Page 7 of Vanquished Gods

I pulled up the blankets around me, my heart racing. Embers still glowed orange and red in the fireplace. Everything was in its right place. I even had a full belly for once. That day, I’d managed to kill a deer with my spear, and the boys had found wild onions and garlic to season it. They’d also caughttwolarge trout.

Everything was in its rightful place in our new home. Godric’s and Hugo’s snores filled the tiny place. So, why did I still feel a cold sense of dread whispering over me?

Just as that thought entered my mind, a loud, hammering knock sounded at the door, and I jolted. Godric snorted awake, sitting upright and blinking.

My heart pounded. Did the Order find us?

Godric and I shared a worried look.

Slowly, carefully, I crept to the door. When I peered out the old window by the door, my hear skipped a beat.

The man standing outside was intimately familiar to me, and his pale silver eyes burned brightly in the darkness. He held a torch, and its warm light gilded his sharp cheekbones. Through the warped windowpane, his pale gaze bored into me.

“It’s Maelor,” I whispered to Godric.

I opened the door a little wider, peering at Maelor from behind the wood. “What the hell are you doing here?” My gaze flickered over his shoulder. A black carriage stood behind him, harnessed with four enormous dark horses.

“Elowen, you need to leave, now. The Order is on their way as we speak. You have about thirty minutes before they arrive.”

I don’t wait for him to say another word. I turned back into the cottage and started shoving our meager belongings into bags—the limited clothes, a basket of berries.

Maelor stepped inside, holding out a hand. “Don’t worry about bringing anything. We have everything you need at Donn Hall. You’ll have clothes, food, whatever you require.”

My heart slammed. “You misunderstand, Maelor. I’m not going to Donn Hall. You’re the one who warned me about the dangers of vampires, remember? That you’re all predators without souls?”

Maelor’s pale eyes gleamed in the dark, and the torchlight wavered over his broad frame. “You will stay in a remote part of the castle, entirely safe.” His gaze flicked to Godric and Hugo, who were still slowly trying to wake up, looking delirious.

“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about Leo.”

Leo sat up in bed, suddenly alert, more aware than I felt he should be at that moment. “Are we going to the castle? Are you a vampire? Will I get my own room? Do you have wings?”

As Maelor took a few steps closer to me, he reached into his coat. He pulled out a glass vial, filled with a maroon liquid that shone in the moonlight, and handed it to me. “This is for Leo.”

I lifted a finger to my lips, signaling to Leo that now was not the time for questions, and I turned back to Maelor. “What’s in this? It looks like blood.”

“We had our alchemists create this tincture that will prevent vampires from craving a mortal’s blood. We’ve tested it. It lasts at least eight hours. Any vampire who drinks from a person with that in their system will die, and more than that, it repels us from drinking in the first place. I even have a little of it with me now. And when you arrive on the island, Leo and your friends can stay with the witches in Veilcross Haven, where Lydia lives, if it will make you feel more at ease. We keep the gates locked at night, and no vampire can get inside. During the day, the vampires remain in the castle.”

“You’re telling the truth? You really think we’ll be safe?”

He shrugged. “Safer than you are out here.”

“Comeon, Elowen,” snapped Godric. “The Order is worse than the vampires.”

A grin split Leo’s face. He took the vial out of my hand—somehow having made it from his bed to the door without me noticing. He took a sip, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Are we going to Donn Hall? Can I become a vampire?”

“Shh.” I shook my head. “I don’t know yet. But if we go, you’re not staying in the vampire castle. You’ll stay with the witches. And no, youcannotbecome a vampire. Ever.”

At least, I bloody hoped not.

I folded my arms, looking up at Maelor. “I know you and Sion both want me to be your Underworld Queen. That’s why you kept me so safe, right?”

“At first, maybe.” His jaw clenched, eyes burning silver in the darkness. “But it wasn’t the only reason, Elowen. You must know that.”

I took a deep breath. “I can go with you, but I can’t use my power the way you want me to. It will turn me into a monster, Maelor. Someone who thinks of nothing but killing. Surely you know what that’s like.”

He flinched. “We’ll worry about that later. You have a bigger, more immediate problem to deal with, which is that the Pater is going to hunt you down anywhere in the Thornwood Forest, and he’s already on his way here.”

I hesitated. “And how do I know this is actually true? When I met you at Ruefield, you neglected to mention that you’d had your eye on me for a while as your secret weapon, and that I was some kind ofUnderworld Queenyou wanted.”

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