Page 37 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

Em was quick, drinking only a few mouthfuls before my hand healed over.

“Okay,” Cal said, nudging me out of the way as he came to stand directly in front of Emerson. “Now try again. Ignore all other sounds except for my voice. You’re in a void of dark, of nothing, only you have the ability to drive your consciousness forward, Emerson. What do you see?”

The planes of Em’s face seemed to sharpen, like she’d fallen into shadow. “I see stone.”

It wasn’t much, but this was the most progress we’d been able to make so far. “I think… I’m underground. There’s so much dust. And—oh god, there are bodies.” Her voice shook and Novalie was there in an instant, reaching for her hand and glaring at Cal when he moved as if to stop her from making contact.

“Don’t forget the void, Emerson. You are merely a spectator of the place in stone.”

She nodded, her head jerking with the movement and a splatter of red hit the floor at her feet as bloody tears began to drip from her eyes. “I can’t get back in the room.”

“That’s fine. Just move on. Where is the darkness taking you now?”

“Nowhere. It’s just—It’s just dark.” A strained look came across her face and I stepped forward, the tether between us feeling oddly taut.

“That’s enough.”

Cal didn’t move and I hissed slightly, hackles rising. Like it or not, Emerson was my fledgling and if I said it was enough, then he needed to move out of my damn way.

Thunder filled my voice as I pulled on the thread that connected me to Emerson and I pushed between her and the mage. “Enough. Open your eyes.”

They flashed open, the irises slowly bleeding back to their normal colour as Cal gaped at me.

“Leonora—”

“I told you it was enough!” I snapped and his face darkened.

“You may be powerful, little girl, but you are no match for me. Watch your tone.”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t relax until Emerson did. “Yes, Dad.”

He muttered under his breath and I could sense, rather than see, Hayes’ amusement.

“So, a room made of stone,” Novalie mused. We were in the training spot Cal had taken me to before, but I knew what she must be thinking—that description matched nearly the entirety of the court. Plus, it was underground too.

“I could be wrong…”

“But?” I prompted when Emerson remained quiet.

“I don’t think I was seeing the future. I think it was the past.” Em glanced at Hayes, something crossing over her face I couldn’t decipher. “But it felt like only the beginning.”

Chapter Eighteen

Hayes

“I thought I made myself very clear.”

The voice was silky soft with an undercurrent of rage. Adrian.

I kept my face cool, calm and collected as I turned to the undead vampire at my back. “I truly wish I had a clue what you were referring to, but alas.” I shrugged, choosing to ignore the curious glances of the gathered onlookers. “Care to share?”

The frozen expression on his face didn't change, as if we were having a pleasant conversation without any rising tension. “You asked to go back to Ashvale.”

“And you declined,” I supplied helpfully, biting down on my irritation. “So here we are.” Well, here I was, at least. I was trying not to push Nora too hard, too fast, so I'd opted to come to this party alone. There were several vampires I’d hoped to corner and gently interrogate later, but it was hard to do that when Adrian was up my arse. Especially if those vampires had anything incriminating to say about our dear, council leader.

“Do you think me a fool?”

I raised an eyebrow but remained quiet, letting Adrian draw his own conclusions. Maybe I could have held my cool a little better if he hadn’t been elbows-deep in Leonora’s chest only a handful of days ago.

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