bChapter /bb35 /b

A muscle in Cassian’s jaw twitches as Ciro steps forward, takes my hand, and kisses my skin. His lips are cold, and byet /bbI /bfeel something electric.

“Pleasure to meet you.” He nces sideways at Cassian

“She’s not how iyou /idescribed her. She’s a beautiful feeder–were

you afraid I’d steal her from you?”

Cassian lets out a sound halfway between amusement and mockery.

“Beautiful, if you like the nd type.” His eyes stab into mine. “Impertinent and boring.”

“That didn’t really answer my question.”

“I’ve said more than enough.”

“Don’t forget you owe me a feeder,” Ciro says lightly. “You killed one of mine.”

“I wouldn’t have if she hadn’t been a nuisance.”

I watch the exchange utterly stunned, shifting my gaze between them.

“You know your effect on women.” Ciro tilts his head as if studying him. “You can’t kill them all just for wanting a bit of your attention.”

Even though Ciro is smiling, I sense something dark swirling between the two.

“Sorry I’m not like you, getting lost in anyone’s skirts.”

“You think you’re special just because you don’t sleep with humans?”

“Men are always better–much more gratefuli,/ii” /iAeronments, and I can’t tell if he’s trying to steer the conversation elsewhere or just being sarcastic.

“Aeron, you know our dear Cassian doesn’t lie with human men either.”

annoys and disgusts him. To be honest, almost Cassian’s nostrils re, making it very clear that this conversatio everything annoys and disgusts him. Seeing him in a good mood seems impossible. Without warning, he grabs my arm roughly and pulls me back toward the door.

“I think that’s enough for today,i” /ihe says without looking at Ciro or Aeron. “Everything we needed to discuss has already been said.”

He opens the door without waiting for hispanions to say goodbye or call him an idiot–which I would. iOut /iof the icorner /iof my eye, I catch Walter watching us with slight astonishment but still maintaining his submissive posture next bto /bAeron. When the idoor /icloses, it trembles. We hurry down the stairs and once outside, with a sharp tug, he pulls the cloak over my head and drags me through the dark alleys, retracing our steps, back to the horses.

I stumble slightly not that he cares–and when we finally exit the slums and reach the overgrowth bthat /bbsurrounds /bbthe /bcity, I sigh in relief. At least he’ll stop dragging me around the streets like a rag doll. I stroke the bmare’s /bbside /bbas /bI bmount/bb, /bbthis /b

time without Cassian’s help.

His horse bolts forward, forcing the mare to match its pace. I struggle against the wind to keep my hood bfirmly /bbover /bbmy /bhead. The air cuts my cheeks and my eyes begin to water. We move fast, much faster than before, giving bthe /bbanimals /bno rest as they keep running, kicking up dirt behind us.

We enter the area thick with vegetation, now even darker. The trees lean over the path, suffocating, and despite bour /bbspeed/b, I feel the unease growing inside me. And as if that earlier sensation had been a premonition, a scream cuts bthrough /bbthe /brhythmic sound of hooves on the dirt. I barely have time ito /ireact before I’m thrown ito /ithe ground. The mare whinnies, frightened and pained by a wound on her back that makes her fall. I manage to dodge just in time to avoid being crushed by her weight. I try to get up and see Cassian fighting alone against more than a dozen men. He snaps necks or moves his hand and reduces them to nothing. I’m horrified and yet relieved that they don’t seem to pose a real threat to him.

I drop to the ground beside the fallen animal, who has a gash in her belly. My hands quickly be stained with her blood, and I’m so focused on the mare that I don’t notice the threat behind my back.

They grab me by the hair and drag me to my knees until I’m forced to stand. I feel the de of a knife against my throat, pressing against my jugr.

“You’re making a mistake,” I say, my voice trembling. “I’m not important.”

A roughugh escapes him.

“That’s not for you to decide.”

