Page 40 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

Tori finally opens her eyes and manages a nod. And then we remain silent as we move down the side of the wall as fast as we can.

The musty scent of mildew hangs in the air as we near the abandoned building. Its tall structure stretches so high I have to crane my neck back just to see the jagged outline of the crumbling roof. We dare not make a sound, still too afraid of alerting any guards to our location. My footsteps falter for a moment as the flicker of a shadow appears behind one of the building’s weathered pillars until the wind carries a soft whistle through the air.

“It’s them,” I whisper to Tori, remembering what Cora had said when we discussed tonight’s plan.

Our footsteps quicken, and I suck in a breath as my eyes scan the moss-covered walls that hide the cracks in what was once a beautiful temple. History books say there were once hundreds of them, but after the gods disappeared, holy places became littlemore than relics of the past. There are still a few left that the remaining acolytes use to worship, but there aren’t many.

“You’re late,” Cora says as we duck behind the pillar. Her eyes dart over my shoulder, scanning the darkness, but my attention falls to the cloaked figure standing beside her, their face tucked safely beneath the cover of a hood. I can’t help but study the way they shift their weight from side to side, the movement oddly familiar.

“What took you so long?” Cora asks.

“I’m sorry, we got delayed,” I say without taking my eyes off the stranger.

She dips her head in understanding. The figure next to her removes their hood, and I let out an exasperated breath.

“Cora, please tell meheis not your contact?”

A cocky smile fills his face, and my fist twitches beside me, desperate to punch the stupid grin off his face.

“I can be very useful when you put me to work, Adina. Cora here knows that.”

Cora looks between the two of us.

“You know each other?” she asks.

“Unfortunately, yes. Finn is mycontact,too,” I tell her.

Her eyes widen for a brief second as she puts together the puzzle pieces, then she masks her expression with practiced indifference.

“Your name is Finn?” she asks.

“That would be correct.”

She glowers at him. “You told me it was Jonathon.”

He holds up his hands in the air. “Technically, not a complete lie. It’s actually my middle name. I know that’s a foreign concept to you purebloods.”

I hate to admit it, but he’s right. The only name we’re given is the one assigned to us at birth, along with the name of the orphanage we grew up in. I was named after the BarronInstitute, like all purebloods raised there. We’re never given anything as personal as a middle name. That’s reserved for the non-potent humans who remain with their families from birth and pay back the favor with a life of labor. And when a sired vampire dies, it’s those humans who are snatched from their families and taken to replace them. I try not to think about how many have met that fate because of the vampires I’ve killed. Instead, I shift my anger to Finn.

“You’re so full of it. Your name’s probably not even Finn,” I say. He bites his lip to hide his amusement.

Cora narrows her eyes at him, but then sucks in a breath and turns to face me.

“Look, we don’t have time for this,” she says. “Irritating as the boy is, he’s the only one trusted enough to receive the locations of the pickups.”

I roll my eyes. The fact that anyone trusts Finn at all is ridiculous. Not only does he have a secret business of venom-filled medicines, but he also mixes the kind of things that can turn a person invisible, not to mention whatever he has going on with Julian, and now this, too. He’s not the kind of man you trust.

We should have exterminated the vermin when we had the chance,Athriel grunts.

We really should have.

“Is anything you do legal?” I ask him.

Finn laughs at this. “Yes, the apothecary where I mix medicine, it’s not just there to hide my nighttime activities.”

“You could have fooled me.” I snort.

Tori gasps, and we all turn to look at her.