Page 8 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

She sat with a book in her hands, and she looked different from the last time I saw her. She’d become paler. Thinner. Her eyes were sunken as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.

I didn’t have the energy for diplomacy, not when I felt like I would collapse at any moment. “I need to feed. Last chance.”

All she did was stare at me.

“Don’t make me do this.” Even now, I fought the impulse to sink my teeth into the closest flesh I could find. I held out for the crystal-blue geyser of a waterfall instead of the murky pond water. I fought for a relationship that had withered and died. My addiction to her blood made me more committed than I ever thought I could be.

“I already gave you my answer, Kingsnake.”

A part of me died. My hope was gone. My tongue would never taste that exquisite potency again. I didn’t have the energy to argue. I barely had the energy to sit upright. Without a word, I rose from the couch and walked out.

4

LARISA

I felt dead inside.

It was hard to see him like that, so withered and decayed, but his betrayal sat like a rock in my stomach. It was always there. He wanted to feed on me, keep me as his prisoner, and if I let him feed, he would never let me go. But if he didn’t, he would have no use for me…and then I might be released.

The door unlocked, and I stiffened in preparation for Kingsnake’s face.

But it was Viper.

Dressed in his cloak and armor, his swords and daggers on his belt, his bow and arrow across his back, he stepped into my bedchambers, his eyes beacons of irritation.

It made me realize I’d never seen him in casual attire. He was always prepared for war.

“Come with me.”

I didn’t move. “Why?”

“Because I said so.”

They really were brothers. “I guess Kingsnake didn’t tell you I’m not really the obedient type.”

Eyes identical to Kingsnake’s bored into mine. “I want to show you something.”

“What?”

“I want to show you what’s about to happen if you don’t get your shit together.”

“Getmyshit together?”

“He didn’t betray you because he wanted to—and you know that. You’re dead the moment you leave his protection. You think that spineless king in Raventower has any power to protect you? He was the one who threw you to the wolves in the first place. The way I see it, there’s only one person on this planet who actually gives a shit about you—and you’re spitting on that.”

Wordlessly, I stared, overwhelmed by everything he’d just said.

“Now, get your ass up and come with me.”

I wanted to fight the directive, but I felt weak with humility…and curious about his plan. I left the bedchambers with him, and we exited the palace, taking the long stairs to the city below. The streets were free of rubble and blood, but it looked so different now, the effects of war everlasting.

We didn’t make small talk on the way, which was just fine with me.

He was always slightly ahead of me, his beautiful cloak behind him, his body bulky and strong like the stone wall that protected Grayson. If I tried to make my escape, he would probably see me somehow.

We made it through the buildings, stopping when we came to a pub.

“Are we getting a drink?” Kingsnake and I used to have a glass of wine with dinner every night, but now I drank alone, and that made the taste bitter.