Page 88 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

Something slams into my side, sending me flying from my seat to the floor, and I miss the end of what she says.

“Hey! Leave her alone,” Ember says as I scramble to my feet in confusion.

“Stay the hell out of this, Ember.” Someone says before I feel the hard edge of a fist colliding with my face, knocking me backwards.

Get up,Athriel growls.

I spring to my feet without argument. It’s only then that I notice the silence that has befallen the entire hall. My attention is drawn to a girl who looks to be a couple of years older than me,her mouth twisted in anger that sends lines shooting through her tanned skin. Behind her is a crowd of people watching me with the same rage that is currently on her face.

I wipe my mouth, noticing the blood for the first time, and feel anger ignite in my veins.

“I think there’s been a mistake,” I tell her, but this only seems to make her angrier.

“There’s no mistake.” She runs at me, but this time I see her coming and dodge the hit with ease.Too much ease.I’m usually good, but that was unnaturally fast, and I realize that Karius’s powers are still running through my veins, heightening my speed beyond human limits—something I cannot reveal in a room full of humans. Or vampires, for that matter.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I tell her.

A scream leaves her mouth, and she tries to hit me again, but misses. I take a step back, but someone from behind pushes me back into her path.

“There's no point in playing innocent now when you killed my sister in cold blood.”

Confusion makes me raise a brow, and I pay for the hesitation with another hit to the eye.

“Stop hitting me,” I warn. “I don’t know who you think I am, but you have the wrong person.”

“No, she doesn’t. You went all crazy in your room and threw her against the wall. I was there. I saw it.” An older man with graying hair shouts, and a few others behind him nod in agreement, yet I don’t miss the distance they keep from me.

My stomach drops at the realization, and I look up at the girl. I shake my head. The memory of a dark shadow hovering over me that night comes to mind, then the sound of a scream and…

“It was an accident…I didn’t mean…”

“You didn’t mean to what? Murder my sister straight after you took her place as the prince’s personal donor? Sounds like a load of bullshit to me.”

A flash of the girl who took me to the prince that first night crosses my mind, and I can’t help but agree that the whole thing looks suspicious—but how do I explain the truth to her when I’m not supposed to say anything? Guilt twists my gut, and I feel the world closing in on me as I think about how I would act if someone told me that they killed Willow by accident.

“Use this and end her,” a voice in the crowd sneers.

I see the glint of silver a second later shining from the girl’s hand. The sharp blade pointed in my direction. I also notice the sloppy hold she has on it. She hasn’t fought before, and she’s most certainly never killed anyone.

“Just stop. I don’t want to hurt you,” I tell her.

That only makes her angrier, and she runs at me with force, holding the blade level with my stomach. I barely move, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and twisting her arm behind her back. The knife clangs to the floor, and a scream rips from her mouth. It’s a move I’ve performed many times when disarming the vampires I’ve attacked, but the sound of breaking bones doesn’t usually accompany it. I instantly let go.

The girl’s cries echo across the entire room as she falls to her knees. I barely touched her, but the strength…Karius’s power. Her arm is set at an unnatural angle, and an older, rotund woman drops down on her knees next to her, telling everyone to back away and give her some space, but I don’t move. Can’t move.

“What did I do?” I whisper. My eyes stay fixed on the girl on the floor—already hurting from the loss of her sister, and now in physical pain too, all because of me.

I feel a soft touch on my shoulder, guiding me backwards.

“It’s ok, come on. Let’s get out of here.” It’s Ember.

I don’t ask questions, and I don’t argue. I follow the soft voice and allow myself to be taken away from the room, too shocked to do anything else. I move without thinking, the tears in my eyes blurring everything in my path, but a soft hold on my arms guides me toward a small room, and it’s only when the click of a door lock fills the space that my head snaps up.

Ember looks down at me, sadness touching her features. She rubs a hand across her pale forehead and blows out a breath.

“You ok? You look like you’re in shock?”

I shake my head. I don’t know how to answer the question. I’m not even sure if I can speak. Still too in shock at what I did.