Sunlight: Blood Magic Book 4 Read online

  Sunlight

  Blood Magic Book Four

  By L.H. Cosway

  Copyright © 2021 L.H. Cosway.

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by L.H. Cosway. Cover image from Shutterstock.com.

  www.lhcoswayauthor.com

  PLAYLIST

  To listen to L.H. Cosway’s playlist for Sunlight, go HERE.

  Author’s Note

  Dear readers,

  Thank you so much for taking this journey with me and letting these characters into your hearts. When I began writing this book, I knew that if I wrote it only from Tegan’s point of view there would be something vital missing. From the very beginning, Finn has been a character whose voice came naturally to me, and I wanted to let him have his say and find happiness. In Sunlight that’s exactly what he gets. I won’t say anything more, because I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but I sincerely hope you all enjoy the final installment in the series.

  Yours always,

  L.H. Cosway.

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  21.

  Meet the Author

  Books by L.H. Cosway

  “Love shook my heart

  Like the wind on the mountain

  rushing over the oak trees.”

  Sappho.

  1.

  Tegan

  My view of reality was foggy.

  Ethan stood on the edge of the roof, his body shimmering with a silvery glow. Hundreds of vampires on the street below bowed to him as though he was a miracle made into flesh.

  My magic showed me a vision of the entire city, where it seemed like every vampire had sensed Ethan’s change into this indestructible, extraordinary being. No matter where they were, they bowed. Some in fear, others in awe.

  The blood that rushed through his system wasn’t merely his, but mine, too. And I felt his power like a physical pulse. The black chaos mist retreated from the humans, called away by its master, Theodore. I suspected he’d gone to regroup, laying low until he could figure out how to approach this turn of events.

  Ethan’s strong, familiar voice shouted orders, commanding the vampires to cease their violence on the human population. His Romanian accent was more dominant than it had been before; the modern cadence less evident.

  The vampires stood to attention, taking his orders with renewed enthusiasm, their eyes staring up at him in amazement, like he was the ruler they’d been waiting for all this time. Gone were the days of the Herringtons, of Jeremy Whitfield and his wars. A new era had begun, and the possibilities were endless.

  I was slumped weakly over the edge of the building, staring down at the vampires who now organised themselves into groups as they cleared away the dead bodies and carnage that had drowned the city in a sea of blood and mess.

  I wondered in horror just how many innocent people were killed tonight.

  Then, arms as hard as steel wrapped around me and lifted me, and my dizzy head sank into the crook of Ethan’s neck, my safe place. My energy was vastly depleted from blood loss. He started to move at vampire speed, faster even than before. I couldn’t handle the whooshing colours, and I slipped in and out of consciousness.

  Then I slept.

  When I woke up my head and my eyes felt sore. It was like I’d been asleep for days. I lay naked on a bed that wasn’t my own, and a cool Egyptian cotton sheet covered my body as I stretched out my aching limbs.

  The windows were wide open, and morning light shone into the room. I looked around, recognising Ethan’s bedroom in his house on the south side of the river. The house Whitfield had exiled him from.

  I sat up, and the sheet fell to my waist. Ethan was lounging in his armchair by the bookshelves in front of a window. His eyes were closed, and he held his serene face up to the sun. The soft, golden light cast his features in a peaceful glow. I’d never seen him look so at ease.

  I repeat, he was sitting in the sun, enjoying its warmth without any concern of getting sick.

  The events that led to my being here rushed through my head, and I gasped. Ethan’s eyes flashed open when he heard my sharp intake of breath. Oh wow. They were incredible. Deep gold edged in silver. His blond hair shimmered even more so now, and his olive skin was even more flawless. He stared at me intensely, and for a second, I wondered whether or not I was safe, whether or not he was still Ethan, or something else.

  “Am I safe?” I whispered, and he tilted his head questioningly in response.

  “Are you safe?” he repeated back at me, his accent doing all sorts of hot things to my insides.

  A long stretch of silence elapsed. I pulled the sheet up to cover my chest.

  “Well, am I?” I asked uneasily.

  “Lumina mea, you are safer than you’ve ever been. Do not cover yourself.”

  I blushed and let the sheet drop again. Ethan stood from his chair and walked toward me. He sat at the end of the bed and ran his hand over the fabric of the sheet.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “About a day,” he answered, not lifting his eyes from the sheet. “I imagine you needed the rest to recuperate from the blood loss.”

  “You’re probably right. My muscles are all sore.” I stretched one arm up over my head and then the other. “What happened while I was sleeping? Where is everyone?”

  A look of frustration entered his gaze. “I’ve not yet located the others. I believe they fear I’ve changed into a monster and are in hiding.”

  “Oh. And how do you feel?” I asked.

  “I feel incredible. You have no idea the gift you’ve given me,” he replied earnestly, his eyes practically glittering.

