Page 66 of A Dawn Of Blood

It’s one thing to create a cage that can keepBloodMagic in, butShadowMagic…

I turn all my focus onto summoning a subtle shadow.

“Well,” she starts talking again, “you obviously already know who I am, but I’d still like to introduce myself. My name is Anna Novak, I generally just go by Anna, but if you want…”

Then she starts moving again, blowing my focus. “You can call me Anyi.” And she’s getting way too close for comfort.

I stalk forward until I’ve reached the bars, and it gives me pleasure, when I see her flinch and come to a stop. “Take one more step,” I tell her in a low growl, “and itwillbe your last.”

She looks at me with confusion on her face. “I only wanted you to smell me so—”

“I can smell you alright,” I cut her off, practically snarling. “So back off.”

She just stands there for a second. “Right,” she drawls softly as she takes a couple of steps back. “And you did hear me, back in Lilith Tower, when I told you we were mates?”

Ah, the mate ruse. I tip my head back and retreat a little myself. “Those are children’s stories, and I’m not a child.”

“Mate bonds?” she asks with growing confusion. “You think they’re… you think they’re not real?”

I don’t reply, I just let out a scoff and go back to trying shadow magic, quickly realizing they’ve somehow managed to make the cage absorbthatas well.

“Look,” she keeps going, making me have to take a deep breath to fight the frustration off, “I guess, in a way, I’ve been in your shoes before. I’ve had connections like this happen to me without expecting them. So I understand why it all must feel a little surreal, but mate bondsarereal, and you and I share one.”

Oh she’s good, but sadly for her, I’m not letting myself fall for it.

Still, she doesn’t relent. “You know how I know we do? I know it because it was you who helped me awaken my vampire powers and I know it because of the way I feel around you. And I’m sure the wayyoufeel aboutmeis telling you exactly who I am to you.”

And now she’s trying to catch my eye, waiting for me to reply. It all makes me grit my teeth with growing anger.

There is nothing in this bleak world gained without great sacrifice, and it takes a man above men to take on the task of ruling a world. Such a man, he needs to be unwavering, he needs to be uncompromising, he needs to be superhuman. He needs to be everything and nothing at the same time. To fulfill a destiny like that, the greater the pleasure, the more you steer clear of it. And the higher you reach, the greater the temptations.

So I look at her, distinctly remembering the night my father first told me about her. That, one day, there will come a serpent in the body of a beauty. She will have a magic that will help herspin me around her finger. And if I want to fulfill my destiny, no matter what I do… I can’t let her.

So yes, I’ve been expecting her to show up and try to slither under my skin. I just didn’t expect to hate her so much for it.

“Iknowexactly who you are,witch,” I grind out, obviously taking her by surprise, “and I will never believe a word that comes out of your mouth. So get the hell out of my sight.”

Now I’m pissed enough to start emitting shadow magic involuntarily. It should make me victorious, the fact that the cage is not absorbing all of it after all, as well as the fact that she seems too taken aback by my reaction to notice.

But it doesn’t, because the Resistance seems to have been very smart about my capture. Which means I’ll need to buy myself time to figure it out before I make any attempts to escape.

Time I’ll probably have to spend further resisting the witch.

Chapter 50

Iblink in shock. I quickly shrug it off, though, instinct telling me I shouldn’t give away exactly how much his reaction is impacting me.

As if in a haze but with a straight face, I give a slow nod with my lips pressed tight. I turn on my heel and leave the room, forcing myself into walking instead of running the hell out.

They’re all out there in the Entrance Hall, waiting to hear how it went — Nuala, de Groot, Dryden, Raven and even Lorcan.

“I, um,” I hear myself say as I keep walking past them, “just give me a couple of minutes, please.”

I guess it’s clear from my face how it went because no one even tries to stop me.

Without thinking, I keep walking, Lorcan’s voice sounding distant when I hear him tell someone, “It’s alright. Having a nice, polite chat with someone isn’t the only way to get information.”

The words don’t really reach my consciousness. My feet keep taking me away from the group, eventually leading me into the Junkyard.

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