Page 100 of The Ballad of the Vampire Prince

“Come on. He can’t be worse than an ox’s bile?” she asks coyly.

“Much worse.”

Technically it’s not lying if I don’t know what a vampire’s raw meat tastes like. “Please, Jessica. I’ll give you five strings for it.”

Her eyes sparkle at the bargain. “You can hold more now?”

I nod.

“I always knew you could do it.” Jessica claps her hands proudly. She has always been a supportive friend. “Rhianelle, you’re amazing.”

I beam at the compliment. It’s all thanks to Svenn’s endurance training with me.

She extends her spindly hand to take the threads. “I’ll take two strings for my newborns. You keep the other three.”

“Are you sure?” I ask her.

Her harsh features soften with kindness. “You need it more than I do to save your husband.”

I run into her arms and hug her.

“There, there, darling Rhianelle.” I feel the bristle of her fur as she strokes my back. “But you have to return them to me soon. I can’t win against Lulu with only six eyes.”

“I promise I will.”

I place the essence of her eyes behind mine and return to the keep.

With my borrowed sight, my vision becomes clearer than ever before. I am able to perceive the seen and the unseen.

And all I see is blood.

It’s everywhere. On the wall of the castle, on the floor, splattered across the furniture and the ceiling.

Amongst the grisly sight lies hundreds if not thousands of black feathers. I follow the trail slowly. It’s no surprise that it all traces back to the man in front of me.

Svenn’s soul is bleeding, plucked and torn apart from him beyond recognition.

Clarity sparks in my mind when his words replay in my head.

‘I cleaved the bond.’

‘The bond wants me to claim you.’

I should have seen the pain behind his eyes when he said those things. It’s impossible to remove the bond from us completely. It is something that is woven into our soul.

Yes, there is no other way to sever the bond,the Un confirms what is on my mind.He had to shatter his soul.

A tear slips over my lashes. I quickly swipe it away.

Oh Svenn…

He removed the bond to keep me safe, but it comes with a price.

It will be a slow death for him,my dark patrons adds.

I breathe in too sharply and Svenn sees me.

His dark eyes swirling with shadows as they set upon me.