we’ve been thirsting for is on its way, and I am not prepared. You are not prepared. We are not prepared. But here is a little tipple to help sate your bloodlust. Enjoy this sneak peek at Eternal Vow and prepare thyself for the epic finale of the Immortal Dark series!
Prologue
Varos the Night Lion drained the life from an ancient oak tree, and thought about his brother. Beneath his taloned fingers, the bark began to ashen, and the thick leaves lost their spine, drooping, shriveling, and falling on his white locs in fragments of ash.
“Are you proud, brother?” Varos spoke to the ray of sun forming a triangle into the burnt bark. “It is as you wished. I will live forever, and I will consume all.”
A cloud swallowed the sun, closing its eyes to what would soon follow. Varos smiled, his brother always liked to hide from the monstrosity he’d created. But it was only the beginning. Consuming this tree was no more than a drop of water on a dying man’s tongue. Varos had been denied from feeding on the land, from this divine act, for centuries. He had been forced to feed from other vampires, tasting the same shade of salt and blood again and again.
Now, his senses were electrified with all the life force he could draw from. Mother. Child. Animal. Land.
It would drown him in color and reinvigorate him.
Varos shoved at the tree. The giant stem snapped like a used match, collapsing on top of a large, storied house. There were screams. Shortly after, a man and a woman rushed outside, still in their nightwear.
House Bewo, one of the eighty houses whose blood used to sustain vampires. Another bind set by the Last Sage, enslaving dranaics to mere man and woman.
Varos motioned with his hand. Three of his lethal warriors who had been waiting in the forest moved forward. They all wore lion manes and carried silver weapons tailored to their skills.
The Manes of Blood, he called them.
Only Demasus the traitor and Nira the Silent Lioness were missing.
The human woman held an infant in her arms. She found the threat first, looking directly at him across the terrain, a mother’s instinct sharper than any force. Her eyes were stricken with terror, her mouth opening in the shape of a plea.
“Bring them to me,” Varos said, turning his back.
His Manes surged forward and feasted.
He would soon dispatch them to the far corners of the world to hunt for any soul that held traces of Sage blood inside their veins.
—
Across the country, past the stretch of dense trees, terror stirred inside the stones
of Uxlay University.
It was quiet, building still. Dean Faris pressed her palm to the stone ledge of her balcony, listening to the wails of her campus. The shudder in the ivy- covered Arat Towers tolled with the bells of Ahnd Cemetery. They sang one tune every hour— “war is coming, war is coming.”
The dean’s fingers curled onto the chilled stone, borrowing strength from her house. The stone cracked beneath the pressure. She had come out here for a moment to gather herself. To understand the errors of her actions that had led to this.
After Kidan Adane was exiled and the mask artifact secured, Dean Faris had thought Uxlay would know some semblance of peace.
However, that had lasted exactly three hours.
Laughter, sweet and light, danced in her ear. Her spine locked, but the dean knew better than to react. This was nothing but a manifestation of her guilt, heightened by Faris House.
Today, the haunting laughter belonged to Mahlet Adane. One of the many souls fed for the peace of Uxlay, a sacrifice slotted beside the dean’s own children. Usually, all such emotions were controlled, but tonight, she saw Mahlet Adane’s young face, fiery eyes, and dangerous ideals.
If you take me away from my children, I will burn your house down. I will destroy this precious institution you’ve sacrificed everything for and rebuild it from rubble. Then, I will kill you.
It was a promise made fifteen years ago. And tonight, it seemed to have been inherited by Mahlet’s daughter.
“How did Kidan break the First Bind?” The dean faced the dark outline of the trees, but the question was directed toward someone more ancient. With the First Bind shattered, vampires were free to feed on any human being, no longer bound
to the acti bloodlines.
“That is not our only concern. It appears House Bewo has sworn loyalty to Lusidio.” The edged voice belonged to her vampire companion. Andreyas remained bent over the desk a short distance away, studying the fading blood on the acti map
with a dark expression.
Her hand dug further into the stone, allowing a final moment of emotion. Why would House Bewo, an independent acti house, join Lusidio’s camp? A known authoritarian vampire which treated humans as less than.
To further her disquiet, troubling reports of blackened grounds and acidic air were coming in every hour. A plague of sorts moving across the land.
“Who is the one that is rotting the earth?” she asked the night. “What are we facing, Andreyas?”
Her vampire’s shadow lengthened at her shoulder— his movements soundless.
“You mean to confess the contents of Ye Abyssi Tarik.” He spoke in the old language of Aarac.
“Yes.”
