Page 14 of Shadows of Fate

She nodded her head in confirmation and then grabbed my hand for a moment. Most people, I’d snap at for this. I truly didn’t enjoy being touched, but Allie didn’t bring out that side of me. I just wanted to take care of the little human. She was almost a full head shorter than me, and now that she was clean she appeared even younger than she did before.

“There is a man looking for you, Silvana. Your first thought will be to kill him, but give him a chance, okay? He isn’t like the rest.” Allie’s tone was gentle and quiet.

I stared at her for a moment, unsure where to go from there. “What do you mean, Allie?”

“The men—males who tried to take me, they knew that sometimes I just… Sometimes I know things. Things I shouldn’t always know. When I touch someone, things just pop into my brain about them. I can’t control what the things are or when it happens. I just know.” She looked away. “I know that there is a man—he’s a vampire too. He’ll come to you with dark magic. He wants to help you, and he can. You’re connected. So don’t kill him. Promise me, Silvana.” Her tone was filled with a sudden urgency, and I found myself nodding in confirmation.

“I won’t kill him, Allie. Don’t worry. Let’s get you dried off and out of his hellhole. Okay?”

She rose from the tub, and I handed her a dry towel.

I leaned against the door to give her space to dress when my mind wandered. A vampire with dark magic doesn’t narrow it down much in the Court of Shadows. Most of the vampires here with magic have shadow magic or the gift of necromancy. Most of the magic here is dark magic in some sort of way. So, here’s to hoping when I see this male, I’ll know somehow not to kill him.

Although I wasn’t exactly known as thelet’s get to know youtype before daggers flew from my hands.

* * *

After Allie was dressed and feeling a bit more put together, I headed downstairs to have a word with Ed. I grabbed her a small bowl of food to eat while I talked to him and directed her to a table away from the door where I could still keep an eye on her.

Sitting down on a barstool across from Ed, I smiled at him. But my smile spoke of no kindness.

“Tell me, Ed, why I shouldn’t lean across this bartop and drain you dry?” I asked quietly.

His face paled as he stumbled backward a step. “I-I-I— Well, I have information! So that may interest you.” I heard him swallow, and I just continued to stare. “There have been some people asking about you—with a drawing of your face. Asking who you are and where you’re from.”

Oh, well, that is news to me. “And who are these men, Ed? You’ll have to cough up more information than just that.”

His eyes darted around the bar before he moved back in closer to me. “They belong to the king of the court, miss.”

Internally I was rolling my eyes. We don’t have kings in Kostbare—we have rulers. But no one ever knows how to address these males. Ridiculous. I’d sooner slit my own throat than bow for any of those males.

That’s when it dawned on me. Allie said there was a man looking for me with dark magic. Really, she meant a male if he’s a vampire. What if it’s the ruler of the Court of Shadows? Was that insane? Sort of. But also not impossible, I guess.

“Well, Ed, it seems you won’t die right this moment. Lucky you.” I smirked and walked back toward Allie. Sitting down across from her, I eyed her warily. “Can I ask you a question?”

She put her spoon back down into her bowl and looked at me across the table. “Of course.”

Letting out a deep breath, I gritted my teeth, debating if I really wanted an answer to this. “You said there was a male looking for me—it didn’t happen to be the ruler of the court, did it? Would you know something like that?”

Allie tilted her head to the side a bit, eyeing me carefully. She reached across the table, took my hand in hers, and closed her eyes. I just let her. It was clear the woman had some sort of magic, and part of me was curious how much stronger it would be if she were turned. Some humans have been known to have magic. It was rare, but not unheard of. Most people just called them witches, but personally part of me wondered if they were somehow descended from vampires.

Vampires and humans have been known to procreate, and although it was incredibly rare, it had happened, according to the legends.

A small smile curved along Allie’s face. “I know where you can take me, Silvana. But try not to fret, we’ll be back together again soon.”

I sighed. “If it’s with him, I have a message I’m leaving you with.”

Chapter9

I Trust You

Raiden

It’d been almost a full moon cycle since I’d seen my little ice queen in action, and I’d never been more determined to find her. I wasn’t even sure exactly what my plan was once I found her, but I told myself it would come to me as it happened.

Micah had been asking around to some of the covens in our court, but I hadn’t received even a drop of information. She was a living, breathing, magnificent ghost.

In the middle of looking for her, I was also trying to find any sort of scrap of information on the missing females. Unfortunately, I was having luck on neither end. Some of them had been returned to their families, while others hadn’t been seen once. The most I got from the ones who went home was that an angel with daggers and fangs saved them, and then they’d cry. Not that I blamed them, but it didn’t help me find the ones who did this to them.

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