Cassian’s gaze turns toward us, and I see his eyes widen when he sees me in the arms of one of them. He takes a step forward and stops when I feel the hot trickle sliding down my neck.

“Release mypanion,” says my captor.

Cassian is holding one of them, his neck bent at an unnatural angle. He’s dead. Cassian obeys and lets the lifeless body drop to the ground. He brushes the dust off his cloak without taking his eyes off us.

“What do you want?”

“You haven’t figured it out yet?”

I can feel his smile behind my neck.

“You’re an idiot if you think I care enough about her for you to use her as leverage.”

“You don’t get it.”

I feel teeth sink into my neck, and my eyes fly open in horror. I let out an agonized scream. His bite is meant bto /bbhurt/bb–/bbnot /bbto /bfeed. I didn’t even think they were vampires. Are they? Their skin isn’t as pale–though I can’t see them well either. Most bof /bthem move at inhuman angles. I try to reach behind me to grab my captor and pull him off, but it’s useless. His teeth mp harder onto my neck, and I’m terrified he’ll tear it open.

Amid this chaos, one of the fallen rises and silently walks behind Cassian. I want to scream at him bto /bturn baround/bb, /bbbut /bbthe /bpain freezes my vocal cords. The only sound that escapes me could be a scream of painb–/bbor /bbwarning/b.

He doesn’t see iting. I see the de of a white wooden dagger pierce his chest. More men be /bbout /bbfrom /bthe free and grab him by the arms. My attacker takes the chance to drag me away from there. I reach for bmy /bbneck /bas he drags me across the ground, tearing my clothes and pulling out locks of my hair. My scalp and knees burn. With bevery /bsecond we move farther from the path. I don’t know where he’s taking me.

My fingers cling to anything they can find on the ground. Ie across a rock and use it to strike the hand holding me. He grunts when he sees his bruised knuckles, and my body copses to the ground. I don’t even have time to recover–he’s already on top of me, strangling me.

“Fucking bitch.”

I can’t speak, scream, or breathe.

His grip is strong, and I swear I’m about to pass out. Then I see his skin begin to wither, turning the color of death. bHis /bbeyes /b-which I hadn’t seen until now–are amber, but as the seconds pass, they lose their life and turn white. Something strange escapes from him and enters my mouth. His hands lose strength and finally release my neck. His body fallspletely on top of mine, crushing me against the cold earth. It takes me several attempts to push him off. When I manage it, I spend just a few seconds looking at my attacker. His skin.is ashen, and from where I am, I can see he looks like he’s about to crumble like a dry leaf.

I don’t stop to think about what just happened–I don’t know. One second I thought I was going to die, and the nextb… /b

wasn’t.

I turn away from the corpse and run until I reach the scene of the massacre again. Cassian is on one kneeb, /bclutching his chest. Everyone around him no longer looks human. As much as I wish I didn’t see it, I see eyes outside their sockets, severed arms, piles of formless flesh, and among them–the monster who did this.

“iAre /iyou okay?” I ask, reaching him.

“Yes.”

His voice is dry. He tries to stand, but his legs give out before he can and he falls back to his knees. He closes his eyes, as if holding his breath. When he opens them again, his gaze lights up and focuses on my neck. I cover it immediately.

“Is it bad?” I try to divert his attention.

“No.” He lets out a raggedugh. “Those bastards thought that stupid dagger could kill me. They’re idiots. As if they didn’t know that Purebloods can’t be killed.”

“Never?”

“Not in any way they know.” He looks past my shoulder. “And the other?”

b“/bI think dead.”

He freezes, looking at me as if waiting for me tough and tell him I’m lying–or that he’s right behind me, ready bto /bbfinish /btearing my throat. When a few seconds pass in silence and he realizes I’m not joking, his lips curl wickedly band /bbthen /bbhe /bbursts outughing, leaving mepletely stunned.

b“/bYou think?”

LUL7

bI /bnod, still confused. I half expect to find him behind me.

He shakes his head, disbelieving, and on the third attempt, copses.