Page 7 of Cruel Vampire King (Honeyblood Vampires #1)

By the time we returned to the camp the others had set, they’d retreated from the water’s edge. Kael was on guard duty as Thessa helped me through the forest. With a shout, he strode forward and picked me up. I stiffened, hissing at me, but he ignored my protests.

“Thought you were a goner for sure,” he said, grinning broadly.

My heart pricked. He hadn’t wanted to be part of this. He’d been forced to participate in the Blood Trials. And now, it was clear he was happy to see me alive. Doubts slithered into my gut. I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want to kill Thessa, Ysara, or Greyson. I didn’t have any attachment to any of them, except Thessa. But I didn’t want to kill them, either.

This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to get to know them.

“Thought you drowned,” Ysara said from the fire. She was roasting the flank of the kelpie over a low-burning fire.

“Would have, if I didn’t have selkie heritage,” I said, forcing myself to sound cheerful. Kael set me down and handed me a waterskin. I took it and sipped on the tepid water, sighing as I did so. “The kelpie sure did its best. Thanks for looking for me,” I added sarcastically.

Ysara shrugged, her gaze not moving from my face. “Honestly? I hoped you died. One less person for me to kill when the time comes. There’s been an announcement. The artifact was found. So now we’ve got to find the bastards that found it and take it from them.”

A smug smile came onto my face. The morbid moment had passed, and I was focused again. They were still useful to me, but I had to start shifting my view of them. It was clear Ysara had already done so. I still didn’t know why Thessa had been branded a criminal in the first place, so I couldn’t see her as some soft innocent.

She wasn’t Darcie.

“Careful,” I drawled as I hefted the skull in my hand. “There’s some of us that will take umbrage to being called bastards.”

I brought the skull down hard, smashing open the waterlogged bone. Then I picked the pendant out from inside the remnants. It was a pentagram in shape, with a circle inlaid, touching all the edges. A star sat in each of the corners. The inside had the image of an eye in the center of a hand. It was all made from a bronze-colored metal that shone with a golden gleam when turned at certain angles. The pendant hung from a thick iron chain that was just showing signs of rust.

“By moon and blood,” Greyson breathed. His eyes widened as he leaned forward. “You got it? How did you get it?”

“It was in the kelpie’s lair,” I answered.

Ysara whistled. “So we’re the bastards that all the other teams are going to be coming after, then.”

“But we found it. Why…” Thessa trailed off and shook her head. “That’s a stupid question. Nobody wants to be hunted down by the vampires for sport.”

A heavy grimness settled over us. Dark thoughts threatened to creep in, and I shook my head hard, banishing them again. Now wasn’t the time for me to worry about the future.

“Let me see it,” Greyson said, holding out his hand.

I reflexively pulled it closer. He lifted one sculpted brow and smiled at me, as though amused by my actions.

“We still have to get out of here together,” he reminded me. “If any of us double-crosses the others, it’s an automatic death sentence.”

That was true. I shook my head again and handed it over. “We should find a new campsite. One that’s more easily defended than this. The others will see the fire and come after us.”

“I suppose it only took two nights to get to the lake,” Ysara murmured as Greyson studied the pendant. “With the food, we’ve been able to scavenge so far…” She nodded once and started to kick dirt onto the fire. “We don’t need the kelpie meat to stretch out our store. Ya’ll, come help me.”

Thessa and Kael both began to toss dirt onto the fire. I remained sitting where I was, watching them; my near-drowning still left me exhausted. The fire flickered and hissed. The smell of the roasting Kelpie dissipated as Ysara took the flank off the fire and dragged it into the woods. It occurred to me, then, that by doing this, we were marking ourselves as the ones with the artifact. Who else would be in such a hurry to leave as to abandon food?

There was no point in thinking about that now. What was done was done.

“Hold on,” Greyson said suddenly. He twisted something on the pendant and let out a stream of curses.

“What is it?” I pulled myself up and leaned close to him. His skin was warm. The smell of the woods, smoke, and bergamot clung to him. Surprise rippled through me as I pulled in the pleasant scent. Had he brought cologne with him? Odd choice… or was this his natural scent?

Greyson held the pendant in his open hand. He’d opened it up, revealing intricate wiring. A computer chip? I leaned in closer, frowning.

“Why would they put a chip in it?” Thessa asked.