  I rubbed my arm, hesitating a moment before I spoke, “Pamphrock once mentioned that no one knew how much True Power blood it took to strengthen a vampire. It’s believed that too much might cause you to decline.”

  Ethan’s features turned thoughtful. “I don’t believe I drank too much. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been and other vampires sense my power, but I don’t anticipate any decline,” he said and relief filled me.

  “You have no idea how good it is to hear that. I’d been so worried…”

  “Do not worry for me. I’ve never felt better. Vampires have been queuing up down the street waiting to speak with me, to pledge their allegiance, but I haven’t opened my doors to any of them. They left at daybreak, and I went outside in the sun, something I have not been able to do in my entire life. The beauty …” he trailed off, emitting a long sigh. “It’s devastating. This is an unimaginable gift, Tegan. I can hardly describe it.” There was a pause as he took me in. “You look pale. I want you to take some of my blood. It will restore your strength.”

  My mouth watered at the prospect, but I shook my head. “I shouldn’t.”

  He moved across the bed with warp-like speed, hovering over me. The air thickened, and my breathing grew laboured as my eyes roamed his chiselled torso. He wore nothing but a pair of light denim jeans.

  “Your accent sounds thicker,” I commented to distract myself from his perfect body. “Why
is that?”

  “I’ve changed the way I speak over the years to acclimate to the times I live in. Now that I am transformed, I no longer feel the need to disguise my true self.”

  “Oh.”

  “You once told me you couldn’t resist my Romanian accent,” he said in a low voice, bringing his hand up to run his knuckles along my jaw.

  “I can’t. It’s very, um, nice,” I replied as he leaned closer.

  “Where would you like to drink from this time?”

  “I really shouldn’t.”

  “Yes, you should. I took from you, and now I want to return the favour. Choose a spot, Tegan.”

  My eyes flickered to the masculine line of his throat. I really should try to resist, but I was too weak. I wanted the high too much. Besides, this could be the very last time. I’d go cold turkey after this. “Your neck,” I answered quietly, feeling a little shy.

  He smiled in approval. “Good choice.”

  My attention was drawn to the thumbnail of his right hand, which had grown to a sharp, blade-like point. “Is that one of the changes of your transformation?” I asked curiously.

  “Yes. I’ve been experimenting a little, and seemingly, this nail is the only thing that can cut through my skin.”

  My eyes widened at that.

  Using the nail, he sliced a thin line across the hollow of his neck. I could practically smell his blood as a trickle seeped out. It was no longer its usual colour; instead, it was now a silvery red. I licked my lips and brought my hands up to clasp his shoulders. He picked me up effortlessly and sat me astride his lap, fully naked.

  Moments later my lips were on his skin, and I was gulping down the sweet nectar that ran through his veins. I practically orgasmed just from the taste of it.

  Ethan groaned loudly, and his hands moved down my spine with delicious pressure. I continued sucking his blood into my mouth, my body coming alive with it. It slid down my throat like liquid magic, igniting everything it touched.

  I moaned softly, clutching him to me. He felt powerful, addictive, alive.

  Ethan slipped his hand between my legs, fingers plunging inside me. My sharp cry was muffled as I continued to drink.

  “You are exquisite,” he whispered to me. “You are my queen. Always.”

  His fingers pumped in and out of me fast, faster than I would have thought possible. The pleasure was too much, and I released his neck, falling back into the pillows and writhing against him. His eyes consumed me, taking in every part of me, my every reaction. With his other hand, he smeared his blood across my lips, and his eyes glittered at the sight.

  “Oh, God, come closer,” I mumbled, reaching for the waistband of his jeans.

  He did as I asked, allowing me to lower his pants. His erection sprang free, and he positioned himself at my entrance. Foreign words tumbled from his lips. I closed my eyes, letting their deep vibrations shimmer through me.

  Agonisingly slowly, he filled me. No ordinary man could tease me with such slowness, such attention to detail. He bent over me and sucked my nipple into his mouth, his tongue flicking over it in a fast, inhuman rhythm, like the wings of a butterfly.

  My head spun with his blood in me—not just regular vampire blood, which was quite the high, but true power vampire blood. Everything in my line of sight sparkled. Psychedelic colours washed away the room, the house, my corporeal form, until I became an entity solely made to be pleasured, to feel.

  What was it that the Epicureans used to say? Pleasure is the highest good?

  Well, if that was the case then I was being really, really good right now.

  Ethan fisted my hair with his hand, pulling my neck back as his hard length sank into me again. He licked a line directly from the base of my throat to the hollow behind my ear.

  “Whatever you want, my love, ask for it. I’m going to fuck you until you feel how much you mean to me; until you understand the gift you have given me, you beautiful, fragile, wonderful little thing,” he mumbled into my skin, his arm tightening around my stomach. I felt so small within his hold.

  Sweat glistened on his skin as he made love to me, and even that smelled incredible.

