Page 45 of Crimson Bond

Sweet, kind Shane. How could I have brought him here?

A blur of motion beside me drew my eye. Reece had caught up to me and was running at my side.

“Let me handle it,” he said between breaths. “When we get there, let me do the talking.”

“You promised me, Reece. You promised me he’d be okay here.”

“I know. We don’t know anything yet. Let’s just wait and see the situation before you assume the worst.”

We reached the Grand Dome and threw open its heavy double doors.

What I saw inside was far, far worse than anything I ever could have imagined.

24

A Choice to Make

Reece

Red. Everywhere I looked, the Grand Dome’s signature white flowstone was stained dark red.

Blood covered the floor, dripped from the walls, and splatters decorated the room’s ten-story-tall stone columns, darkening their usual rose-colored tone.

The feast must not have been going on for long because many of the human “guests” were still alive. Screams of terror echoed through the room.

They were punctuated with laughter from some of the vampires who watched their partially drained victims try to escape only to slip and fall in pools of their own blood.

To their credit, many of the vampires in attendance were not participating in the massacre. They stood off to the sides looking troubled, horrified in some cases. A few even cried. Clearly they weren’t there of their own will but at Imogen’s command.

Reaching for Abbi, I drew her against me, attempting to shield her eyes and turn her away from the nightmarish sight.

Imogen had gone mad. That was the only explanation for this. Now that Sadie was dead, there was no one to challenge her.

No one but Abbi.

I had to get her out of here.

Surveying the macabre scene in front of us, I knew there was no way Abbi would ever agree to be Imogen’s heir now—which meant Imogen would see her as nothing but a threat. Which, in turn, meant she’d have no further interest in keeping Abbi alive.

“Let’s go.” I dragged Abbi back from the doorway. “Let’s just turn around and leave right now before anyone spots us. We’ll leave the Bastion forever, go on the run. I don’t care about the resistance. I don’t care about the human race. I only care about you.”

She dug her heels in, stopping our motion, and pulled away from me. “What about the Bloodbound? And your vows? I thought you were bound to Imogen. You’re always saying we can never escape her.”

“My bond withyouis the strongest thing I’ve ever felt in my life,” I said. “You are my destiny, Abbi. I’ll doanythingto protect you. We may have to stay on the run forever, but I don’t care where I am as long as I’m with you.”

Her expression was torn. I knew she wanted to be with me, but still her eyes drifted toward the open doors. “What about Shane?”

“I don’t care about him either. Chances are he’s dead already. There’s no need for us to die, too.”

“But there’s also a chance he’s still alive. How can I leave him to be slaughtered? How canyou?”

“Easily—if it means keeping you safe.”

Her face registered shock and horror. “You can’t mean that. The Reece I met and fell in love with was a good guy, a caring person. I could never be with someone who doesn’t care about anyone else.”

It wasn’t exactly true. I did care—I just cared about Abbi’s life more than all the others combined. And right now hers was in grave danger.

“You’re all that matters to me,” I said. “I won’t apologize for loving you, and I won’t let you risk your life for a human who’s as good as dead anyway.”

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