Page 44 of Vampire Blood

The first shifter lunged, claws slashing through the air. I met him head-on, steel singing as my dagger tore through flesh. Blood sprayed, hot and sharp, but there was no time to revel in the kill. Another was already coming.

I spun, dodging the next strike, and drove my blade deep into the shifter’s gut. He howled, collapsing, but more poured in, circling like wolves scenting weakness.

Annika fought beside me, a blade in her hands, small, but sharp. She was fast, ducking and twisting, her movements fierce and desperate. Kael was at her back, his strikes brutal and precise, cutting down anything that came too close.

But it wasn’t enough.

They just kept coming.

Claws ripped through the air, catching my arm, tearing through flesh. I gritted my teeth, but the pain barely registeredas I drove my dagger up, slicing through the shifter’s throat. He dropped, but another took his place.

Annika cried out behind me, and I turned, heart seizing. She staggered, her blade knocked from her hand. A shifter loomed over her, teeth bared.

I didn’t think. I just moved.

I threw myself at him, slamming into his side and driving him away from her. We hit the ground hard, rolling, but I came out on top, sinking my fangs into his throat.

Warm blood filled my mouth. I tore away, leaving him gasping. Dead.

“Annika!” I shouted, already pushing to my feet. She was back on her feet, Kael covering her as another wave hit. But we were too outnumbered.

Too slow.

A blow knocked me sideways. Claws raked down my back, and I hit the ground hard. The world spun, and for a moment, everything blurred. Claws, teeth, blood.

I pushed up, vision clearing just in time to see Kael go down, pinned beneath a massive shifter.

Then, something happened. Something… incredible.

The air shifted. It thickened. It rolled over me like a tide, heavy and electric, raising every hair on my body. My head snapped toward Annika.

She stood in the center of the chaos, her chest heaving, blood smeared across her skin. Her eyes—God, her eyes—burned with light. Not just rage or fear. Power.

I froze.

So did the shifters.

The leader turned to her, his grin faltering. "What—"

Annika lifted her hands, and the earth trembled. The runes carved into the ground began to glow, pulsing brighter and brighter until the light filled the cavern.

"No!" the leader roared, lunging toward her.

I moved to intercept, but I didn’t need to.

A crack split the air, a crack as loud as thunder, and the shifter was thrown back, his body hitting the wall with a sickening crunch.

Annika didn’t stop.

The light poured from her now, blinding and wild, wrapping around her like fire. The runes flared, and the shifters began to falter, stepping back, shielding their eyes.

I’d never seen her like this before.

She spoke then, her voice layered, echoing through the cavern. It wasn’t her voice alone. It was older. Stronger.

“You will not take her.”

Her words cracked like a whip, and the light erupted outward. It slammed into the shifters, sending them flying, pinning them to the ground. They writhed, howling, but they couldn’t move.

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