Page 145 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“And that makes what you’re doing now ok? The humans alive today didn’t betray your crown. They are gone, but you’re still punishing us for their sins. When does it end? How many innocent lives must be sacrificed before you realize that nobody wins this way? The impure poisoned the minds of the humans, and it nearly destroyed both our people. Are you really so hateful that you would allow it to happen again?”

She sneers at me but doesn’t say a word.

“She’s right,” Ajax says as he leans his head against the wall. “This is a vicious cycle, and if somebody doesn’t break it, then the impures are going to destroy us all.”

Before anybody can say a thing, the door slams open. I sit up straight, preparing for anything. Finn’s father comes into view, and behind him are two muscular men, their eyes alight with venom. The hate in the room is palpable.

“Good, you’re all awake,” he says, rubbing his chubby fingers together.

Kaia fights against her chains again, but this only causes him to laugh.

“You’re a feisty one, ain’t ya?”

“Take off the shackles and find out,” she spits.

This seems to amuse him even more.

“Even without your powers and strength, you still think that you’re at the top of the food chain, don’t you?” He shakes his head. “Pathetic.”

“Come over here and say that to my face.” Her words are a low growl.

One of the men stalks over to her, slamming the heel of his foot into her stomach.

“Get your fucking hands off her!” Ajax fights against his own restraints as he spits profanities at the man. I’ve never seen him as angry as he is now, but I understand. I feel it too.

The other guard pounds over to Ajax, gripping his face in his hand, squeezing it so hard that he winces in pain.

“And what the fuck are you gonna do about it? Maybe we’ll have our way with her, fuck her like you filthy bloodsuckers do our women.”

My back stiffens at the threat, my eyes falling to Kaia, who for the first time shows genuine terror. The other guy grabs her hair, pulling her from the ground to trail his thick tongue up the side of her face.

“Wouldn’t mind me some vampire pussy, heard it’s some of the best.”

The two of them laugh, but something in Kaia’s eyes gives way to her fear. Her usual fight is gone, and Ajax seems feral beside her.

“Are you so pathetic that you can only get a woman if you force her? I mean, you’re ugly, but a good personality can get someone a half-decent fuck,” I taunt.

The man turns his attention to me, dropping Kaia to the ground as his anger twists his features into a mask of rage. He strides over to where I’m still shackled and wraps a hand around my throat.

“Watch that pretty mouth, darling, or I’ll fuck that too.”

His hold around my throat tightens, but I keep my eyes on him in a challenge. I clench my fists to hide the shaking of my hands as the smell of stale liquor assaults my nose. Greasy hair sticks to his forehead, and he’s so close I can see the thin sheen of sweat that sticks to his olive skin.

“Lance,” Finn’s father warns. “We need them alive, remember.”

Lance sneers in my face before slamming my head against the wall and returning to stand next to Finn’s father.

A ringing sounds in the back of my head, and I have to squeeze my eyes shut for a moment to silence it. The fuzziness finally clears enough for me to look up at the men. I notice Ajax’s eyes burning into me and relief settling in his chest as I nod at him, letting him know that I’m ok. He grits his teeth, turning his attention back to the men.

“What do you want from us?” he asks, and Finn’s father’s mouth turns up into a calculated smile.

“The only thing I ever want from a bunch of bloodsuckers. Your fangs.”

Ajax’s face turns ashen, and it sends a chill running up my spine.

“Start with the pretty one in the corner. She’s given us the least problems,” he tells one of his men.

One of them approaches Piper, and she cries out, the horror clear on her face as he gets closer. Ajax and Kaia spit obscenities in his direction, but it only seems to goad him more. He seizes her, slamming her to the floor and pinning her with a knee to her chest. Her cry of horror echoes as he drags a blade across his wrist and presses it to her mouth. She thrashes her head side to side, but whatever that bastard dosed her with has sapped her strength, leaving her no match for him.