Page 38 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

And I didn’t ask to be attached to a human with a permanent death wish, but alas, here we are.

“It’s not that high,” I tell her, and she looks at me as if my head just fell off my shoulders.

“That’s a matter of opinion. I cannot believe you just crawl up and down this thing every night like some kind of shadow squirrel.”

I press my lips together, desperately trying to keep the smile off my face.

“I don’t climb the wall every night, only when I need venom.”

She glances over the edge again and then hurries away from it, shaking out her hands as if she can somehow just brush away the fear.

“It’s not that bad once you start climbing. You just need to stop thinking about it.”

“Oh yeah, just stop thinking about it, I wish I’d thought of that.”

She cocks her head and watches me for a long, drawn-out moment.

Time is ticking by,Athriel warns.

“Probably not the best choice of words.” I sigh. “Look, if you really can’t do this, then we can go back inside and slip into bed and pretend this never happened. I would never ask this of you, Tori. I will find another way to help Willow.”

She looks up at the dark sky, where thick shadow clouds gather to block even a sliver of sunlight, casting the court in eternal darkness. Small speckles of starlight float within its folds, providing a gentle white glow that transforms into a golden hue during the day. The magic within the starlight is what gives us humans everything we lost when the sun was forever eclipsed.

Some days I lie on the roof, staring at the dark mass above, wishing for even a single gap to let sunlight through—enough to incinerate every vampire. Not that I’ve ever seen sunlight, but Cora says that some of the old books talk about its sheer beauty.

Anything that can kill a vampire is beautiful to me.

Thank you, Adina. I did not think you felt that way about me.

I roll my eyes at his amused tone.

“Ok.”

Tori drags me from my sea of thoughts, and when my eyes meet hers, I see a determination that wasn’t there before.

“You sure?” I ask, but she is already throwing her leg over the ledge. I hurry over, grabbing her arm to steady her.

“If I don’t do it now, it’ll give me time to change my mind, and this is about Willow. I can get over one little fear for her, can’t I?” She nods her head repeatedly as her eyes flash over the edge multiple times, and it’s obvious that she’s trying to convince herself far more than she is me.

“Yes,” I agree as the grip she now has on my arm tightens.

“Oh, Gods, don’t let me fall. I cannot believe I’m about to climb down the side of a thirty-foot building.”

I don’t let her know that it’s probably a good twenty feet taller than that.

“Are you telling me that even Cora climbs this thing to sneak out?”

I try not to laugh.

“She’s an oldblood, she doesn’t need to sneak out. She’s here by choice, remember. As long as she has a good enough reason, she can pretty much come and go as she sees fit if she’s not working.”

“I know that,” she hisses. “I just need to keep talking.”

I nod, trying to keep the amusement from my face. She finally peels her fingers from mine to wrap hers around the edge of the ledge.

“Ok, take your time and make sure you have a good grip before you start moving. And don’t look down.”

“Hold ledge. Tight grip. Don’t look down.” She nods. “Got it.”