Page 28 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

As long as Amabel believes that she got scared at the last minute and came back into her room and spent the night there, then that’s all that matters. There’s no proof she was ever there, since we ensured the guards saw her before curfew. It should be fine—after all, there weren’t any witnesses left behind.And besides, Willow got the venom she needed—after another impromptu trip to Finn—so it was worth it. The web of veins has disappeared for now, but I fear that it won’t be long before they return.

The sudden bang against the double doors of the hall cuts my thoughts short. I find Tori bent over, gasping for air. I move over to her quickly, placing a hand on her back to calm her.

“What’s the matter?”

She looks up at me, her eyes filled with worry. She clearly ran all the way here.

“It’s the guy from last night…Julian, he’s the head of the Vancova Bloodhouse.”

Her words are like a blow to my gut, twisting my stomach in knots.

“That makes no sense.”

Humans chosen to run a bloodhouse are usually the head’s favorites—why would he risk all that just to kill a few vampires? And why in the seven courts would he want me to kill the crown prince?

“He was just in a meeting with Amabel,” she says, finally standing up straight. “She made me stay for the entire thing; otherwise, I would have come sooner. I would have warned you so that you could…”

Her words trail off, and I don’t know why, but fear grips my stomach like a fist. Something is off about this whole thing.

“Tori, what?”

Her eyes turn glassy as she looks at me.

“He just bought Willow. He’s taking her to the Vancova Bloodhouse.”

“Where is she?”

After Tori told me that Julian had bought Willow, everything was just a blur. I’m not even sure how I ended up in Amabel’s office. Amabel is conveniently nowhere to be found, and Julian is sitting in her office chair with his feet on the table like he owns the fucking place.

I hear Tori scramble in behind me just as I round the desk and slap his feet off it. He laughs as if I’m just some insect that barely even affects him.

“You might want to close the door,” he tells Tori. She does.

I grit my teeth at the smile on his face, and before I can even think about what I’m doing—or the fact that he’s a high-ranking human that could have me executed with one word—my dagger is pressed against his throat.

“And you wonder why I chose you for the job. You’re fearless.” He says the words with a twisted admiration that makes me want to rip out his tongue.

I press the blade deeper into his flesh, but he doesn’t even flinch, not even when a trickle of blood falls onto the crisp white collar of his shirt.

Stop wasting time and kill him.

Julian’s smile widens as he wags a finger at me.

“I wouldn’t listen to him if I were like you.”

“Stay the hell out of my head,” I hiss in his face.

“But it’s so beautifully wide open. If you want me to stay out, then you may need to rethink your accomplice.”

I don’t like him,Athriel spits.

“That is because you and I are just alike, my dear friend.”

Athriel growls, which only adds to Julian’s amusement.

“I don’t care about any of this. I want to know where Willow is?”

“Your sister is safe, and she will remain so unless you do somethingfoolish, of course.”