Page 20 of Blood Tribute

“You’re going to be all right,” he reassured her.

His magic came to hand, precise and masterful. In his dying moments, he performed the most challenging healing of his career. As he reordered disjointed pieces of her life into complete experiences, he became lost in her, and nothing else seemed to matter.

He rebuilt her mind’s Sanctuary, a bastion against her other scars. Her memories of that night flared to life again, and they relived them together.

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Nora knelt beforethe shrine of Andragathos. She heard the daggercase open.

“You let him kiss you,” came Sir Virtus’s voice. “Of all your transgressions, this is the most shocking. I thought better of you, especially after the many times I have purified you.”

“He kissed me first.”

“What did you do to tempt him? Did you smile at him? Perhaps you let some of your hair escape your veil?”

“No! It wasn’t my fault.”

“It is always your fault. It amazes me that you can get a kiss out of a man, but not a marriage proposal.”

His footsteps approached. Nora covered her scarred arms with her hands.

His tone of reassurance sent a shiver down her spine. “For the sake of the Order’s reputation, I will silence the gossip. And I will never abandon you, no matter how much you shame yourself. I will keep helping you become your better self.”

Sir Virtus loomed over her, Sancti in his hand. But this time, he held Arceo, too.

All she could do now was take her punishment with grace. He drew Sancti’s edge along one of her scars to reopen it. Hot, bright magic sliced into her. He gave her other arm the same treatment, and blood trickled down to her elbow, burning her skin.

“This will be your deepest purification of all,” he said.

Pain tore through her shoulder, and sunfire burst behind her eyelids. Through the glare, she stared in shock at Sancti embedded in her flesh.

The door of the shrine swung open. Her mother sailed in, all righteous fury. Her father charged forward with his hand on his sword. “What in our god’s name are you doing?”

Sir Virtus and her parents shouted at each other over Nora’s head, their words swimming together in her roaring ears. Then Sir Virtus raised his arm. With a flick of his fingers, he threw the Blade of Protection.

Nora could do nothing but watch it fly and land in her father’s heart. He crumpled, his sword clattering on the floor.Her mother screamed and went down on her knees, throwing herself over his body.

Nora yanked Sancti out of her shoulder and made a wild swing at Sir Virtus. His grip crushed her wrist. He wrested the dagger from her hand and threw again. The Blade of Purification cut through the air and plunged into her mother’s back. Her weeping fell silent.

Nora found her feet and backed away from Sir Virtus. “What have you done?”

His rage drained away, and his face went slack with shock. He came toward her, his hands out. “I can still save you. Come here, and Sancti will erase this terrible memory from your mind. I will be your father now that your parents are gone.”

She raced for the door and fled down the corridor, clutching her injured shoulder.

“No!” His heavy footfalls chased her. “I cannot lose you. I will not fail you.”

She lost him in the fortress’s twisting passageways and found her way out through a postern. With no thought of where she was headed, she tripped and scrambled through the dark woods. When she came out into the clearing, she hid behind the boulder to heave air into her burning lungs. But her head swam, and blood kept dripping onto the ground in front of her. Her vision began to darken.

She came to with her head resting on someone’s lap, his hand pressed to her wound. Gentle magic washed through her, a buffer between her and the pain. She looked up into the kind face of her rescuer.

“I’m Rahim,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“Nora.”

“Don’t be afraid, Nora.” He smiled, and she saw his fangs.

But she wasn’t afraid of the Hesperine. His fangs were far less threatening than the daggers in Sir Virtus’s hands.

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