Page 37 of A Dawn Of Blood

Without a moment of hesitation, I run over to her. She’s unconscious, but what’s more important, it doesn’t look like she’ll survive the way back, which shakes my confidence in the mission ending up being worthwhile. I untangle her.

I communicate to the rest of my team that we have what we need. They’re all hurt and barely holding on, but Dryden immediately sets the escape plan in action. He spills one of the guard’s blood, making them all turn on each other.

While they’re fighting amongst themselves, we run out and jump, only using the Pull while on the way down.

Chapter 26

Hours later, we’re sitting around a large four-post bed in one of the rooms in Alaric’s family home, the ancient Sieger residence. The residence has been deserted for decades so we have it all to ourselves, I’ve healed everyone and there’s the smell of cooking wafting up to me, but all my focus is on the old woman before me.

She’s lying unconscious in the bed, not even her eyes moving under her eyelids, her pulse slower than any I’ve ever felt.

I really need her to wake up, to find out who she is and to figure out her significance in all this, so I’ve taken the chair to the right of the headpost and I’m talking to her in an effort to gently stir her from unconsciousness.

And there’s determination in my voice and my attitude, but it’s only a facade for the people sitting around me, watching my every move. The only one who seems hopeful is Dryden. Jaeger has resigned herself to this being a failure, while Nuala, de Groot, Alaric and Lorcan keep watching the woman withsuspicion in their eyes. Raven looks downright unsettled by her presence.

It’s all a knife in the gut, since this mission seems to be a total failure. Judging by what Dryden reported once we arrived here, Cain didnotfall for the trap back at the Academy. The plan was to piss him off so he’d force his way inside and get stuck there until we returned. Instead, he just remained outside and is currently laying a siege on us.

And judging by the state of the old woman lying before us, we won’t be able to get any information out of her, let alone have her help us on our mission.

Which basically means we can’t go back and we can’t move forward either.

Having to summon the last of my resolve, I keep trying to talk to the woman, until I hear Nuala blow out a frustrated breath.

Guilt crushing me, I look up and into her eyes. Apologetically, I suggest, “Why don’t you all go do what you need to do? I’ll stay with her, keep trying to wake her up.”

“Anna, look,” Raven calls out, getting out of her chair with her eyes still fixed on the old woman.

My head snaps to my left, where I see the old woman opening her eyes, pushing herself up and looking around with a frown on her face.

“Hello,” I rush to greet her, coming into a crouch beside her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”

When her gaze lands on me, her frown smooths out. Her eyes calmly roam my face for one long moment before she speaks. “I’m not worried,” she says in a rough, cracked voice, going back to scanning the rest of the team.

My eyebrows shoot up, but I quickly shake the surprise off. Now that she’s awake, I need to find out who she is, as quickly as possible. “My name is Anna. What’s yours?”

She doesn’t seem to hear me. I watch her freeze and tip her head back a little, her nose working. “Is that stew I smell?”

I frown. “Um, it is.”

She turns to look at me. “Will I get some?” she asks with a spark in her eyes.

“Of course,” I blurt out, Dryden already jumping to his feet and darting out of the room.

The old woman throws us all a toothy grin.

We exchange a confused look, but then Dryden comes back with a bowl of stew and hands it to her.

Watching her dig in, I fail to contain my eagerness. “Now,” I start gently, “if you could just tell us your name—”

The next thing I know, she’s already downed the entire thing and is holding the empty bowl out for me. “Is there more?”

“In the name of Lycan,” I hear Lorcan mutter to himself.

“Yes, there’s more,” I reply patiently, “but I’ll be perfectly honest with you, we’re in a bit of a rush to figure out who you are.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “You’ll remember.” Then her nose starts working again, her gaze settling on Alaric’s backpack. “Forget about the stew, is that bread and cheese you have in that bag over there?”

“What do you mean, I’ll remember?” I demand as Alaric comes to hand her the food.

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