Page 56 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

“When do you think Adrian will give up and let us go? What do you think he wants with us?”

I shrugged. Vampire politics didn't make any sense to me. “Maybe he’s just keeping his enemies close,” I murmured, thinking back to my conversation with Rowan. The girls had been both shocked and relieved when I’d told them he’d visited me, then Novalie had complained that he’d been just across the hall and hadn’t visited them.

Emerson gasped and I turned to her, amused until I saw her expression. The pallor of her normally brown skin, the bloodied eyes.

“Em.” I moved to her side immediately as I took her hand. “What is it?”

“He won't risk it,” she murmured and I looked helplessly to Novalie.

“Who?”

“Adrian.”

I blinked, surprised to have gotten a straight answer out of her. “Risk what?”

Some of the redness in her eyes began to clear before she squeezed my hand tightly. “The vote. He thinks Hayes has supporters on the council. We have to go. Now.”

I made to stand. “Okay, sure. We'll?—”

“No. We need to already be there. Now, Leah. Now.” Emerson's voice bordered on hysterical, and I flinched. “If you don't, he'll already be dead when you get there.”

I would have taken her seriously regardless, but just then a spear of something sharp lanced through me. Pain. But it didn't belong to me.

“Hayes,” I whispered and Emerson nodded. “We need to go.”

“We won't make it there if we run.” There was a finality in her voice that scared me, like she'd already seen the outcome, the body, if we ignored her warning. “Magick.”

“I don't know how?—”

“Try.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, unsure of where to even begin, when another bolt of pain shot through me, stronger than the last. Electricity crackled through me, and in that moment, all I wanted, all I needed, was to get to Hayes.

My magick seemed to respond to the desire, zipping down our blood bond with a tingle of magick that felt like it wrenched my body to one side from beneath my navel.

The smell of the blood hit me first. My eyes flew open and saw only chaos. I was back in my room, there were three bodies on the floor already and another four were doing their best to sink their fangs into Hayes and Cal.

I dove forward, primal rage igniting like fire as I saw the blade of one assassin knick the skin on Hayes' cheek, drawing blood. I could have used my magick, but for that slight against my bonded, I wanted to feel the life leave that attacker personally.

Their head was in my hands and I snapped the neck to one side before the blade plunging towards Hayes' chest could make contact. My fangs found the assassin's throat and I tore it out, spitting the blood to the floor. I didn't want any part of this bastard in me. His heart squelched in my palm as I ripped it from his chest and turned to catch the arm of another attacker, my fingers punched straight through his chest and he slumped.

The final two assassins had teamed up to take on Cal and were only semi-accurately dodging his spells. Lightning flew from my palm, hitting one of them straight in the chest while Cal took care of the other.

A heavy thump hit the ground behind me and I knew without looking that Hayes had changed, so I was only mildly surprised when a wolf's massive jaws closed around the head of the vampire I'd electrocuted.

The final body fell to the floor and for a second, I just stood there, waiting for another to appear.

“What the fuck was that about?” I directed the question at Cal, seeing as Hayes was busy chewing on the vampire's severed head.

“Adrian,” Novalie said, appearing in the doorway with Emerson in tow. Her eyes were still bloodshot, but she seemed to be herself again. “He didn't want to chance the council voting in Hayes' favour and, equally, couldn’t be seen as responsible for his death.” The wolf looked up at his name and Novalie paled. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“I know.” I sighed, attempting to deflect so my rage wouldn't drown me. “They wrecked my bedroom.”

“Really, Nora?” Cal frowned and I hissed.

“The options are either I make a joke, or I go and find Adrian and rip his damned head off.” I raised an eyebrow. “By all means, I'm happy to let the ripping commence.”

“You wouldn't stand a chance.” He folded his arms across his chest and my temper peaked.

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