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Silently, I thanked him. It was his way of telling me he was watching.

Vesna began to sing, her voice pure and icy, quieting the crowd. I closed my eyes and listened, letting her words caress my skin, coaxing chills, making me shiver deep in my bones. As she reached the climax of her song, I heard the unmistakable sound of galloping hooves.

I opened my eyes and stood, moving to the edge of the crowd. Vesna had ceased to sing, and the villagers were distracted as Adrian came into view atop Shadow, slowing to a trot and then halting altogether.

“My queen,” he said, and while he did not speak the words aloud, I knew what he asked with his eyes.What did I say about being outside past nightfall?

“My king,” I said. “We were just listening to Vesna sing. Will you join us?”

Adrian studied me for a moment, the corner of his mouth lifting. Then he dismounted and came to me, placing his hands on either side of my face as he kissed me.

When he drew away, we turned toward the crowd. They had all knelt.

“Rise,” Adrian said. “Vesna, please, continue.”

Her voice rose once more, and a shiver trailed down my spine, but this time, it had nothing to do with her singing. Adrian leaned in, his breath hot on my ear as he spoke.

“I shall very much enjoy teaching you how to obey me later,” he said, his tongue teasing the shell of my ear.

“You may try all you like,” I replied.

He was blatant in his affection, dropping his mouth to the crook of my neck, where he kissed and nipped at my skin.

“Adrian.” I whispered his name fiercely. It was more a reprimand than encouragement, but a dreadful scream tore us apart.

Sixteen

Isolde

The sound sent my heart racing, and I looked toward Killian as he rose to his feet and came to my side. Violeta and Vesna also huddled close. Half the crowd was distressed, voices rising in fear. The other half looked on, curious, as we tried to locate the source of the screaming and the reason.

There was another wail, and then someone shouted.

“It’s the blood plague! The blood plague has come to Cel Ceredi!”

No longer curious, the crowd began to disperse. Some were frantic to retreat indoors, while others tried to get a closer look at what was happening. Adrian and I pushed through the chaos to find a woman bent over a man who lay on his back in the snow.

“Please! I beg you,” she moaned, rocking back and forth. “Someone help me take him to the king!”

“What has happened?” Adrian asked. He stepped forward despite how hard I held him. If this was the blood plague, we did not know enough about how it spread to take chances.

It had killed two vampires, and yet Adrian still approached.

“My king! My king, please help! My husband is ill!”

Even as she spoke, the man on the ground before her began to convulse and blood leaked from his eyes, nose, and mouth. The woman shrieked, her shaking hands hovering over his body, as if she wanted to touch him but was too afraid.

Then he stopped moving altogether, and I looked on in horror as she began to scream his name. It seemed like the villagers drew nearer too.

“Efram?” she called, distressed and desperate. “Efram? No, please! Please wake up.”

She took the hem of her dress and began to dab at the blood on his face. Killian approached, dragging her away from the corpse, and sat, holding her in his arms on the cold ground.

Though I admired his impulse to comfort her, I worried that he may become infected.

“Perhaps I can help,” Solaris said, coming forward.

“He’s dead,” Adrian said. “You’re too late.”