“It’s not just a chip. There’s a strong magic around this thing. And if I…” Greyson wiggled his fingers over the device and murmured a word in Elvish. A holographic image sprang up from the artifact. It was an image of Wickham Forest, but far more vast and more detailed than the first map we’d been given.

My stomach swooped as my eyes traced over the map. The lake wasn’t the heart of the woods at all. “There’s a colosseum in the center of the forest,” I murmured.

Thessa opened her mouth and closed it again.

“Then we’re not leaving the forest at all,” Kael said. His shoulders slumped. “We have to get there. But the first map we were given—”

“I thought it was strange that Wickham Forest was so small,” Thessa whispered. “The Gods would never accept such a tiny portion of the kingdom.”

We all stood in silence, staring at the artifact. Finally, Ysara went back into the forest and dragged back the flank. She set it back on the fire and went about building it up again. I studied the new map. We were still very close to the edge of the forest. It would take us several days to get to the colosseum in the heart of Wickham Forest.

I had to admit, even though part of me was furious for this trick, I was impressed. Everything had been so easy thus far we’d let down our guard. Acted in haste. The devastation on our faces as reality sunk in would make good TV. How many viewers did our channels have now? I wondered if anyone was rooting for us. How many bets were placed on our survival?

“I’ll take first watch tonight,” Thessa said, throwing back her shoulders. “I wasn’t hurt in the fight.”

Kaela and Ysara nodded. Greyson turned the map off, closed the pendant, and held it out to me. I took it gladly. Our fingers brushed, and he turned his hand and held onto mine.

“I can use some magic to help you heal,” he offered, his thumb stroking over my knuckle.

Surprise rippled through me. Using magic was meant to weaken the user, something that took time to replenish. Wouldn’t he be better off letting me weaken, putting me in a more vulnerable place if we were attacked? Better they kill me than him, especially since the time when we were going to kill each other was drawing even closer.

His cool gaze softened, and he pulled his hand away. “If you’re not comfortable, I understand.”

Not comfortable? With the attention? The place he moved his thumb over my skin tingled slightly. Nothing in comparison to the feelings that had gone through me when I hallucinated Luken touching me, but… but this was real. And Greyson wasn’t a murderous bastard.

“I’d like that,” I said, feeling bold.

Greyson smiled, pleased. He sat behind me and pressed his hands into my shoulder blades. “Lean into me.”

Following that order was… difficult. Leaning against him put me in a vulnerable position. He could move aside suddenly, and I’d be left tumbling to the forest floor. I did it anyway, trying to enjoy the warmth of his touch, the feeling of his strong hands against my back. Anything to erase this lingering feeling in my gut that said I wished it was Luken with his hands on me.

A subtle heat spread from his hands. It sank into my body, soothing the lingering pain along the way. I let out a sigh, letting my eyes close. It felt tingly, like the touch of a feather. As the magic worked its way through me, it spread down my arms, wrapped around my torso, and sank into the core of me.

“Don’t be alarmed if it turns you on,” Greyson murmured in my ear, too quietly for the others. “Elvish magic sometimes has that effect on other species. It’s why elves are so popular as doctors.”

I bit my lip as the tingling grew stronger. I felt the vaguest sense of arousal, but I pressed my teeth a little harder into my lip. The dull pain reminded my body of the consequences, and any sense of arousal I had disappeared. The warmth eased my ragged lungs and allowed some of the pain to disappear. However, when Greyson’s hands started to drift downward, I pulled away.

“I think that’s enough for now,” I told him.

“Are you sure? I can still sense damage,” he answered seriously. “I could do an even better job with direct skin contact.”

I scooted away from him. “I see. Sorry, Greyson. You can’t make me forget there are cameras on us. I don’t want to be featured on the porn sites.”

Greyson laughed and raised his hands. “You got me there! But you should try to rest. We’re going to have a busy few days ahead of us. We should all rest… while we can.”

I nodded, understanding the wisdom of his words. I stretched out on the ground, finding a comfortable spot. The kelpie flank spat and hissed over the fire; I’d eat some in the morning. For now… a yawn stretched my jaw. For now, I needed to sleep.

***

Ysara took second watch. Just before dawn, she woke us. “We should get moving. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

I rubbed my tired eyes and reached for my pack. My staff sat nearby—Thessa had retrieved it after the kelpie took me below the surface—and I used it to help get myself to my feet. My muscles ached and protested, but they’d ease off soon enough, I was sure.

