It’s taking me a little longer than I had planned to release episode three of the Fallen Kisses Series. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek!
Sneak peek of Ruined (Fallen Kisses, #3):
The sun was minutes from rising. Her hands tied, Zel walked through the Barmoth forest, Gretel and her vampires at her side.
Hours earlier, Gretel had taken Zel from the Kingdom of the Lost, from Xavier’s arms, from her almost happily-ever-after ending. The Barmoth vampires were mourning the loss of their beloved golden ball, their god, which they believed had the power to make them human again, something vampires craved more than blood. And when the ball was destroyed, Gretel led a small group of the Barmoth vampires who refused to obey Eldrich, Prince of the Barmoth vampires, deep into the forest to plan their revenge.
Ah, and Stiltz, wicked witch, sought Gretel out after Lady Rema, Lela’s handmaiden, came to Zel’s rescue and vanished Stiltz to the Kingdom of the Dead. If only Godfather Death could have held Stiltz in the Kingdom of the Dead forever…Zel would not be facing death at the hands of vampires.
Zel was ruined. But then, she accepted that her life was ruined from the moment she took her first breath. She was never meant to live happily…to fall in love…to have children. No, from the start misery had claimed her and she now understood she would never be free. As she walked, tears streaming down her face, she thought of Xavier, her flawed and beautiful angel. The one person who had really cared about her, the one person who she was convinced would die for her.
Gretel stopped walking and took hold of Zel’s arm. “As much as it hurts me to leave you alone in the forest, the sun is starting to come up. Of all the spells witches cast, I wish they would learn how to cast one on the sun, preventing it from ever shining down upon us. Imagine if vampires were free to walk the kingdoms without fearing the scorching sun? We would rule over everything…we would be unstoppable. But, alas, wretched witches have cast no such spell and so we must seek shelter…we must sleep. Do not worry, sweet Zel, we’ll only be apart for a few hours.” She kissed her forehead.
Zel shook her head and then spit in Gretel’s face.
Gretel wiped her face with her hand. “Oh come now, I haven’t treated you badly, have I? Believe me, if I meant to cause you real pain, I would have let them,” she pointed to the other vampires, “drain you.”
“What do you want from me?” Zel asked.
“I already told you. We want you to be our goddess. We want to worship you,” she ran her fingers through Zel’s hair, “we want to worship your golden hair. We’re lost souls in need of something to believe in. When the golden ball was destroyed, we cried and spent nights hunting, draining anyone we encountered. But then, we learned about you.”
“My hair does not hold special powers. It cannot make you mortal again.”
“We know this! If we thought it could, do you really think it would still be on your head?”
“Am I to be your pet, then?”
The other vampires laughed.
Gretel waved her hand in the air. “Quiet down.”
“We must go,” a male vampire said.
“Despicable, evil sun! Curse you,” Gretel said, her gaze on the sky. “Quickly, bring the rope,” she said.
A young female vampire approached Gretel, a thick rope in her hand. Zel guessed she must have been no older than fifteen years old when she was made.
Gretel took the rope. She then pushed Zel against a tree.
“You can still let me go,” Zel said to Gretel.
Gretel placed the rope around Zel’s waist. “Why would I let you go? How would letting you go mend our broken hearts?”
“I’m not so different than you,” Zel said.
Gretel tied the rope around the tree. “Spare me your tortured past.”
“When were you made into a vampire?” Zel asked.
“Not of your concern, but since you asked, I was made when I was eighteen years old. I was saved from death.”
“If I’m to be your goddess, I would like to know your story.” If Zel had any chance of escaping, she needed to get inside of Gretel’s head. She needed to know what triggered her…she needed to know her weakness.
“Sweet Zel, you’re so naïve and so very stupid. Is your intent to keep me talking until the sun comes up and scorches me? I have been a vampire for nearly one hundred years. I don’t fall for tricks. Now then, we will take our leave and when we return, we shall have a glorious night. It will be such fun, I promise.” Gretel turned to face her vampires and in the next second they were all gone.
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