Burning Ember Read Online Free PDF

trying to concentrate here.”
    Zane blushed harder, and Archer shrugged an if you say so.
    Trinity closed both eyes again and reached for the candle. She held her right hand over it until the smell of burning flesh permeated the room and then started chanting in a low voice that made the hairs on the nape of Archer’s neck stand up.
    “Burn begun, burn be gone. Burn begun now, be undone.” Her words flowed into each other, becoming a long string of syllables as she recited the chant repeatedly, her voice an eerie monotone.
    Archer heard a soft gasp, and his gaze locked onto Zane’s. The vampire had paled significantly, drops of sweat beaded his brow, and his sea-blue eyes started to take on the dark red glow of a vampire in blood lust. Archer could see that Zane was clenching his teeth together from the way Zane’s jaw muscles were bunching. A tremor started in Zane’s hand, and soon, he was shaking like a drug addict in detox.
    Trinity’s voice climbed an octave, her chant becoming more intense. Then the chant stopped, with startling abruptness.
    Trinity sucked in a deep breath, pausing for a moment before releasing it. Her eyes snapped open, and Archer could see flames dancing in her irises. She let go of Zane’s hand and stepped up to Archer, her hands reaching up to cup his cheeks. She looked deep into his eyes, and the dancing flames in her own eyes hypnotized Archer. He couldn’t draw his gaze from hers, no matter how much he struggled.
    “My will be done .” She emphasized the last word, and with it, Archer felt an almost painful rushing heat enter his body where her hands met his skin.
    He didn’t have time to examine the heat because Trinity stumbled back a step, and Archer’s first instinct was to reach for her and steady her. His big hand clasped around her upper arm as he helped her retain her balance.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “I’m fine. You should be asking the vampire instead. I had to steal way more juice than I thought I’d need.” She turned her head to look over at Zane.
    Archer followed Trinity’s gaze.
    The vampire stood motionless, his legs spread as if he was keeping his balance on the deck of a ship. He had bowed his head, and his left hand clasped his right wrist in a death grip. The veins in his right hand and forearm were black, and etched like a dark tattoo, in stark contrast to his paper pale skin. He looked up at the others, his glowing red eyes wide and panic-stricken. “What’s happening?”
    “You need to feed,” Trinity told him bluntly, “and it will take you ten times as much animal blood to make up for what I just burned out of your system.”
    Zane was shaking his head in denial. “I won’t drink from a human.”
    “Zane…” Archer was about to try to convince Zane that he didn’t have much choice.
    The vampire’s cheeks were sunken and he looked like he’d lost a lot of weight.
    “Oh, please, stop being such a whiner,” Trinity spat out, her expression belying the ferocity of her words.
    Archer saw the guilt etched in her features.
    “You can take from me.”
    Zane’s eyes widened in shock, and he paled even further.
    “No thank you,” his tone glacial. “I won’t drink from Eternals, either.”
    His words were emphatic. He pushed past Archer and down the passage, almost stumbling in his weakened state.
    “Where is he going?” Trinity asked Archer.
    Archer watched Zane lurch off and felt pity. Archer knew he had issues, but his were nothing compared to the mental demons Zane battled.
    “He’s gone to the tunnels. Just leave him. He’ll be okay.”
    “But what is wrong with my blood?” Trinity frowned putting her hands on her hips.
    It was obvious to Archer that she felt insulted at Zane’s flat-out refusal to drink her blood. An Eternal’s blood was, after all, far more potent and sought after than human blood.
    “It’s not personal, so don’t take it that way. How much do I owe you?” Archer walked into the horseshoe-shaped