An arrow sailed through the air and struck Greyson’s shoulder. Thessa screamed as she lunged for her sword. Ysara shifted to wolf form, and Kael snatched up his double-sided axe. I twisted, searching the trees where the arrow came from. Greyson let out a raged howl and threw his hand outward, yelling a harsh language. Flames burned from the tips of his fingers, shooting towards the trees. They burst into flame.

A human stumbled from the trees, a burning, ruining bow in his hands. He shouted as he slapped at the flames. The rest of his team leaped from the bushes, shouting as they charged us in turn. I whirled, striking my staff across the back of an elf that went for Thessa. The elf whirled, laughing when her eyes landed on me.

The elf abandoned Thessa and came at me, wielding a double-bladed weapon. She spun and danced like a snowflake blowing on the wind. It was all I could do to keep her from striking at me. Her wrist flicked, and I spun away, using my staff to block the blade that bit at my neck. She was tall and lithe but stronger than she looked. My staff was forced backward, nearly knocking me in the head.

My lungs burned, proving that I hadn’t yet recovered. My movements were slower than usual, my muscles weak. I ground my teeth and feinted to the left. As the elf dodged that way, I used my staff to vault myself to the right. I jumped onto the elf’s back and brought the staff down on her hands. The blades skittered away on the ground. Locking my legs around her waist and my elbows around my staff, I brought it back to slam into her throat. I growled through the spike of pain that wound through me as I pulled with all my strength, crushing the elf’s throat.

She went down, gasping and gurgling. I released her and yanked my staff free. I whirled just in time to see an orc behind me. He swung a longsword at me, and I rolled out of the way. The slice of the blade hit the end of my braid, cutting through it cleanly.

At least it’ll be a quick death if he gets me. I laughed to myself as I rolled to my feet and dug my heels into the ground. Having lost the element of surprise, the orc backed off half a step. His eyes were wary as he circled to my left. The sounds of fighting from my team sounded in my ears, but I blocked them out, focusing solely on the threat facing me. The orc lunged, and I dodged, smacking him in the face with the staff. It hardly seemed to bother him.

“You could switch teams, you know,” the orc growled in a gravely voice. “Join us. We’re stronger.”

I didn’t bother engaging, swirling in below to jab the staff into his groin. There was no switching teams. The orc’s face went white as he stumbled back, dropping the longsword. I rolled for it, and the orc lashed out, kicking me in the face. He knocked me over and leapt on me. His fists rained into my face, breaking my already broken nose further. Blood pooled at the back of my strength.

The assault paused. I gasped for air as the orc lifted a rock in two hands over his head. Fear bolted through me, and I tried to throw him off, but he was too solid. Suddenly, he was yanked backward. His weight left me and I was able to roll to the side as the rock fell heavy into the earth. Tawny paws wrapped around his shoulders and dragged him back from me as Thessa’s jaws closed over his head.

How such a little woman could shift into such a huge panther, I didn’t know. Her teeth cut through bone and sinew without effort and she tore the orc’s head clean off. She bounced back, spitting the head out.

That was twice she saved my life. And this time when she shifted back, there was no horror in her face. Just bleak determination. She strode over to me and held out her hand. I grabbed it and groaned as she pulled me to my feet.

“Are you okay?” she asked, then winced. “Your face…”

“I’ll be fine.” I touched my throbbing nose. It was nothing compared to getting burned alive. “You hurt?”

Thessa shook her head. Gods, but she had a knack for avoiding injury. I glanced at the others. Kael was already going through the pockets of our attackers. They were all dead, and we were all alive. My heart hammered, and I tried not to examine my feelings too closely.

“I’ll be fine, thanks for asking,” Greyson groaned. Ysara was tending to his shoulder.

Kael kicked the head of the decapitated orc aside. “We have to get moving. There will be more where they came from.”

There would be. I pulled in a deep breath, attempting to ease the hurt in my body. Was it just my imagination, or did I feel worse than when I went to sleep? Movement would help. I just needed to loosen up my muscles again. I grabbed my pack and slid it onto my back.

“Let’s get going,” I said. “And Greyson? Try not to waste anymore of your magic.”

He smiled and winked. “So glad that you care.”

I turned away. I didn’t care. I just didn’t want him to die before he helped me get my goal. Didn’t I?