Page 10 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“It’s an emergency,” I say.

He shakes his head in disbelief.

“And what manner of emergency has befallen the great Adina Barron?”

I hate when people use my last name. It’s a sign of the orphanage that raised me instead of my family. Cora once told me that before the war, humans had family names that they carried proudly. Now, only the noble vampires do. Just another thing they stripped us of.

“Watch your tone, Finn, don’t forget that I promised to cut your throat the day we met.”

He snorts, but then shifts on his feet when he catches my glare.

“You’re fucking scary, you know.”

“I so love it when you compliment me, Finnian.” He grimaces at the use of his full name, and I get great pleasure from watching him squirm. Now he knows how it feels.

And you say I’m the cruel one.

You are. At least I’m only teasing him; if it were up to you, he’d probably be dead already.

In my defense, he is a particularly annoying member of your species.

I laugh at Athriel’s words, causing Finn to look at me in surprise.

“Are you ok?” he asks.

“Fine.” I offer, since I can hardly admit that not only do I have magic running through my veins, but for some odd reason, it also has a voice.

He still thinks you’re crazy,Athriel says in that stupid sing-song voice of his.

And whose fault is that?

Athriel answers with a satisfied laugh.

Bastard.

I move away from the window and find myself admiring the long wooden shelves decorating every wall in the small rectangular space. They stretch so high that Finn has a ladder propped in the corner to reach the vials at the top. Opposite it is a small basin. He may annoy me, but there is no one I know in the whole of the Court of Shadows who can mix medicine the way he can—or brew the other things whispered about behind closed doors. Gods, there are vials everywhere: tall and thin, curved and squat, each glowing with more colors than I can name. But I’m hunting for only one.

“What exactly are you looking for?” He follows behind me like a bug.

“Something Ireallyneed.”

He hurries until he is standing in front of me, blocking my way. He places a hand against one of the shelves.

“When you say something youneed?” He looks at me suggestively, and I almost gag.

“Not that, Finn.”

I pluck a vial off a shelf, but put it back as soon as I see the blue tint of the liquid inside.Where the hell are you?I could justask him, but I already know what his answer will be after the amount I took the last time I visited, and I'm not in the mood for an argument.

He brushes a stray brown curl out of his eye, revealing a thin scar running straight through his light brown skin. It leaves a slit in his eyebrow that I once found attractive.

“Because it…erm…wasn’t good?” He stutters.

“Because you’re annoying.”

A smile breaks out on his face, and I roll my eyes.

“So, you did like it the—”