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“Let me go!” I swung out my leg, only to have it captured. The guard who caught my foot twisted it, driving me back to the ground face down. Pain lanced my spine as the male drove his knee into my back, pinning me on my stomach. Both my arms were wrenched behind me, and I cried out.

As the bastards snapped enchanted manacles on my wrists, Ipeered down the street in the direction my captive had bolted. At an impressive pace, Custodis sprinted away. Not so weakened, after all. The vampire was clearly an apex predator in his prime.Gah!I was so stupid! Believing him injured. Unable to even seat a horse. Deceitful bastard.

Despite my rage, my lips curled.

Well played.

At the end of the narrow street, a mounted soldier in a gold cloak rode into view. Four others swathed in purple stood on either side of their captain.

Custodis skidded to a stop before them.

For a moment, both sides took each other’s measure. The four guards attacked in unison. The vampire attempted to bolt into another alley when a second team of men joined in, this one even larger than the first. Before Custodis could pivot, a shimmering net dropped out of the sky, the magic-infused webbing further weakening the vampire. In seconds, Custodis was face down on the ground with four guardsmen beating his immobilized body.

“Ha! Serves you right!” I belted out a laugh as the guards wrenched him up from the street. This had to be the most fun I’d ever had while being arrested. Sure, we’d kidnapped the deceitful vampire with the intention of selling him to Vex. But at least we hadn’t lied about it. Unlike Victor, we werehonest criminals.

Curious onlookers trickled out of the taverns, watching the show while Custodis’s guards walked him over to join me, their captain following behind. The horse’s clomping footsteps rang like a death knoll in the darkened alley.

From his lofty perch, the captain peered down at me, his face void of emotion. “Runa Starborn, illustrious leader of the Blood River Bandits. I’ve looked forward to meeting you. So has your king.”

“The pleasure is all yours.” Classy sorceress I was, I hacked a wad of spit in his direction.

“Charming,” the captain sneered, turning his attention to the vampire. “And who is this?”

“Victor Custodis, Clan Leader of the Eastern Territories, resident of the mortal world,” the pompous vampire answered, adding a half-bow for good measure. “At your service.”

At the captain’s arched brow, Custodis held up his manacled hands. “Apologies, good sir, but there seems to be some mistake. See, I was merely a captive and not a part of whatever mischief these bandits have been up to.”

“Is this true?” The captain turned to me.

Regardless of my dreadful circumstance, dancing flutterflies did joyful somersaults in my stomach. Oh, this was just too good. “Nope. He’s one of us. A new guy we hired to carry our bags and shovel our shit.”

The vampire glared daggers at me. The intensity of his anger seared my flesh.

I delighted in the burn.

“Very well.” The captain shrugged. “Tell it to the king.”

“Curse you, Runa,” Custodis snarled, his complaints drowned out by an approaching conveyance.

The royal paddy wagon rolled to a stop beside us. Emblazoned on its side was the false king’s insignia. It depicted Idris’s profile, golden bolts erupting from his skull—a symbol that did nothing to represent the kingdom’s people or its land. It was nothing short of obscene.

“Load them up, and let’s get underway. We’ve a long drive ahead of us,” the captain ordered.

The guard wrenched open the door, and my defiant heart fell. Both Kronk and Drazen waited inside.

Chapter Seven

RUNA

“Well, this is a fine mess,”Drazen huffed, slumping deeper onto the bench of the enclosed wagon. Custodis sat beside him, with Kronk resting next to me. While the vampire was still in his original manacles, the rest of us had our hands cuffed behind our backs. Like the leech’s restraints, ours were crafted from enchanted metal that suppressed magic, making them unbreakable, even for Kronk.

“Flark Vex and his vile deception,” I cursed. “We do not have time for another delay. White Bridge only has nine spans remaining before collection day.”

“Yeah,” Drazen agreed. “And I doubt our little visit to the dungeons will cause the collectors to cut them some slack.”

I stared out the bar-covered window, fighting the molten wave of panic that threatened to destroy me. We were on our way to the false king. Tohim. I hadn’t seen the false king since he’d destroyed my family and village. The horrifying stench of burning flesh and terror filled my senses. An image of my sister took shape in my mind. Her lilac eyes were wild as she turned tome, her sweaty hand in mine, the portal at our backs. My mother lay next to us, blood spreading across her chest. Her pale lips parted, revealing her final words, “Runa, don’t let go.” While she’d made the ultimate sacrifice to save us, I had failed in my duty to her. To the kingdom.

“I do not understand,” Kronk said, drawing my thoughts out of the past, forcing me to face the impending doom headed our way. “Yaga consulted the fates.”