Page 7 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

“Happy?” Her words are harsh, but her eyes hold a fear I never wanted to see again. The same fear I saw in Jace’s eyes just moments ago.

I gasp at the sight of black veins pulsing beneath her skin, angry lines twisting into a dangerous pattern that spares almost none of her flesh. I step forward, then pause. It’s grown to more than double the size since I last saw it.How did I miss this?I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she says.

“I don’t understand. The venom mixture is supposed to slow this down. It shouldn’t look like this. It isn’t possible.”

She sighs in defeat.

“It was helping, but I’ve got none left.” Our eyes meet, and she must see the confusion there because she keeps talking. “It’s coming back faster. The venom is working, but I need a lot more than what is in those concoctions to stop it from spreading.”

“Shit.” I turn to Cora. “How long have you known about this?”

Her face twists with guilt.

“We knew what you’d do if you knew,” she whispers.

“That’s not what I asked. How long?”

“Three weeks.”

I look between the two of them.

“You purposely kept this from me for three weeks?” When neither of them answers, I turn my attention back to Cora. “You knew my sister could die, but you thought keeping a secret was more important?”

“Don’t blame her, she was just doing what we both felt was right,” Willow says.

I laugh humorlessly.

“Then you're both idiots if you ever thought that leaving you to die was what was right.”

Cora’s eyes flick to the door, and only then do I realize that I’m raising my voice. It would take just one of Amabel’s vampire guards walking in and seeing what they shouldn’t to make this worse.

Then we’ll just kill them.

Not now, Athriel.

He huffs.

“That’s the problem, right there,” Willow says as she bends to pick up her top. “You try to fix everything, and I’m not some problem to be solved.”

“I’m sorry for wanting to keep you alive. What a fucking inconvenience that must be for you.”

“Yes, it is. Have you ever considered that I don’t want you to keep me alive?”

Her words are like a punch to the gut, and I almost take a step back. The muscles in the side of my head pound at the sound of her words.Stay calm,I remind myself when I feel my control start to fray.

“Are you saying that you want to die?” I hate that my voice starts to crack.

She sinks slowly onto the bed.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just mean that when you get fixated on something, that’s it. You don’t listen to anyoneor anything, you just do what you want without considering anybody else.”

“All I’m doing is consideringsomebody else.Do you think I want to risk my life by killing vampires?”

“No, I don’t. But that’s my point, you’ll do it anyway because you have to be the one to solve it all.”

“Keeping you alive isn’t exactly a choice, Willow.”