Page 103 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

Athriel’s voice pulls me back from the imaginary cliff I was falling down, like a rope. I snap back into action, lifting my dagger and aiming behind me. I feel the moment it sinks into flesh, and a screech fills the library as I twist the blade. The sharp sting of teeth leaves my back, and I spin to find the creature looking up at me in a daze, the dagger going right through the top of its head.

“Why?” It speaks in confusion, its eyes filled with horror, but I don’t hesitate. I rip the blade from its head and then let the sharp edge separate its neck from its head. Blood squirts into my face, filling my mouth with an acrid taste. I fall backwards as I spit out the contents, and the true weight of my pain sinks in. My eyes flicker around the room, but only Eamon and Ajax are left standing. The creatures are all dead. Ajax races over and grabs hold of me just before I sink to the ground.

“Hey, Red, stay awake.”

I think I nod, but I’m not sure, as the world all seems to blur into one, but still I fight the pull of the darkness that tries to drag me under. Tears spill from my eyes at the realization that these are the things that have my sister.

“They have her,” I splutter, and Ajax’s face twists in confusion. The world starts to spin again, and I grab hold of his arm like it’s my lifeline. “They have Willow.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Where is she?” Karius’s voice thunders through the room, and I feel the heavy pull of his presence everywhere. I can feel his anger.How is that possible?

The sound of Piper gasping follows behind him, and I can only wonder what they are seeing. My head lulls, and my eyes threaten to close. Karius stands over me, and a strange emotion crosses his face. Is he worried? I shake my head. No, he just doesn’t want to die, that’s all. He needs me alive.

I look up as he bites into his own wrist before pressing it against my lips. The warmth of it fills me instantly, and my body responds as if it’s a part of it. I wrap my fingers around his wrist, drawing him closer, and he doesn’t complain. He watches me with concern as I take the last gulps before pulling away and gasping.

“It’s ok,” he soothes as I try to catch my breath. The light in the room seems to brighten, and everything becomes clearer. It takes a minute before I realize that the pain in my back has completely gone. I look down at the gash that was just on my arm, but the skin is as smooth as it was before the attack.

“Can you stand?” I realize then that he’s right there crouched beside me, his eyes scanning every inch of my face. I nod, and I feel the firm grip of his hand on my arm as he helps me up. I feel confused, but my body feels better than it did before the attack. I look up at him.

“Your blood…”

He nods.

“Healed you.”

It all becomes clear. That first day when I was brought up from the cell and he fed me his blood—it healed me, stitching me back together. And now, just like then, it knits me whole again, just as the book I was reading earlier said.

I’m momentarily distracted as his finger presses under my chin, bringing my eyes up to his.

“Are you ok?”

I nod again. “I’m ok.”

The tension in his shoulders seems to leave before he turns to face the others. Ivana and Kaia rush into the room, with Iza hot on their tail.

“What the fuck was that?” Kaia asks. “How the hell did they get into the castle?”

They all seem confused by the fact that the creatures were in here, but not that they exist. My eyes scan the severed heads and bodies that lie still on the ground. My mind is trying to put together the pieces that I feel are missing. In an instant, Cora’s words come back to me. The day she and Willow accused me of killing vampires.

“They’re what have been killing the vampires,” I say. All eyes fall on me, and Piper confirms it with a nod. I blow out a breath. When I saw Julian and his people fighting, I had worried what it would mean if something more powerful than vampires existed, but the thought was lost in everything that has happened since.

“What are they?” I press, but the room remains silent for a beat too long.

“It is not your concern,” Karius says.

“Fuck you!” Everyone in the room seems to be in a mix of shock and horror as the words slip from my mouth, but I don’t care. “I nearly died because you aren’t telling me what the hell ishappening. I didn’t just stumble across these things; they came for me while I was alone.”

“She’s right.” I’m surprised to find that Eamon is the one to speak up. “This was a planned attack. I think the others were just a distraction so that they could get to her.”

“The others?”

Ajax nods. “We were all attacked, but only by a couple, not this many.”

Great, now these things are trying to kill me, but if Julian controls them, then surely they know that he sent me to kill the prince unless…

“Oh, gods,” I say. I wipe my hand down my face in a panic as the realization sinks in. “He knows. He knows about the bond. He must do.”