Page 59 of Vampire Blood

I slowed, pressing a hand to my chest, trying to breathe. “Kael, I can’t—”

He whirled around, his face sharp with urgency. “You can.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice but not softening it. “You have to.”

Tears burned at the edges of my eyes, and I shook my head. “We left them. We left him. How can I live with that?”

Kael grabbed my shoulders, holding me steady. “Because you don’t have a choice, Annika. You’re the only thing keeping them from winning. Don’t you get that?” His voice softened, but his grip didn’t. “If they get you, it’s over. For all of us.”

I swallowed hard, forcing back the tears. He was right. I hated it, but he was right. My life wasn’t just mine anymore. It hadn’t been since the day I found out what I was.

But it didn’t make it any easier to leave Lucas.

“I just—” My voice cracked, and I hated how weak I sounded. “What if something happens to him?”

Kael’s expression flickered, but he didn’t let me see any doubt. “Lucas can handle himself. He’s strong, Annika. He’ll fight until his last breath if it means keeping you safe.”

I closed my eyes, trying to hold onto that thought. Lucas was strong. He was smart. And he wouldn’t give up. Neither could I.

Kael let go of my shoulders and took a step back. “We can’t stay here. It’s too exposed.” He glanced around before jerking his chin toward the dense thicket ahead. “There’s an old hunting cabin not far from here. We can hide there until we figure out our next move.”

I hesitated, my gaze trailing back toward the direction we’d come from. Smoke still hung in the air, faint but enough to remind me of the fires. The screams.

Lucas.

I forced myself to turn away.

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

Kael didn’t waste time. He started moving again, and I followed, pushing aside the ache in my chest.

I had to believe this was the right choice. That leaving Lucas behind didn’t mean losing him forever.

Suddenly, pain ripped through me so fast and unexpected that I couldn’t’ even scream. My knees buckled, and I hit the ground hard, dirt and leaves scraping against my skin. The world tilted and spun, and then there was nothing but the burning, searing fire tearing through my veins.

I barely registered Kael’s voice shouting my name. His hands grabbed my shoulders, shaking me, but I couldn’t focus. My body convulsed, jerking uncontrollably, as if something inside me was trying to claw its way out.

“Annika! Annika!” Kael’s voice cracked, panicked. “Stay with me! Just—damn it, what’s happening? Annika, look at me!”

I couldn’t. My eyes rolled back, and my vision blurred with flashes of red and gold light. It wasn’t the forest anymore—it was something else. Something deeper, darker. Shapes shifted in my mind, shadows moving toward me. Voices whispered.

Come closer. Open the door. Set him free.

“No!” I choked out, my voice raw and broken. My hands clawed at the ground, dirt slipping between my fingers. The whispers grew louder, pressing against my skull, pounding in rhythm with the pain.

Kael’s voice broke through, rough and desperate. “Annika, fight it! Whatever this is—don’t let it win!”

I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But it felt endless, this pull inside me.

Kael’s hands gripped my face, forcing me to look at him even as my body shook. “You’re stronger than this! You are. Do you hear me? You can fight it!”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. “Kael—”

“Breathe,” he ordered. “Focus on me. Stay here.”

I tried. I clung to his voice, to his hands grounding me, to the heat of his skin against mine. Slowly, the tremors started to fade. The whispers receded, dragging themselves back into the dark corners of my mind. My breathing evened, but I was shaking… still shaking.

Kael didn’t let go. He knelt beside me, his face pale and tight, his eyes locked on mine. “What the hell was that?”

I swallowed, my throat raw and aching. “I—I don’t know.” My voice barely sounded like my own.

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