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I slammed the gate shut behind us and the lock latched in time for the male vampire with long white-blond hair to run into the metal. I cringed as Vale stumbled and went for his sword once again.

“No. Get inside.” I wheezed because though the vampires could break metal, they weren’t. The wards had set back in place already. “Get to the front door.”

Pain cutting through my legs and palms, we ran the rest of the way down the path, up the steps. The moment our blood touched the door, it opened.

I exhaled and rushed across the threshold, only to be stopped at sword point.

“Get that out of her face, Thantrel,” Vale growled.

“Sorry.” The blade disappeared. “I’m the only one up and heard the alarm when the gate opened.”

“But we’re allowed through it,” I said, confused.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t want to know when someone, even a trustworthy someone, arrives.” Another voice joined, and I peered past Thantrel to see Luccan pulling a robe over his naked chest as he came down the steps. “Vampires?”

“At the gate. Three of them,” Vale confirmed.

Luccan looked at Thantrel. “Up for a bit of archery practice?”

“Always. I’ll join you when I’m done.”

“Be quick. And wake Arie.” Luccan rolled his eyes. “Arie would sleep through a dragon landing on top of the house.”

“Arrows won’t kill them,” I said before Thantrel left. “Only stakes to the heart, decapitation, and lots of fire.”

Thantrel winked. “We have all sorts of arrows, beautiful. Trust that we’ve got it covered.”

I chose to believe them. After all, I’d killed a vampire with a small stake fashioned after a killing device from the human world. The Riis males could be equally inventive.

Thantrel left, and Luccan waved for us to follow him down the stairs. “To the sparring room. You have to go.”

He was right. Even if those vampires were dead, we had no idea how many more roamed the city. And they’d already proven they could enter the castle. Avaldenn wouldn’t be safe anytime soon.

Slower than I would have liked, Luccan led us downstairs. At the bottom, we found the sparring room, dark and cold.

Luccan waved his hands and the faelights in the corners blinked on, converging on the hidden gateway. “We will join you once we finish off the vampires and make sure no more have followed. You remember what to do?”

“Yes,” I assured him and held up a bloodied hand.

“The others will find you healing supplies when you arrive.”

“Others?”

“You’ll see. Go.” Luccan pointed to the portal. “My brothers and I will be right behind.” He ran back up the steps, leaving Vale and me alone.

“Ready?” my voice wavered. The portal wasn’t only an escape route, but a chance at the freedom I’d been grasping for so long. And yet, even though thingsbetween Vale and me could not be as I’d come to hope for, I was scared.

Once we walked through, once I made this first step to leave Avaldenn, I would truly leave behind the life I might have had. One with Vale. Maybe even in a messed-up way, the one I had been born to.

“Let’s go,” Vale said and, pushing aside my inner turmoil, we staggered to the portal and swiped our bloodied hands across the wall.

It shimmered, and a circle of light appeared and expanded until it was large enough for us to walk through. I peered inside, seeing nothing but smelling something familiar.

Snow lilies?

“Together?” Vale held out his hand.

“Together,” I replied, and we stepped into the light.