“What’s up with the weapons?” I replied, raising an eyebrow at the Rimian. “I thought you weren’t looking to hurt us.”

“We don’t have to. Unless you make us,” the Rimian said, narrowing his eyes at me. “What’s it going to be? Will you let us walk out?”

I looked at Kalon, who gave me a quick, almost unnoticeable wink. He then smirked at the Rimian. “You’re a traitor, conspiring against the Aeternae empire. Of course I’m not letting you walk out.”

“There you have it,” the Rimian muttered, giving me a disappointed shrug. “You’re making us do this.”

“Listen, pipsqueak,” Kalon snapped. “You might be faster than most Rimians here on Visio, but you’re not an Aeternae, and you’re not a vampire, either. Physically speaking, we still have the edge, and I’m more than happy to prove it.”

I took a step forward, my gaze darting around at the Red Threads, and I felt emboldened by Kalon’s determination not to lose this particular fight. “How many throats will I rip out before you fellas scramble backward and run off? Are your lives worth nothing, compared to your friend here?” I asked, nodding at the Rimian. “Leave now, and you’ll get to see another sunrise. Stay and be stupid, and you’ll die.”

“Well put, Esme,” Kalon told me, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

I wasn’t sure what exactly was funny. Even between the two of us, we were still outnumbered, especially since the Red Threads carried weapons. I would’ve given anything to have our shuttle close by, right about now. I would’ve sprung the pulverizers on their asses, no holds barred.

“Take them down,” the Rimian said. “Show them what the Red Threads can do.”

In an instant, the faction members tightened ranks around Kalon and me, while the Rimian stood back, watching with childlike curiosity. They came at us, many at once, swinging their swords and going straight for our heads.

Within minutes, we were fighting them off in droves, dodging and ducking, swerving around and blocking hits by slapping the blades away. It was insane, my reflexes sharpened and constantly challenged. I no longer had time to wonder where Tristan was.

I got cut several times, but I managed to take three faction members down. Blood glazed my bare hands, but I didn’t stop. Neither did Kalon. A Red Thread flew past me and rammed into the others, taking them down like bowling pins. They didn’t stand a chance to get back up, as Kalon grabbed a dropped sword and started chopping off their limbs.

Screams filled the square, but they kept coming. The more we took down, the more took their places, swinging and cursing and determined to kill us. If I’d been impressed by the Rimian earlier—even considering letting him go, at the risk of drawing Kalon’s ire—I was now dying to snap his neck in two. Like a twig on my knee. The son of a bitch had gone from attempted kidnapping to full-on murder in the span of mere minutes.

A shadow cut through the thinning crowd in front of us. There was a scream. Then another. And a third. As the shadow bolted around, they shrieked, going down like cornstalks.

“Esme!” my brother shouted.

“Tristan!” I replied, struggling between three Red Threads. My heart swelled and jumped with excitement, newfound energy surging through my body. I started kicking and slashing with my claws. I snatched a couple of swords and laid waste to my incoming opponents.

Blood sprayed across my field of vision. Another Rimian screamed. The shadow moved so fast, we could barely see it. “What the…” I murmured, when Kalon reached my side, small cuts covering his right cheek.

“It’s Valaine. Stop moving,” he said, gripping my wrist.

Every instinct told me to keep hitting, to kill as many of these Red Threads as possible. But it quickly became evident that my efforts were no longer needed. I was watching Valaine at her full potential, moving so fast that our eyes couldn’t even register it. It was strange… unnatural… faster than vampires and other Aeternae. She reminded me of the Perfects and the Arch-Perfects, in fact.

She zigzagged through the scattered clusters of Rimians, taking them down with just her claws. She caught one by the back of his neck and tore it open with her teeth, blood pouring down her chin as she scowled at the few Red Threads left standing.

They moved back, their eyes wide with horror. Our Rimian was already gone. The others were on the ground, half of them dead and the other half severely injured or maimed. I bore responsibility for at least one third of the casualties—not that I was proud of such an achievement. Impressed? Not even. I’d had Kalon, Tristan, and the weirdly fabulous Valaine on my side.

Now that she had finally stopped, Valaine looked at us, her gaze so black and vicious, I could no longer see the whites of her eyes. Something had happened to her. Something she maybe kept hidden on a regular basis.

“Deep breaths,” Kalon said, approaching her with great care, while Tristan and I just stared at them. “Deep breaths, Valaine. In and out. You know the drill.”

She growled at him, her fangs glistening with what I could only describe as feral hunger. She wasn’t done yet. Or at least, part of her wasn’t done yet. She’d pushed herself into this beast-like mode, and she was having a hard time coming down. I’d seen it in young vampires and werewolves before—it was difficult to control that inner animal sometimes.

