Page 32 of Vampire Blood

And for one fragile moment, everything else, the danger, the fear… it all faded away.

Chapter Ten

Lucas

We stopped in a clearing deep in the woods, the moonlight cutting through the branches like shards of silver. Annika sagged against me, her breathing shallow, but she was alive. Safe… for now. That should’ve been enough.

But Kael wasn’t done.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he snarled, rounding on me the moment we stopped moving. “You risked everything, all of us, for what? A chance?”

I stepped away from Annika and turned to face him, the heat rising fast in my chest. “I was thinking I wasn’t going to sit on my hands any longer while they drained her dry!”

“You didn’t think at all!” he snapped. “Charging in like that could’ve gotten her killed. Could’ve gotten all of us killed!”

“I wasn’t alone,” I shot back, my voice sharp. “I had Callum. And I had you—”

“Because I had to follow you!” His eyes burned as he stalked closer, his shoulders squared. “You didn’t give me a choice, Lucas. I had a plan! We had a plan. But no, you had to throw that out the window because you couldn’t control yourself for five goddamn minutes!”

I felt the anger coil tighter in my gut. “I’m not going to apologize for saving her.”

“No one’s asking you to apologize for that!” Kael shouted. “But you’re supposed to lead. To think. Not run headlong into danger and drag the rest of us with you!”

“Don’t you dare lecture me about leadership.” My voice dropped lower, colder. “Not after you left her there. You haddays, Kael. Days to get her out, and what did you do? You waited. You watched. So don’t stand there and act like you’re the only one who cares what happens to her.”

Kael’s fists clenched at his sides, and for a moment, I thought he might throw a punch. Part of me wanted him to. The pressure in my chest begged for release, and a fight would’ve been easier than standing there, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“Stop it!” Annika’s voice cut through the tension like a blade.

We both turned to her. She stood a few steps away, her face pale but fierce, her eyes blazing even as her body swayed with exhaustion.

“This isn’t helping,” she said, her voice tight. “We’re out. We’re alive. And we need to stay that way.”

I took a breath, but the anger was still there, raw and burning. “Tell him that,” I muttered.

“Both of you,” she snapped. “We need to stick together, not tear each other apart.”

Kael stepped back, raking a hand through his hair. “You’re right,” he said, though his voice was stiff. “But we can’t keep making reckless moves like this. If we do, we’re dead.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not without lashing out again.

Kael exhaled sharply and turned away, pacing the edge of the clearing. Annika sank down onto a fallen log, and I dropped beside her, my hands still trembling from the adrenaline.

Her fingers brushed mine, grounding me.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said softly. “Throwing yourself into danger like that. It’s not just about you anymore.”

I met her eyes and saw the fear she was trying to hide. Not fear for herself, but for me.

“I couldn’t leave you there,” I said, my voice quieter now. “I won’t.”

Her fingers tightened around mine. “I know. But we need to be smarter.”

Kael stopped pacing and looked back at us, his expression unreadable. “We need to keep moving before they track us,” he said.

We rode into the town just before dawn, the first light breaking over the horizon and painting the sky in streaks of pale gold and gray. The gates groaned open, and the sight that met us made something tighten in my chest.

Everyone gathered at the entrance, their faces pale with worry and exhaustion. But as soon as they saw us, saw her, a ripple of relief broke through the crowd like a wave.

---