Page 148 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“You must be a fool to think that I’m going to help you aid a group of bloodsuckers. I’d sooner die.”

I lift my blade to his throat, pressing just enough to allow a line of blood to appear. He winces and then holds up his hands in the air.

“Careful what you wish for,” I tell him.

“Ok, ok, let’s all just calm down. I can take you to it, just get that blade away from my throat.”

“No, you show us where it is, and after we get out safely, I will let you go.”

He grunts, but I leave no room for negotiation. I feel the press of Karius’s power returning, the tingle of it caressing my flesh. I also feel a mixture of something else. Panic? Anger? Fear? It blends together in a way that makes it difficult to understand, but I know for sure that it belongs to Karius. He said that we can feel each other’s intentions, and if I’m right, his are to tear down this entire realm.

“We need to hurry,” I say to the others, and Kaia nods at me knowingly.

“Show us whe—”

A high-pitched scream fills the air, cutting Finn’s words dead, and all our eyes fall to the door. I increase the pressure of the blade against his throat.

“What was that?” I growl at him, my voice not even sounding like my own.

He shakes his head frantically.

“I don’t know. I swear it.”

Finn’s eyes scan his father’s face, and then he lifts them to meet my gaze.

“He’s telling the truth,” he says. And the words bring me no comfort. If he didn’t set anything up, then what the hell was that?

“Maybe it’s Karius,” Piper whispers, the joy gone from her voice.

“I would feel him if he were this close.” She lifts her eyes to mine but looks away the second that they connect, and it hurts more than I expect.

“You can do that?” Ajax asks in surprise.

I shrug. “Sort of.”

Another scream tears through the air, this one sounding like a man’s, followed by a deep growl that echoes across the space. I’ve heard that sound before—and it makes my blood run cold.

“Impures,” Kaia says first.

Panic clutches my chest in a vice that feels crushing as I take in the new reality of our situation.

“That means they know we’re here. They’ve come for you,” Ajax says, and in that moment, whatever negative feelings they all have toward me disappear as we focus on the bigger threat. My gaze lifts to theirs.

“Are any of your powers back?” I ask, my eyes flickering between them.

The chorus of shaking heads feels like a slap in the face.

“Yours?” Kaia asks.

“It’s starting to. I can feel it, but I’m not at full strength. It won’t be enough.”

Panic fills her face, and I grab hold of Finn’s father’s collar, spinning him to face me.

“What did you give us?”

His eyes widen at the rage in my eyes.

“A dampener. It lessens the effects of a vampire’s abilities.”