“Valaine,” Tristan said, drawing her attention.

She struggled to regain control, her breathing ragged and uneven. For the briefest of moments, I saw tiny black veins around her eyes—a faint pulse that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Seconds passed in the heaviest of silences as the three of us waited for her to come back to us.

Blood congealed on her hands. Crimson streaks dashed across her face, rapidly drying and darkening to a dull brown. Every intake of crisp afternoon air seemed to have a calming effect, and she gradually regained her senses.

“I… I think I might’ve overdone it,” she whispered, giving Kalon a most concerned look. He wasn’t shocked, which led me to believe he’d seen this before. This wasn’t the first time that Valaine had turned into an absolute killing machine, and I had a feeling she had spent most of her life holding back. I could easily understand how she’d won tournaments in the Blood Arena. No one stood a chance if she unleashed her full, unadulterated wrath.

I had to admit, I feared and admired her at the same time.

“It’s okay,” Kalon replied, smiling softly. “We would’ve been screwed without you.”

Valaine glanced at Tristan, who stood by me, one hand resting on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Tristan sighed. “You did what you had to do.”

“What exactly is it that you did, though?” I asked, sort of knowing the answer already. I wanted Valaine to clarify it for me, however, because I had never seen an Aeternae act like this before. What I thought I knew about her species clearly wasn’t everything—and the same went for the Rimians.

“I… It’s very hard to put into words,” Valaine said. “I sort of unleashed myself.”

“We all have a dark side,” Kalon added. “We rarely show it because it’s very difficult to snap back from it. I suppose it’s a primal version of ourselves, where the body takes over. We’re stronger and faster, but also more violent.”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Valaine replied. “I saw all these people attacking you two, and I just lost it.”

“You mean to tell me all Aeternae have this beast mode?” I asked, trying to process the information, trying to picture Kalon manifesting himself like this.

“Yes. But like I said, and as you must’ve seen for yourself, it’s not a pretty sight,” he replied. “We consider it a kind of letting go of ourselves. It’s intense and consuming, too. It’s best to stay away from an Aeternae if they’re like this, but Valaine and I have known each other for a long time. She doesn’t scare me anymore.” He shot her a reassuring smile.

Nodding faintly, I turned and hugged my brother. “You two showed up right on time.”

“We were in the area, as it turns out,” Tristan replied, his brow furrowed. “We saw the Red Threads coming after you from the streets. I wasn’t sure you knew they were following you, hence the quick Telluris message.”

“It was our duty to join you,” Valaine said.

“Well, I’m glad you did!” I chuckled. “So, what have we here?” Looking around, I counted about twenty Rimians we could send to prison. They were the only ones still breathing, and most were in desperate need of serious medical assistance.

Kalon took out a small whistle from his vest pocket. As he blew, no sound came out, but my ears tingled, nonetheless. Whatever that contraption was, it worked on a different frequency. Minutes later, the square was inundated with silver guards, each looking more alarmed than the other as they observed the scene.

“These are Red Thread faction members,” Kalon said, loudly enough for all the soldiers to hear. “Take them to prison and make sure they’re given the care they need in order to live. We’ll be interrogating them soon enough!”

“Yes, milord!” one of the guards replied.

“And try to identify the dead ones, as well. We need to understand how deep this conspiracy goes. The last thing we need is another enemy right now with the Darklings running loose,” Kalon added, visibly disgusted. “Raid their houses, all their neighborhoods, if you have to. We must nip this in the bud.”

The guards all nodded and quickly got to work. They had a mobile medical unit brought in, loading the Rimians onto stretchers and carrying them to the prison, whose silver-gray towers rose past the Nalorean neighborhood. Fortunately, they didn’t have a long walk ahead of them.

“There was another attempt on Valaine’s life, as you know,” Tristan said. We’d briefed each other in handfuls of words along the way and throughout the day, using our Telluris connection. Kalon and I nodded, each of us giving Valaine a concerned look. “We’re counting three in less than a day.”

“It’s probably going to get worse,” I replied. I’d yet to tell my brother about our conversation with the Rimian, so I went ahead and brought him up to speed regarding the Darklings and their desire to sacrifice a certain Aeternae in order to stop the Black Fever.

“Oh, dear.” Valaine gasped when I was done relaying what the Rimian had told us. The soldiers were still moving around us, the occasional whimper or pained moan coming from the Red Threads they gathered off the ground. “They’re fanatics. They’re insane. What will killing me accomplish? It’s not how the Black Fever works! It’s a virus.”