  Silver clouded my vision. All I could see was the core of him, and I was intrinsically drawn to it. I never thought I’d see the day when Ethan and I would fuck so freely under the light of the morning sun. It streamed through the window, and I reached out, touching a ray as though it was a tangible thing.

  Ethan gripped my chin as he continued to thrust in and out of me. “The vampires in this city want me to be their ruler,” he breathed. “But all I care about is being yours.”

  The intensity of his words was too much, and my eyes fluttered closed.

  “Don’t look away,” he pleaded. “I need to see your bottomless blue eyes as I fill you.”

  Meeting his gaze once more, I didn’t look away.

  Finn

  Holy Mary mother of God, she’s really gone and done it now. I always thought Tegan had a reckless streak, but that was putting it mildly. I didn’t think there was a single word in the English language to describe this madness. Nobody with half a brain would consider it a viable option to allow that bloodsucker to drink from her. And yet, there he stood, undeniably changed.

  Was she even still alive? Did he drink her dry, or take just enough to transform?

  Now, I understood this was a do or die situation. We were outnumbered as fuck, for a start. But seriously, there was no coming back from this. We all stared up at Cristescu from below, the entire vampire population of the city bowing down to him like he was some sort of effing High King of the Damned.

  Relief washed over me when I spotted Tegan slumped weakly over the edge of the building, staring at him, too. She didn’t look too fresh, but at least she wasn’t dead.

  Cristescu roared, and every fibre of me was repelled by the sound. I made eye contact with Gabriel first. Like me, my friend knew exactly what had gone down on that roof. In private he’d often spoken to me of his fears about Tegan. He worried that one day some power-hungry vampire would get his hands on her blood and everything would change. Well, now it had happened. Only I didn’t know if Tegan volunteered herself or if he forced her.

  The idea of him forcing her made me really bloody angry. The disappointment I’d felt when she told me she’d slept with him rose to the surface, but I pushed it back down. She chose him. There was nothing I could do to make myself feel better other than try to salvage what was left of my wounded pride.

  “We have to get out of here,” Gabriel said urgently, holding Alvie to him.

  “You’re right. Let’s make a move while the vamps are distracted, eh?” I suggested, nodding to Delilah and Ira, who stood by her side in his animal form. That Lucas fella was bowing down just like the rest of the bloodsuckers.

  Delilah looked shaken to her core, her pale face staring up at her brother in stunned silence.

  “Delilah,” I called for her attention. “We have to go now.”

  Ira whined and nipped at her hand. She finally pulled herself out of her shock and nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. She tried to get Lucas’s attention, but there was no breaking him out of his trance. Finally, she gave up and followed us down the ladder and back out onto the street.

  Dead and unconscious human bodies filled the pathways. The five of us walked close together, dodging the bowing vamps. We sped up to a slow jog, needing to get as far away as possible before Cristescu called them to action. Delilah might be his sister, but he was no fan of the rest of us—me especially. Who knew what kind of plans he might be concocting with his newfound power.

  The city was a wasteland. I suspected lots of people were hiding behind locked doors and windows, too frightened to venture outside.

  Once we were clear of the vamps, I let out a long breath. We were close to the more residential areas now, which looked completely untouched by the chaos. The quiet, peaceful streets felt almost unreal after the madness we’d just been through.

&n
bsp; Gabriel pulled Alvie close to him, his arm tight around his narrow shoulders. Ira rubbed his snout against Delilah’s hip, and she let her hand drift through his thick fur. All of a sudden, I felt decidedly alone. No one cared about comforting me.

  Oh well, fuck that shit. I’d been alone since my mother and sister died. Some things never changed. A brief image of sleeping in the same bed as Tegan flashed in my head, along with the feeling of companionship and warmth it had given me. I missed that fleeting period, where I thought something more might develop between us, but it wasn’t to be.

  Okay, I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. Yeah, I fancied her, perhaps even had a few mushy sentiments towards her. But it wasn’t like she was the only woman in the world.

  Once we reached the outskirts of the city, I decided to start looking for some form of transportation. Walking wasn’t going to get us very far. A few minutes later, I spied an abandoned minivan by the side of the road. The doors were open, and the keys were dangling from the ignition. Too good to be true, right?

  Wrong.

  There were several dead bodies littered on the ground outside of it. By the looks of things, they were driven mad by the chaos mist and killed each other. I stood over a bloated middle-aged bloke with shaggy red hair, his lifeless head hanging to one side. With the toe of my boot, I nudged his shirt collar down, checking his neck for fang marks. None.

  My suspicions were right. These poor sods killed each other.

  “Looks like we’ve found a ride,” I told Gabriel with a morbid grin.

  He scratched his head, not looking too thrilled about the prospect of taking some dead people’s car. All the same, he came and helped me lift the body out of the driver’s seat. The vehicle reeked of blood, but in my line of work, I was used to it.