Page 14 of Vampire Blood

“Fine.” My voice was low, bitter. “But if you fail—”

“I won’t.”

I didn’t believe him. Not entirely. But I had no choice.

Kael turned without another word, disappearing into the shadows. I stood there, staring after him, feeling the weight of my decision settle like stone in my chest.

I hated this. Hated him. Hated myself more.

But most of all, I hated that I wasn’t chasing after her.

Chapter Five

Annika

I woke to the smell of blood.

It clung to the air, thick and sour, curling in my throat. My head throbbed, and my wrists burned where the ropes had cut into my skin. When I tried to move, metal clinked. I looked down and saw chains.

Panic flared inside of me.

Breathe, I thought. In. Out. Focus.

A few moments later, with a slightly calmer mind, I looked around.

The cell was small, barely big enough to stand in. Stone walls. Rusted bars. The floor was dirt, damp and cold beneath me. Dim light seeped in through cracks in the wood above, but it wasn’t enough to chase away the shadows.

I pulled at the chains, testing them. They glinted in the light.

“Silver,” I whispered.

Lucas’ skin would hiss at the contact. It probably wouldn’t be enough to burn, but enough to weaken, to keep him still.

I saw him in my mind, the way he looked when I screamed his name. I could see the rage in his eyes, the desperation. But he hadn’t reached me in time.

I swallowed hard and pushed the thought away. He would come for me. I knew that as surely as I knew my own name. But I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t just sit here and hope.

I forced myself to look around. The camp outside the cell was loud. There were voices shouting, metal scraping against stone. I heard snarls and growls, the sounds of shifters movingthrough the night. Somewhere farther off, there was laughter. Cruel and sharp.

I shifted, trying to see more through the bars.

The camp stretched beyond the cell. Fires were burning low, tents scattered between trees. Figures moved in and out of the shadows, but they weren’t all shifters. Some were human. And others—

Vampires.

The sight of them sent a chill down my spine. They moved differently, slower, like predators who knew they didn’t need to rush. Their eyes glinted red in the firelight. One of them passed close to the cell, and I froze, holding my breath until he was gone.

I didn’t know how long I sat there motionless. Minutes? Hours?

But then, the door opened. I shifted forward, straining to see.

The man who entered wasn’t a shifter. He wasn’t a vampire, either. He was something else entirely. Tall. Pale. His hair was black as night, and his eyes—cold, empty—lingered on me as he approached.

“Well,” he said, voice smooth as silk. “You’re awake.”

I didn’t answer.

He smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. “Good. That will make this easier.”

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