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Evelyn spun toward him, that stoic indifference setting her jaw and pursing her lips, but she said nothing. They both knew they didn’t have time.

“Pennington Avenue, near the print shop—”

“Riven!”

Tovi pushed them and ran out of the Runaway Radish and straight into the storm. Evelyn followed her, shouting her name over the thunder. Kade didn’t think. He moved.An instinct, deeper than his protector duty, drove him forward.

“Saige!” he called. Wind pushed back his hair and rain pelted his face.

In the lamplight streets, he made out Evelyn’s cloak tangling in the wind behind her. Tovi ran. Fast. Her snowy white hair beaming under the lamplights.

“Riven!” she called again, fear raw and raspy in her cry.

“Tovi, wait!” Evelyn pulled her shrunken staff out of her bun. Obsidian hair cascaded down her back as she extended her staff to its full size.

Two blocks from the Runaway Radish, Kade caught up to Evelyn and then to Tovi.

“It is too dangerous to run around the streets with a vampyr loose!” Kade said.

But Tovi either didn’t hear or didn’t care. It was as if she’d fallen into another world. Frantic, breathless, she ran relentlessly through the rain, wind, and storm. And Kade and Evelyn followed.

One by one they halted and skidded at the corner of an intersection, the brick street blending into cobblestones. Thunder boomed over the town. The Sapphire Sea, angry and wild, howled like a beast, and citrus wafted with the salt of the wind.

Vampyr.

Kade hadn’t detected it once while in Callum, one of the reasons he’d wondered if the killer was actually a vampyr. But the sharp scent meant only one thing.

Enemy.

It was the scent of death laid in the villages of Sorin’s plains and Vadon’s mountains. The stench at the edge of the Void. Kade never failed to detect it. Even in his nightmares, the scent remained, coloring the moment of his mother’s death and the attacks on his people. His werewolf itched and fought to be released. To defend. His hackles rose even further.

Stars above. He gripped his sword as the scene down the street became clearer.

“Riven!” Tovi’s scream rang out with a clash of thunder.

A man with the same white hair as Tovi’s turned his attention away from the raging beast gripping his chest. It unleashed a screech, regaining the man’s attention. Eyes wide and frantic, the man held the bloodthirsty vampyr at arm’s length.

“Tovi, stand back!” Evelyn yelled.

This time, Evelyn’s commanding tone gained Tovi’s attention, bringing her to a skidding halt. Evelyn slammed her staff into the cobblestone, a ricochet of magic blasting from the dragon bone. The force knocked the vampyr and the other man apart. Tovi rushed to the man, helping him to his feet. Her brother? The close likeness suggested so.

The vampyr rose, its movements jerky and stiff, too fast and too strong for its own good. Was it a scáth? It turned. Black hair and black eyes in pools of red, rimmed with black spidery veins. It wore tattered velvet pants and a tunic flapped in the wind, exposing sickly pale skin underneath.Its horrific stare fell onto Evelyn.

Kade buzzed with anticipation, raising his sword. The vampyr remained focused on Evelyn. Madness, hunger, and darkness swam in its stare. It held out its arms, flaring its clawed hands. The dark magic stained fingertip to elbow, as if it had dipped its arm into black ink. It bared its razor teeth, two fangs bulging over its bottom lip.

It let out an ear-piercing shriek, dwarfing the sounds of the storm. As it charged, Evelyn thrust out her staff, magic blasting across the street and knocking the vampyr down. It rolled, twitched, and staggered to its feet. It hissed like a wild animal, head turning and tilting to assess Tovi, who held Riven to her. Both appeared stricken, anguish furrowing their brows as the vampyr advanced toward them.

Kade approached from behind and swung his blade, the metal slicing up the vampyr’s back. It screeched again, the sound deafening against the brick buildings. It whirled and wobbled, its speed volatile and jerky. Swinging its arms, the vampyr attacked.

Evelyn appeared to Kade’s right. The two fought back. Kade swung his blade, and Evelyn used her staff. The vampyr’s talons were strong like metal, catching Kade’s swings hit by hit until it caught the sword in one go, tearing it from Kade’s grip.

The blade clattered to the cobblestones, skidding out of reach. Kade wavered. Three steps and a dash away, but that left Evelyn alone with the vampyr. But if he slayed the vampyr, he’d follow his duty and in doing so, protect Evelyn. If he killed it, the murders would end, and he’d come clean to Evelyn. He’d be able to return home. With her. Fulfill their duties.

Kade lunged for his sword, turning his back to Evelyn and the monster for only a moment.

Long enough, though. Evelyn cried out, the sound ripping the air. Kade turned fast, but he was too late. The vampyr had slashed at Evelyn’s shoulder, slicing through her tunic. Blood dripped off its talons.

“No!” Riven yelled, pushing out of his sister’s grip.