Kongar (Kutay)
A few hours earlier…
The four marks my nails had left on Kayra's skin had all scabbed over. The wound I had made to take her heart… I had done everything for that heart. My one and only heart.
"Did you do this to her, you bastard?" Arkan shouted.
I did this to my master.
I don't have a master! You're nothing but a part of the name magic. Get out of my head!
Damn Targen. He was the one who put you in my head.
I clenched my fists in anger. Then I looked at Kayra. She was looking at me with concern.
Did she care about me?
Why?
My master cares about me.
No.
She has Arkan. A fated mate.
She's my fated mate, too.
I broke her heart.
My master will forgive me.
I don't think so.
I turned away as black smoke surrounded me.
And I left.
When I appeared in the pack's courtyard, I started walking toward the trees, muttering to myself.
"She can't be my fated mate."
But she is.
"That's ridiculous," I said. Kayra already had a mate. It was impossible to have more than one fated mate.
"I only need to take the heart."
My master's heart.
No. Mine.
I belong to my master.
"I'm Kutay. Immortal Kutay," I said as I swung my fist at the tree in front of me. But I stopped before my fist could hit it. I didn't want to draw the other wolves here.
"I won't lose to fate. I'm Kutay."
No. My name is Kongar. My master chose this name.
Suddenly, my heart ached.
"Kayra," I whispered.
I noticed a glint among the bushes as I was about to head toward Kayra. When I reached the light, I saw Targen and Sarya.
Sarya was supposed to open the chest, but she hadn't. And now, was she trying to trap me in that cursed sphere?
I couldn't let that happen. Targen had already ruined my plan enough. I wasn't going to deal with Sarya on top of that.
"Sis, hurry—"
He couldn't finish his sentence when I grabbed Targen by the throat.
"Targen, what are you doing here?" I asked sharply.
His eyes widened with fear and surprise.
He should be afraid.
Before he could answer, I hurled him toward a tree.
As Sarya continued chanting those cursed words, I felt my soul being pulled toward the sphere.
"Sarya, shut up!" I shouted as I lunged toward the sphere.
Break it.
I'll tear it to pieces.
No one can separate me from my master!
No one can imprison me!
When I reached toward the sphere, I managed to create a crack in it.
Break.
But the sphere suddenly began pulling my soul inside. The crack I had just created was pulling me in with tremendous force. I guess I had accelerated the magic by creating that crack.
"Sarya, don't do this—"
Damn it!
Before I could finish, the cursed sphere pulled me completely inside. I lunged toward the crack, trying to get out of the sphere, but I had no idea how long it would take me to escape.
For a while, I had to listen to those two idiots coming up with theories about me. Strangely enough, my consciousness was still intact. Maybe it was because of the heart bond I had with Kayra. Or the name magic. Maybe both. I couldn't be sure.
But I was glad I was still conscious.
"Vampires!"
I snapped to attention when one of the wolves shouted.
Had the vampires arrived?
I tensed even more when I heard a loud roar followed by the sound of shattering glass.
"Hurry, Targen," Sarya said quietly. "We need to get out of here now."
Master!
I had to get out of here. But how?
Arkan would protect Kayra… right? Of course he would. She was his fated mate. Their souls were bound together, too. That fluffball had no other choice.
"Aren't we going to help?" Targen asked.
"This isn't our war," Sarya said. "If we get involved, we'll drag the witches into this war too."
Smart woman.
"Leave that body behind, too," she continued. "It's slowing us down."
Don't leave my body, I shouted, but of course, no one could hear me. They hid my new body among the bushes and ran away.
---
Ever since we left the Crescent Pack, I had been trying to get out of this cursed sphere, but I still hadn't managed to break it.
Was Kayra okay?
Sarya came over to the table and picked up the sphere.
"How much longer do you think this crack can hold?"
"I'm not sure, Sis," Targen replied.
How would Targen know? He only knew what he was told to do. Sarya should have known her brother better. Then again, she didn't even know whether her own feelings were real.
"Do you think you can make him talk?" Targen continued.
It would be nice if she could.
Sarya turned the sphere around in her hand.
"Not without a body," she said. "If there is a way, I don't know it."
Ah!
My heart!
Something had happened to my heart.
"Abla!" Targen shouted.
"What happened?"
"Look," Targen said.
"I can't believe it," Sarya said. "Is the soul turning white?"
No.
No.
"Why?"
"I don't know, but it looks like the dark magic is breaking," Sarya said.
"Did something happen to Luna Kayra?" Targen asked.
My heart… My heart had stopped beating. That cursed voice had disappeared, too.
No… My heart.
I couldn't hear the siblings' voices anymore.
I couldn't die. I couldn't lose my heart, my immortality.
I couldn't go to the land of the dead!
My soul began slamming against the sphere like crazy. It kept hitting the crack in particular. The land of the dead must have been pulling my soul toward it.
Could the sphere withstand that pull?
I shouldn't have cracked the sphere.
What was going to happen now? Was I going to leave Kayra… my heart here?
The sphere suddenly shattered.
