Page 77 of Fated Exile

"Fields grow fallow and harvests rot, this man does not deserve his lot. Deny the body, starve the soul, empty out this beggar's bowl. Fill with hunger that which pleads, let the darkness claim his need."

Ignacio must realize halfway through what I'm doing, because he twists out of the chair to bite at me. Bastian intervenes, leaping behind the chair to grab his shoulders and pull him down against it. The vampire hisses and bucks, sounding more like a feral cat than something that was once human. But the magic takes him anyway, cursing him to an impossible, bottomless hunger.

I can see it take hold in his body as the spell sinks into his skin. His cheeks grow hollow and sunken, his pupils blackening with sharp desire. A groan leaves his mouth, spittle flying, and I step back from him as his fangs sharpen with sudden need.

"No. No!" He moans, low and deep, his chest heaving and his sides sinking in with every passing second. "You did this to me—thishunger—"

Snarling, he jerks forward suddenly, his eyes all eaten up with black pupils. His voice grows louder and sharper as he screams, "I will drain you! I will tear your throat out and drink until my need is sated. You will regret the day you cursed me, as the blood slips out of you and your heart ceases to beat."

"I'm sure I will. Until then, you're stuck like this, unless you give me what I want."

I motion for Bastian to let him go, and he does, watching the vampire warily. He seems to shrink with every passing second, but he also struggles more, full of rage. If it weren't for the weakness in his limbs, I think he'd tear his hands off and run at me with his fangs out, desperately searching for a vein.

Which is why I'm going to offer him exactly what his heart desires. Pulling out my utility knife, I flick its blade from the handle and meet Ignacio's eyes as I dip it against my palm. He stills, mouth open, fangs fully extended, his breath hissing across them with need.

"I'm willing to offer you something in return, of course," I tell him casually, sensing Bastian's anxiety grow as I push the blade against my skin until a drop of blood wells up. "You don'thaveto be hungry, Ignacio. You could drink... at least a little. Enough to take the hunger away."

"Yes. Yes!" His gaze sharpens on me, and he growls, "I will feast on you."

"Maybe. But first I want something from you." I take a step towards him, tilting my hand so that the blood rolls across my palm, tantalizing but oh-so-far away. "I want you to answer a question in exchange for a sip of my blood."

Bastian warns in a low voice, "Delilah, be careful."

I hear him, though I don't let my own fear or anxiety slip onto my face as I take another step towards the bloodsucker. He's completely feral now, his tendons standing out beneath pale skin, muscles writhing and nostrils flaring as he twists to get closer to my blood. The chair and its chains are barely holding him down, and despite the weakness of hunger overtaking him, I know he's still a vampire. He's still strong.

But I'm a hybrid, former exile, and the alpha of my pack, with five strong mates who support me, even from a distance. A single bloodsucker won't take me down. No matter how hungry he is, he'll never get to have me.

"Tell me what Delphine wants with the pack, and I'll let you sip." I press the blade in deeper, cutting a line across my palm that heals almost as soon as it bleeds. The pain is a distant thing, barely noticeable as my heart races at the nearness of danger and the possibility of getting the answers I want. "Tell me why she sent you—and I know that she did. Tell me what she plans to do next."

"Those are three statements of requests, not questions," Ignacio hisses, his tongue fat against his extended fangs. "I don't know all the answers to them, and I couldn't tell you if I did."

"Tell me what you do know, then."

His gaze sharpens, and he chuckles—the sound turning into a whine as I press my palm close enough that his tongue flicks out to taste the blood, only to be denied.

Growling, he snaps out, "She will takeeverything.Your land, which will be ours. Your powers and your will, which will remake this place to beourhome. Your people will be our slaves and our feasts, and they'll breed us an army that will take over everything. NOW GIVE ME YOUR BLOOD!"

I wince at the boom of his voice, leaving a thin chest hollowed by starvation, but refuse to give in. "Tell me something I can use. Not this bluster and bullshit. Or I'll perform the curse three more times and let you wither away."

A lift of his lip. Black eyes look up at me. Bastian takes a step forward, hands out, every muscle in his taut body tense.

Ignacio says, "She will invade soon.Verysoon. You won't see a single one of us coming, and we will take all that you love."

Then he throws himself forward, ripping his arms off the chair and leaving his hands behind. With mangled stumps he reaches for me, his open mouth sinking into my palm and jerking my hand forward. I yelp as sharp fangs dig into my skin, a venom made strong by hunger and hatred burning into my blood.

Bastian roars, leaping forward to grab at the vampire—

And just as he's about to pull him off, Ignacio jerks away from me. He howls, blood dribbling down his white skin, thin body jerking in a painful arc. Whimpering, he looks right at me—then twists his head unnaturally to the side, until his neck breaks.

A moment later he's turned into ash and dust, even the mangled hands he left behind, staked to the metal chair.

I take in a deep, shaking breath, cradling my hand against my chest as numbness spreads beneath my healing skin.

Bastian rushes towards me, putting his hands on my shoulders and peering down into my face. "Delilah, are you okay?"

"Yes." Tears spring to my eyes, and I feel like a coward as I look up to him and admit, "I don't know what to do next. I know that I have to stop her, to kill her—but I never found out how."

"We'll figure it out," he reassures me, pulling me against him. "You'll find out how to kill Delphine. I'm sure of it."

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