Devoured by Dawn

By Tricia Barr Table of Contents Chapter 1: Liam Chapter 2: Brooke Chapter 3: Kennedy Chapter 4: Evee Chapter 5: Brooke Chapter 6: Liam Chapter 7: Brooke Chapter 8: Evee Chapter 9: Dionys Chapter 10: Liam Chapter 11: Kennedy Chapter 12: Justin Chapter 13: Evee Chapter 14: Kennedy Chapter 15: Dionys Chapter 16: Kennedy Chapter 17: Evee Chapter 18: Liam Chapter 19: Evee Chapter 20: Brooke Chapter 21: Evee Chapter 22: Liam Chapter 23: Kennedy Chapter 24: Justin Chapter 25: Evee Chapter 26: Brooke Chapter 27: Justin Chapter 28: Kennedy Chapter 29: Evee Chapter 30: Liam Chapter 31: Justin Chapter 1 LIAM The half-moon hung in the western sky in a break in the tree line, taunting Liam with its knowing smile. It could see everything going on in this hellish forest. It knew where Brooke was, yet all it did was beam down at him like the Cheshire Cat, taunting him with its secret knowledge. He raised his head up at it as he stopped his monotonous, fruitless trek so that he could gather his thoughts–and his hopes. He’d been searching the forest all day and most of the night. It had to be past midnight by now, and he hadn’t seen or heard the slightest sign of Brooke. Liam thought of the ground he’d covered so far. His camp was situated on the far southeastern side of Faeron Greens. And he had to be somewhere in the middle of it now. He’d trekked methodically up and down, heading west, leaving no square foot unchecked. He’d hoped that way he wouldn’t be able to miss her. He was grateful that he’d at least had the day, that he hadn’t had to wait for the cover of darkness to roam like most of his kind. Thankfully, he had an enchanted ring that protected him from the sun’s deadly rays. A lot of good that did him, though. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had it or not because he still didn’t have Brooke safely in his arms. Could one of the other regents have captured her already? Did Sin? Liam’s heart jumped into his throat at the thought, making him painfully aware of his devastating thirst. He had refrained from drinking any blood for days before the games began. He had known that the thirst would debilitate him slightly, but it would also serve to make his senses keener, more acute, especially to the scent of Fount blood. He’d hoped that would give him an advantage to finding his stolen love, but so far all it had done was make him hangry, and a bit twitchy to be honest. Like a junkie in desperate need of a fix. After popping his neck twice and taking in a steadying breath that didn’t actually work, he continued forward. Damn the Fae for doing this to him—to her! He’d thought long ago that he was done with them forever. Finally free of their pompous politics and self-righteous manipulation. After the atrocities his father, the Bloody King Ashlar, had committed, the High Court had banished vampires from their hierarchy, stripped them of all privileges, and forced them to hide in the underbelly of human society like sewer rats. Liam might have been only ten at the time, and centuries had passed since, but he would never forget that fateful day. “Liam, we must go now!” Inneke begged him in a hoarse whisper, waving him toward the entrance to the servant's passage that was hidden behind his wardrobe. “B-but Father hasn’t told me I can come out yet,” he stuttered, shaking his head. His punishment would be worse if he disobeyed and left the tower. “Forget about that now.” His au pair tried to inject a soothing tone into her words, but the harsh crease between her brows put him on edge instantly. “None of that matters anymore. We just have to go!” “What’s going on?” he asked, confused by her urgency. “War,” she hissed frightfully, beckoning him with another wave as she stepped into the passage. Terror gripped his heart, and he darted after her obediently. He’d never known war. He’d known suffering, sure, but it was always laced with gold and glamour. He’d been kept in this castle, sheltered and spoiled when he behaved, or punished when he didn’t. Everything he had ever wanted or could ever want had always been readily available and in ample supply. He didn’t even know if he’d ever felt true thirst. Though he wasn’t sixteen yet and not a full-fledged vampire, therefore not really needing the chi or sustenance from blood, he’d always been encouraged to drink his fill. And there was never a shortage of warm human bodies to drink from. But he hated to drink from them, at least, the way his father had insisted. That was why he’d been locked away in the tower. His father told him it was time to become a true vampire and to experience the power of draining a human to death. He insisted that drinking the very last drop, feeling the heart stop pumping, gave all the life, vitality, and chi of the victim to the drinker. And as the reigning sovereigns of the Vampire Court, they needed to be the most powerful. Liam had refused, insisting that he couldn’t even harness chi yet and that the man’s death would be wasted on him. But the true reason was the hollow terror he’d seen in his offered victim’s eyes. That man had done nothing wrong to deserve such a fate. And even if he had, Liam didn’t want to make him suffer like that, much less steal whatever years the man might have left. Though that might have been a mercy, because Liam knew those years would be filled with torturous suffering. His father had beaten him severely, then tossed his mangled body in the tower and locked him in there. “If you heal, you might be allowed to come out,” his father told him. “But if you