Page 18 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

She points at my own mask. Damn it, I almost forgot I’m dressed the same.

“Trust me, we are not doing the same thing,” I say. “I can’t believe you were on your way to one of Amabel’s blood orgies. I thought you knew better than to get mixed up in that.”

She lets out an incredulous laugh.

“It’s called abloodring,and how can you judge me when you’re clearly doing the same thing?”

The side of my temple pounds, and my blood heats as I think about my best friend in that dangerous place.

How am I supposed to explain this?

Oh, now you want my advice?

It was just a thought, Athriel. It’s what normal people do uninterrupted when they don’t have a voice permanently residing in their head.

Touché.

“Look, I know what this looks like, but it’s not what you think,” I say.

“So, you’re not heading to a secret location to take part in an illegal bloodring then?”

I pause for a beat too long.

“Just as I thought.” She huffs.

“Tori, I wish I could explain, but I can’t. Please just trust me when I say you don’t want to get mixed up in whatever Amabel’s got going on.”Or me, for that matter.

When I confronted Cora last night, she explained that Amabel has been charging sired vampires a cheap amount of coin to indulge in the blood of her finest Blackwood purebloods—blood they could never afford otherwise. She has been calling these events bloodrings. If the Blackwoods found out, she wouldn’t last the night, but that woman seems to have somehow earned the favor of the Gods despite them being nowhere to be found.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Do you have any idea what she’s offering in exchange for me attending one of these rings?” I say nothing. “A chance to move to Blackwood estate.”

Her words silence me. Moving to any estate promises a more glamorous life for a pureblood, but for most, that’s not the only appeal. Every year, each noble house selects a single pureblood from their estate to spend the rest of their days in the human settlement across the mountain. A place where vampires do not interfere. It might just be another trick to keep us in check by acting like we have something to gain, but it’s the closest thing a pureblood can get to freedom. The only other way is to wait until the potency in our blood withers, and we are sent there, but for most, it can take decades before becoming an oldblood. It’s an opportunity Cora gave up, and deep down, I know Willow and I had everything to do with her decision.

I step forward.

“I know how badly you want to get to the settlement. Gods, don’t we all? But doing things like this will get you killed before you even get the chance.”

“So, what am I supposed to do? Just dream of the day some high noble purchases me on a whim instead?” She snorts. I hate that she’s right.

“No…I just want you to be safe.” I hesitate for a moment. “I’m sorry that I attacked you, but I need you to pretend this never happened. I need you to go home.”

She laughs at this, but it lacks any real humor.

“So, you can what exactly? Do the same thing you’re stopping me from doing?”

“Something even more dangerous,” I admit. “Something I don’t want you involved in.”

She watches me for a long moment before her face softens.

“If what you’re doing is more dangerous than attending a bloodring, then I’m not leaving you alone, so we can either waste time talking about it or we can get going before they close the doors.”

“Gods, why do you have to be so stubborn?”

Her mouth finally curves into the mischievous smile I’m so used to.

“Would we even be friends if I weren’t?” She cocks her head and pins me with a look. “Besides, there’s a code word you need to give at the door, and I’m going to guess you don’t know it?”

“I was going to ask you.”