Page 45 of Vampire Blood

I staggered back, my instincts screaming at me to run, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Because it was Annika.

She turned to me, her eyes still glowing, her expression fierce and unyielding. For a moment, I didn’t recognize her.

Then her gaze softened. Her lips parted. “Lucas.”

The light faltered. She stumbled.

I was there before she fell, catching her, pulling her against me as the glow faded. Her body trembled, her breaths shallow, but she was alive.

The shifters were scattered, groaning or unconscious. This was our moment to run. I held Annika in front of me, her body limp against my chest. Her breathing was shallow, too shallow, and every uneven rise and fall of her shoulders sent another bolt of fear through me.

We rushed out of the crypt, back the way we came from, constantly looking back. I had no idea what it was that Annika did, but I knew that she had saved us.

As soon as we saw the gleam of pale moonlight, we headed to our horses. I gently placed her on mine.

“Follow me!” Kael instructed. I knew better than to argue.

Kael rode ahead, his horse cutting through the dense forest like it had been bred for this. He didn’t look back, didn’t slow, but I could feel his urgency in the way he rode. He was scared too.

I tightened my arms around Annika, pressing her closer, like that could keep her here, keep her safe. Her head lolled against me, strands of her hair sticking to her sweat-dampened skin.

“Stay with me,” I murmured, my lips brushing her ear. “Just a little longer, Annika. Don’t give up.”

No response.

The horse beneath me shifted, its muscles straining as we cut through the forest. I forced my focus outward, scanning the shadows for any hint that we’d been followed. But nothing came. Only the steady drum of hooves and the whisper of wind through the trees.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was slipping away.

“She’s burning up,” I called out to Kael. My voice sounded raw, too sharp. “How much farther?”

“Not far,” he shouted back. “A few more miles.”

A few more miles felt like too much.

Annika shifted weakly, her fingers curling against my arm. The faint movement hit me harder than any blow I’d ever taken. Relief and terror tangled inside me. She was still fighting. But for how much longer?

“You’ll be okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to her. “You have to be okay.”

Kael urged his horse faster, and I followed, pushing my mount until its breaths came in ragged bursts. My own heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out everything else.

I didn’t know this shaman Kael spoke of. I didn’t know if they could save her. But I didn’t care.

I’d ride through hell itself if it meant keeping Annika alive.

Finally, we stopped at the mouth of a cave. The entrance yawned open like a wound in the earth, dark and uninviting. Its edges were jagged and slick with moss. I tightened my grip on Annika, feeling the faint rise and fall of her breath against me. It was too shallow, too fragile.

Kael slid off his horse, boots hitting the ground hard. He turned to face me, his expression sharp, lined with frustration. “This is it,” he said, gesturing toward the cave. “The shaman’s inside.”

I didn’t move. My instincts screamed at me to be careful. The cave felt wrong, like a place that devoured light and sound. And Kael, no matter what he’d done, was still an outsider.

“You’re sure?” My voice came out rough.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “If I haven’t proven myself trustworthy by now, Lucas, I never will.”

I stared at him, letting the weight of his words hang in the air. He didn’t look away. Didn’t flinch.

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