Page 67 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall

By the time we'd left the woods, he'd been back in his right mind, the hold the drug had on him fading. There was still hope for him—even if he'd done something unforgivable. I stopped on the third floor, turning to Rowan's room and swearing when I heard raised voices.

Adrian came around the corner of the corridor and his eyes flew wide when he saw me, taking my arm in his. I attempted to push past him but couldn't budge the grip he had on my arm in my weakened state.

"What the hell are you—?"

I didn’t have time for this. I snarled, letting my eyes flash silver for the first time since I'd awoken and come to Ashvale. He jumped, dropping my arm immediately.

“You—”

I ran towards the open doorway, knowing Adrian was following behind me, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Leonora standing in front of Rowan. Alive. They were both still alive.

“Leonora,” I gasped, breathless from relief and my stomach dropping when she didn’t turn, like she couldn’t hear me.

Tears dripped down Rowan’s face as he found my eyes over her shoulder, a strange smell rising up in the air, just like—

Leonora’s hand fell to her side and I stared at it in confusion.

It was coated in red.

Something was clasped between her fingers and she dropped it carelessly to the floor.

Heart, my brain told me, even as I struggled to process what I was seeing.Rowan's heart.

Leonora turned and met my eyes, feeling everything as it passed through me. My shock, my sorrow, my love.

Rowan fell to the floor, a hole in his chest where his heart should have been, and I watched it happen in slow motion.

Leonora stopped next to me in the doorway and barely spared Adrian a glance as she pushed past, her eyes briefly meeting mine before she turned away like she didn’t recognise me.

“Sorry for the mess.”