He had refused to share the mysteries of that book for as long as she’d known him. Had said a brilliant student of his would learn the mystery of vampirism and Sagehood on their own, and only then would they be his true companion.
Dean Faris had spent the past forty years honing her mind with multiple languages, trying to tackle the different pages of the text. Trying to understand how the First Sage and the First Vampire created this world.
But she could not understand how it connected to a young girl barely twenty years old.
And there was no more time.
“Answer me one question first.” Andreyas’s smooth voice had transformed to how it had been the day she met him, adopting the cadence of a mentor. He stared out to the Arat Towers stretching out high and thin toward the darkened sky. “What is my name?”
The dean turned, surprised. “Your name?”
His mahogany face was no different from the ancient barks, rooted to the earth like unbent wawri trees. There was no trick in his questions, only a path to the truth.
“Take your time. I will wait.”
A flare of anger slipped out of the dean. “There is no more time for riddles. Tell me.”
Andreyas studied her for a long time and returned to the table. She straightened herself, trying to seize control.
Without the bond between actis and dranaics, her own house might be the first to falter.
She walked inside Faris House, feeling a wave of invisible energy fall over her like a cloak. It was invigorating to stretch one’s mind, body, and will across a vast and inanimate structure. In here, the dean wasn’t just a woman but a lord, a king, a true master.
Dean Faris sank into her large, green chair. Her vampire turned the acti map on the desk, careful not to touch the glass impala figurine perched on its edge.
The enchanted map detailed the remaining bloodlines of the seventy-nine acti houses and their whereabouts. Andreyas crossed off the names of the Bewo bloodline and wrote the names of House Tari— a proud, independent acti house in
Ethiopia.
The dean released a breath. Their location remained unchanged.
“House Tari appears to be free.” The professor scratched the names out. Each time he reached for a pen, he avoided the impala statue. It used to make the dean smile, this superstition of all vampires. The impala animal, especially its horn, was the only thing that could kill them besides blood- licked silver and heart removal.
But her vampire, powerful and a force of nature himself, always made her curious. Why would he shy away from a toy? Even less, a toy made of glass.
What is my name?
His question returned, heavy and complete. It would haunt her until she resolved it. The two of them had to remain a symbol. Now more than ever, when acti blood no longer sustained vampires, they had to address Uxlay as one. Guide them into a new era of partnership.
But how could she maintain peace if she didn’t even know the name of the vampire that had kept her company for forty years?
She reached for her favorite teapot and poured herself a cup of steaming tea. Inhaling the sweet and bitter scent of lemongrass, Dean Faris stared at him, ran through every piece of knowledge she had. Every philosophy class, every mastering of a house class, every cryptic lesson, every religion—
Religion.
Her mind snagged on the thread. Worshippers of the Last Sage and believers of Demasus the Fanged Lion. There was a rule that stuck out about the prohibition of one object.
The dean’s teacup splashed over. A few drops burned her hand, but she barely felt it. Shaking, she rested her cup on the table.
Professor Andreyas offered a rare smile. “You finally know.”
“All this time?” The dean’s voice sounded uncertain, as if she was a student once again, awed by the creature before her.
The professor sat down, the youth of his skin leaving her unmoored. He nodded once.
“Why?” she pressed. “Why hide?”
“I took a vow. One I could not break.”
“Tell me,” she said, urgency and hunger in her voice.
“Let’s begin, then,” he said. “Ye Abyssi Tarik begins with Varos the Night Lion and the Six Manes of Blood.”
She’d thought time was a frightening thing before, but now? She felt dwarfed by it. The dean held herself still as knowledge beyond her years fell onto her ears. She did not interrupt, though the urge rose as the crest of the legends became terrifying and interwoven, the journey from the beginning, to the end, to her time. The clear link between Lusidio and Varos. And finally, why Kidan Adane had been able to break a bind that had formed along with the stars and moon, the very fabric of their world.
Once finished, the dean sat there for a long time. In awe, in frustration. She felt keenly the human curse of falling short even as clarity flooded her mind.
Leaning forward, the dean wrote Kidan Adane on the map.
The blood of her name was strong, her life force strong.
The dean exhaled in relief. The final thread of the tapestry wove before her, echoing a statement she had heard before and never understood.
“Kidan Adane must live,” she said, watching the approving nod of the professor.
The dean did not write June Adane’s name. There would be nothing even if she did. She was neither dead nor alive, and just like last time, the map would not be able to find her.
“Find Kidan,” the dean said, her eyes catching the heat from the candles above them. “Bring her here.”
He stood at once and bowed. The sign of respect, after what he’d told her, made her chest tight.
