Arosh snarled, “You madman.”

Ziri landed beside him, and Makeda saw him draw in a deep breath. “What have you done? It is everywhere. Did you infect them all?”

The volcano shot out a plume of smoke, drawing Makeda’s eyes away from the four seated figures and up to the top of the mountain. She looked at the glaring woman. Though she didn’t move, waves of heat spread through the room.

Arosh stepped forward, raised his hand, and Eris’s head shot back at a painful angle as she dodged the spear of flame that came from his palm.

The heat died down as Kato raised his hands and a cool mist settled over the growing crowd.

Carwyn moved in front of Makeda.

“They wanted… to die…” Laskaris wheezed. “…with their gods.”

Saba turned, her expression a frightening combination of agony and disgust.

“They’re all infected,” Carwyn said, drawing Makeda and Kiraz behind him and backing away from the goblet-bearing vampires who surrounded them. “He’s infected them all with Elixir.”

Kiraz said, “These poor creatures!”

Makeda wasn’t only seeing the dozens of immortals who stood around her, she was seeing the humans who must have been infected to feed them. Sacrificial lambs on the altar of a madman.

“This cannot be forgiven.” Kato’s hand rose, his palm out, and Laskaris jerked forward in his seat. At his movement, the other council members stood. They moved so quickly it was as if statues had come to life.

Saba stepped forward to stand at Kato’s side.

“Enough,” she said, glaring at the council. “And to think others urged mercy in the face of your madness.”

Laskaris continued to laugh and laugh. Dread curled in Makeda’s belly.

“Wait!” Makeda yelled, turning to shout at the vampires surrounding them. “Abandon your council! Surrender to Saba! She can heal you. We found a cure! We can heal—”

“Enough!” Saba’s hands rose and the floor buckled beneath her, the earth rose up, and water shot through the stone. Laskaris gave a frightening roar before the pillars rocked and everyone in the hall started screaming.

Lucien saw the smoke and fire before he heard the screams. Tenzin flew over the harbor and dropped him in the water. As he fell, he surveyed the scene before him. Wind vampires from the cliffs took to the sky behind him. Water vampires jumped into the sea and fled. Those belonging to earth ran haphazardly toward the temple or toward the few boats docked in the harbor. Lucien swam toward the shore and came out of the water running.

He had to find her. Had to get her away from the destruction that would soon rain down. The ancients were at war, and the people of Alitea were fleeing. He could feel his mother’s amnis in the ground beneath his feet.

Saba was holding Alitea in her grasp.

“Makeda!”

The volcano that had formed the fortress island so many millennia ago pulsed with a low rumble. Then a sound like a cannon echoed against the seawalls as an eruption shot ash and pumice into the air. He could see fire streaking up the side of the volcano and knew Eris and Arosh had come face-to-face.

Baojia ran to him, water dripping from his hair, his eyes wide in horror. “My God, it’s Atlantis falling into the sea.”

“Where do you think they got the idea in the first place?” Lucien yelled over the crash of tumbling marble. “You think this is the first time this has happened?”

Baojia’s eyes went wide, but Lucien knew where the chaos centered. He ran toward the council’s temple, fighting through the crowds of vampires who were fleeing the battle. The sickly-sweet smell was everywhere. He could sense Makeda’s panic. He felt the gusty wind overhead and knew Ziri and Jason were battling in the skies. Whether Tenzin had stuck around to join the fight was anyone’s guess.

Baojia ran after him. “Where are we going?”

“Follow me!” Lucien yelled over an explosion that nearly knocked him down. The dark sea was churning and splashing in the harbor, waves crashing up the marble pathways and upending statuary as the water crawled toward the two ancient water vampires. Lucien trudged through a foot of water, heading toward the main hall, Baojia following him, immortals streaking out of the temple just as the burning timbers of the roof cracked.

“No!” He ran and placed his hands at the steps, forcing his energy into the stones as the massive blocks holding up the ceiling started to shake. Baojia steadied him, holding back the waves threatening to crash over his legs and swamp him. He could feel another immortal’s amnis joining his to hold back the falling rocks. “Makeda!”

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Makeda wanted to run, but Carwyn had told her to stay with him at all times, and he was holding up the building. Saba’s amnis split the earth in two, rocking the foundation of the temple and bringing small pillars tumbling down around them. She saw vampires crushed under the falling marble. Others fell into giant crevices that opened beneath their feet.

This was no battle. This was destruction on a scale Makeda had never seen.

“Hold back the water!” Carwyn yelled.

Makeda turned and saw a wave of water heading toward them along with three helmeted guards with swords drawn. It wasn’t graceful, but she fell to her knees and shoved the water back, jolting the soldiers off their feet and hopefully helping to keep Carwyn stable. Other guards she could see in the shadows and flickering fire, their swords drawn against the screaming population of Alitean vampires. The vampires who had worshipped the elders were cut down if they tried to run. Their blood washed into the churning currents flooding the streets, turning the white marble pink with the blood of immortals.