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One spotted us. “Prisoners escaping!”

The other guards turned to us at once and began to move towards us.

The vampire stepped in front of me, blocking me from their view.

“Stay out of the way,” he growled at me.

I had no delusions he was protecting me—only trying to make his battle easier. He’d hear no protests from me.

Then they collided. The clang of metal pierced the air. Even unarmed, the vampire made quick work of the king’s soldiers. He snapped one’s neck, same as Nelson. The next, he used as a shield while a third attacked. He tossed the body at the third, then moved to the fourth.

“He’s got a thrall!” another shouted, leveling his sword at me.

I didn’t know what a thrall was, but the guard charged at me, sword high.

I screamed.

The vampire slipped from his fight in an instant. The guard never reached me. The vampire threw the guard against the door so hard the metaldented.

The remaining two didn’t have a chance.

One, he killed with a dead guard’s sword. The next, the vampire slipped behind and bent the man’s neck sideways, killing him instantly. But he didn’t drop the body. He bent his mouth over the man’s neck and pressed against it.

I stood frozen, unable to look away.I unleashed a monster.

All the guards, dead. Because of me. Because of my choice.

He released the guard’s pale corpse a moment later, letting it slide to the floor and stepping over it like it was nothing but trash. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, smearing the remainder of the guard’s blood. His ruby eyes glowed even brighter when he leveled his gaze at me.

My knees shook.Was I next?

“W-we had a deal,” I stammered.

“Of course.” Despite the violence, the words were the same hypnotic lull he’d used before. “Now, to leave.”

The massive door stood before us, the floor slick with blood. I made myself ignore it and forced myself to believe that my heel nearly slipped in a puddle of water, nothing more. The vampire went to the door, testing the handles. It was locked, of course. I cursed. I hadn’t seen thismechanism before. My skeleton key would be useless. I’d need time to figure out—

Boom!

The vampire had thrown one of the fallen guards past my head straight through the door.

Chapter Five

The ruined doors collapsedwith a thud, and I stumbled out of Greymere.

The sound barely registered. I could scarcely breathe, tipping my head back to take in the sky.

The three moons glowed overhead, almost painfully bright after a decade of waning torchlight. How could the sun be brighter than this? My dreams had lost the vividness, the way you could see the light radiate from each of them. Phrygia, the dancing moon, was nearly full. Caria, the walking moon, and Lagina, the running moon, were scarcely slivers. The taste of the night air was soft on my tongue, like an embrace. It was just newly spring, then, but unseasonably warm.

Or maybe that was from the sweat that coated my back after our frantic run to escape.

Ourrun.

My shoulders stiffened. I’d been so lost in the sight of the three moons that I’d noticed little else. But the area around me hadn’t. The forest surrounding Greymere was eerily quiet. A great predator lay in their midst.

Right behind me.

I turned back to the vampire. I’d half-expected him to take off the moment he was out of the prison. There were no guards outside to stop us; no one ever tried toenterGreymere without invitation. His silver hair glinted in the moonlight. His red eyes were fixed on me, but for the first time, they lacked that raptorial glint.