It was an honor to serve alongside him.
When he reached the door, the dean called out, “You must guide her, as you’ve guided me. Kidan.”
His face shuttered. “She is stubborn.”
“No, she seeks revenge.” The dean rubbed her hand, Mahlet’s words close. “Like her mother did.”
The curtains of the house stirred— it may have been grief, but Professor Andreyas only saw strength. Uxlay would have collapsed under any other ruler. She held her chin up firmly. Even after all he’d confessed to her.
She really was one of his favorite students.
“If it comes to it, Uxlay first,” the dean said. “If her revenge ends with me, it will be a gift.”
He understood, though he did not like it.
“They will kill me for what I did to Mahlet,” Dean Faris continued with utter calm. “If Kidan doesn’t, the Dirt Diggers will surely attempt it.”
Adjoa Piran, Mikhail Temo, and Sofia Rojit— once members of a dangerous faction that threatened to break the binds. Their leader, of course, had been none other than the visionary Mahlet Adane.
“And if they kill you,” Andreyas said, his fangs stirring, “your supporters will not stand for it. I will not stand for it.”
“That will further fracture Uxlay.”
Her focused attention was always admirable, and he watched the familiar signs of her mind working fast to heal the cracks within Uxlay. Often, at some great cost.
Inhaling deeply, the dean lifted her shifting eyes. “I will name Slen Qaros as dean apprentice.”
The professor stepped forward. “That is only protocol if the current dean is mentally or physically unfit.”
“Yes. We will pretend I am, then.”
It didn’t take long to understand her strategy. “Your death will not cause a disturbance.”
No one would question the sudden demise of a dean already plagued with illness. Even if Kidan Adane or the misguided Dirt Diggers attempted to end her life, civil war wouldn’t break out.
Clever and fitting of a great leader.
Still, the professor’s hands curled inward, and he was surprised to find the sharp edges of his claws digging into his skin. “Unless I murder anyone who dares harm you.”
She offered him a small smile. “You would not.”
“No?”
“You would choose Uxlay, Andreyas. Always. It is why we’ve worked so well all these years.”
He studied the young woman who’d transformed into a fierce adult. She was the first dean who’d understood him fully, and he felt honored to serve by her side.
The dean had requested one thing of him in all these years. That when it was time for her to die— he would do it himself, gracefully and without much pain.
A good dean always bled for Uxlay, she’d told him.
And he could see it in her expression, that the world she wanted would only come to fruition through sacrifice.
It was a lesson Kidan Adane would have to learn too.
“Of course,” he said, and gave a small bow of the head. “I will walk you to death himself.”
Worlds collide, secrets are laid bare, and nothing is sacred in this highly anticipated finale to the New York Times bestselling Immortal Dark series!
Beware the monster, beware the girl. They feed on wild devotion.
Kidan Adane stands at the edge of a world on the brink—where ancient rules no longer hold, forbidden power is stirring, and the consequences of past choices are beginning to surface.? With love turned to hatred and humanity hanging in the balance, Kidan must decide how much more she is willing to break to save the world she’s already doomed.
Perfect for fans of:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Romantasy
- Vampires
- Sentient Houses
- Morally Gray Characters
- Villainous Romantic Leads
- Dark Academia
?The breathtaking sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller, Immortal Dark, Kidan Adane has finally embraced her darkness. She’s killed without remorse, lied—and broken Uxlay University’s most sacred law by inviting elusive rogue vampires, the Nefrasi, into Uxlay.
Like all ruinous things, he came from the abyss.
Trapped with a violently unstable vampire and reeling from her sister’s return, Kidan wields her anger like a weapon. She vows to master her house and protect the sacred artifact hidden inside, even if it means forging an alliance with the depraved leader of the Nefrasi, Samson Sagad—and betraying Susenyos.
A dangerous new philosophical text seems to hold the answers and promises the very thing Kidan has lost: control. Even as the dark pages consume her, Kidan knows no soul at Uxlay is trustworthy—least of all Susenyos. For Kidan and Susenyos, the lines of loathing and attraction may blur, but the quest for power rules them both. And neither is willing to surrender.
As devastating secrets resurface from the past, Kidan and her sister, June, must finally confront each other and take their rightful places in the looming war.
Instant Indie Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.
Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the elusive society of vampires she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. She is obsessively protective, mildly nihilistic, and willing to do anything to save her loved ones. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the same vampire bound to her family bloodline, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to inherit their family fortune and select vampire companions. Kidan must study an arcane philosophy, work with four enigmatic students, and survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs. When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat. And June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.