No.
Kayra…
Would I never see her again? Why did I even care? Whether she was my fated mate or not, all I wanted was immortality… right?
Sarya and Targen were shouting at each other, but I couldn't hear them. As my soul moved toward the window, one of the siblings must have cast a barrier spell, because my soul collided with something invisible.
Was all of this for nothing? Was this how I was going to die?
As my vision slowly faded, one image appeared in my mind…
Kayra.
.
.
.
Thump.
What was that?
Thump.
My heart.
Thump.
It was beating again!
How?
What was happening to Kayra?
Was that damned Lycan still alive? I hope he was dead. Then Kayra would be mine alone—
My heart would beat only for me.
"Sis, it's dark again!"
I could hear them again, too.
"Did that girl's heart start beating again?" Sarya asked.
I had to get out of here.
I must go to my master.
You came too? I didn't miss you at all.
Suddenly, I heard Kayra's command in my mind. For some reason, I liked the way she gave orders. Especially her scent…
Don't be ridiculous. Think about the heart. Only the heart.
My master smells good. Especially those soft lips.
My mate.
What about immortality?
My mind was a complete mess. What mattered to me: immortality or Kayra?
Kayra.
I would think about that later. For now, I had to merge with the name magic in my mind. Maybe that way, Kayra's command would become even stronger and pull me toward her.
Yes.
Don't get too excited.
I was really losing my mind. Now I was arguing with the version of myself controlled by the name magic. I had to find a way to free myself from this magic as soon as possible.
Listen to me carefully. I'll always be in control. You just follow Kayra's call.
Kayra.
Yes, Kayra.
Once I merged with the name magic, Kayra's call spread throughout my entire soul. Then I felt a powerful pull, and I suddenly broke through the barrier and was pulled toward Kayra.
---
Kayra
Now…
The smoke… The smoke had entered my body!
"Kayra."
My mouth had moved on its own. What was happening to me?
"Kayra, it's me. Kongar."
My mouth moved on its own again. I could hear my own voice, but I wasn't the one speaking. I was seriously losing my mind.
"Calm down, Kayra."
My heart began racing with fear. As if becoming a vampire wasn't enough, my illness was getting worse, too.
"You're not sick."
Yeah. Sure, sure.
My body suddenly started moving and ran toward the mirror. Luckily, it stopped at the last second, keeping me from crashing into the mirror.
Now my body was moving on its own, too.
Terrifying.
"Don't be afraid. It's me. Kongar."
That was even more terrifying.
"You're breaking my heart."
Kongar doesn't have a heart.
My hand moved on its own and came to rest over my heart.
"It's our heart."
It really had to be Kongar. I could tell from the way he claimed my heart as his.
Calm down, Kayra. Kongar had returned. I could escape from here.
"What happened to you?"
What didn't happen to me?
"Did you become a vampire?"
Yes, unfortunately.
"Red lips look good on you."
My heart skipped a beat at the words Kongar spoke through my mouth. Then I felt a smile spread across my face.
Why did you enter my body? I asked.
"To talk to you."
I didn't understand. And where have you been?
"Did you miss me that much?"
I could see his grin on my face in the mirror. He was practically using my body as if it were his own. That was when I noticed my eyes glowing yellow. My body had darkened, too.
Where have you been? I repeated my question. It felt so strange talking while looking at my reflection in the mirror.
"Sarya trapped me in the sphere. She left my body hidden among the bushes."
Sarya?
"The witch siblings."
Your creator, Targen.
"He's not my creator or anything. He was more like my assistant."
He sounded angry.
I understand, I said in my mind.
"Who turned you into a vampire?"
Valen.
"Valen? The Vampire King?"
Yes.
"Why?"
I wonder, too.
When there was a knock at the door, my body turned toward it. Then Valen walked in.
"Who are you?"
My mouth had moved on its own again.
"I don't understand, Kayra," Valen said.
"Are you Valen?"
Kongar was practically giving himself away.
Don't give yourself away, I said.
"It's fine. He can't do anything to me."
Valen stared at me in surprise. He frowned, grabbed my chin, and lifted my head. Then he looked into my eyes.
"Your eyes," he said. "What happened to your eyes?"
He had noticed it, too.
"What? You don't like them?" Kongar asked, using my mouth.
Valen tightened his grip on my chin.
Kongar used my hand to pull my chin free from Valen's grip.
"Don't touch my Kayra!"
My Kayra?
Valen's jaw tightened.
"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was deeper than I had ever heard it.
"What's it to you?" Kongar said, and suddenly, black smoke began to surround me.
Valen started swatting at the smoke around him with his hands, as if trying to disperse it.
"Let Kayra go!" Valen commanded. "You wicked thing."
Kongar's sinister grin spread across my face.
"No, I won't," Kongar said.
Valen looked at me in fear. I had never seen that in his eyes before.
Was he afraid for me?
Don't be ridiculous. Why would he be afraid for me?
Then Kongar raised my hand and made me wave at Valen.
"See you," Kongar said.
And the smoke completely surrounded me.