Page 92 of Promised in Blood

I’m still with Sienna. She said something’s happened in the woods. Her father needs you.

My pulse spikes with adrenaline.Osiris? What happened?

She doesn’t know. He wouldn’t say. He asked for you.

Is this come kind of trap?Where are you?

At Silver Vale with Cadence and Sienna.

Is Enora there?

She’s on her way to the woods. Osiris asked for her too.

I draw in a breath, trying to drown out the sound of my heart pumping in my ears. Stay where you are. I will send Xavier and Malachi to come stay with you.

But I?—

Stay, Ophelia!My tone is harsh but necessary, even as I sense the hurt in her.

A student from the front row reminds me I am supposed to be teaching by raising their hand. “Uh, Professor Drakos?”

“Class is done for today,” I call as I exit the classroom. I am making my way out of Clio Hall when I reach out to the boys and instruct Xavier and Malachi to go to Ophelia and Axl to meet me. Once I reach the cover of the trees, I break into a run.

I search out Osiris’s energy to pinpoint his location. It is not an exact science, but today, I feel his anger and despair so keenly that it makes him easy to track. Heavy emotions radiate from him with such ferocity that they guide me to him like a beacon. I give Axl directions to my location as I grow closer and sense him moving through the trees not too far behind me. Osiris’s pain grows heavier as I get closer.

I breach the thick clearing of trees and immediately see why. My old friend kneels on the ground, his head bent low over the remains of a young wolf. However, it is only her scent that tells me she was a wolf; her body has been torn to shreds. There are other scents here too. Vampires, witches. My nose twitches, trying to determine whether any of them are familiar.

Osiris lifts his head at my approach, but a growl from beside me snatches my attention. A meaty hand darts out, aiming for my throat, but I dodge it easily. A second later, I have my hand wrapped around my would-be assailant’s neck. I recognizeOsiris’s nephew from my history class as he claws at my forearm, futile and desperate.

“Mack. Enough. He is not the enemy.” Osiris’s commanding growl vibrates through the air around us and is enough to make Mack stop fighting against my hold.

With a weary sigh, I release my grip on his throat. His tear-filled eyes narrow as he rubs the red skin of his neck.

“Forgive him, old friend.” Osiris’s voice is calmer now. “She… Esme is…” He clears his throat. “Was his girlfriend.”

I offer Mack a nod of condolence, and then make my way to Osiris. Crouching down, I inspect the body more closely. Her torso has been torn open from pelvis to neck, her internal organs pulled out and ravaged. Her nose and lips were ripped from her face, leaving it unrecognizable. “You knew her well?”

He nods. “She’s a senior Amalthea Crescent member. And she’s been Mack’s girlfriend for two years.”

I place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “I am sorry, old friend.”

He jerks his head in the direction of the river. “Those animals were feasting on her when Mack got here.”

I follow his gaze and find the object of his and Mack’s fury. The two vampires who look vaguely familiar are bloodied and beaten and being watched over by two very angry wolves. My hackles rise. Vampires drink blood; we do not eat flesh. At least not ordinarily.

The sounds of a scuffle breaking out come from behind me, and I do not need to turn around to know that Axl has arrived. His growl and scent are too deeply ingrained in my mind. No doubt he, too, has been accosted by Mack. Without taking my eyes off the two vampires, I yell, “He’s with me.”

“Boys. Enough,” Osiris says with a weary sigh.

A few seconds later, both boys join us beside Esme’s body, and I drag my gaze from the vampires to Mack. “What happened? How did you find her?”

Mack scrubs at the tears running down his cheeks. “I heard her howling for help. And when I got here, those two…” He bares his teeth in their direction. “Animalswere eating her. They were fucking eating her.”

I glance at Osiris, and his skeptical expression mirrors my thoughts. “Vampires do not eat flash, old friend.”

He nods solemnly.

“They do. They were. I fucking saw them,” Mack screeches.

---