Vail headed towards the back of the room, and I shook the dirty thoughts out of my head while I focused on the task at hand. We needed to learn what we could about the ritual and then get out before Erendriel returned.
Another archway appeared along the back wall, this one smaller and more simple in design than the previous ones. Carefully, we crept underneath it and down the hallway as I tried to ignore the growing tension between my shoulder blades. There was no sign of the wraiths anywhere.
It was possible they’d just traveled further into the temple and we couldn’t hear them, but I couldn’t shake the bad feeling that sunk further into my mind with every step.
The hallway abruptly ended, and Vail stopped. I couldn’t see anything past his bulky frame, and when Alaric halted just behind me, I leaned against him slightly, needing something to ground me. As if he felt the same way, he rested one steady hand on my shoulder and the other on my hip. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but somewhere along this journey, our relationship had shifted from rivals and reluctant peers to friends.
I looked over my shoulder as Alaric met my gaze, and I saw trust in his eyes… and maybe something more.
A sound from somewhere ahead of us drew our attentionaway from each other, and we both leaned to the side, trying to peer around Vail.
From what I could see, there was a small square room. Unlike the previous rooms, however, this one didn’t have any columns or seating, but I smelled the stench of blood. Moroi blood. A lot of it.
We need to leave,I thought frantically, but as I reached for Vail’s shoulder, Alaric slammed into me, and we tumbled into the room. Two wraiths dropped from where they’d been hovering on the ceiling, and the third hurled Nyx into the wall.
Their body crunched and fell into a still heap as a scream tore out of my throat, and a chilling sound came from the wraiths as they backed us into a corner. Laughter.
We were so fucked.
Before I could react,Vail pulled his sword free and slashed across the abdomen of the wraith closest to us. I didn’t know if was because Vail was so fast or because the wraiths were closer to their Fae form, but his blade bit into flesh. The wraith shrieked as blood and intestine leaked from its stomach.
Bile rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down as I continued backing up towards where Nyx had fallen, Alaric urgently following in my steps.
The wraith Vail had wounded collapsed to the floor and twitched a few times before going still. The remaining two focused cold, black eyes on him. One snapped into shadow and disappeared while the other took a swipe at Vail with elongated claws. He leaned back, narrowly avoiding the strike, and went on the offensive.
I drew the blade from my thigh and stood guard over Nyx, trying to figure out where the other wraith had disappeared to.
I didn’t know why they both hadn’t turned into shadows.The one fighting Vail was holding its own, but all of their tactical advantage came from being incorporeal most of the time, which it seemed to be refusing to do.
“Grab Nyx,” I commanded Alaric. “We need to get out of here.”
Alaric didn’t question me as he quickly but carefully picked Nyx up off the floor. The ranger didn’t so much as stir, but I could still hear their heart beating. They still stood a chance. But there was nothing we could do for them in here; we needed to get the hell out.
Shadows streamed from the ceiling and slammed into Vail, who flew backward and through the hallway before crashing into the other room. Alaric and I darted after him but just as we reached the fallen ranger, he leapt to his feet and started back towards the wraiths. I wrapped my fingers around his arm and pulled, stopping him in his tracks.
Vail snarled and shoved me against the wall next to the hallway entrance. His dark grey eyes had turned completely silver, and his fangs were on display.Hello, bloodlust.
“Samara!” Alaric screamed.
“GO!” I ordered. Alaric hesitated, clearly torn between getting Nyx to safety and helping me. “He won’t hurt me,” I said with a confidence I absolutely did not feel, but I needed Alaric to get out of here. “Save Nyx, Alaric! Please!”
He let loose a pissed-off snarl but did as I asked and took off running towards the exit with Nyx gripped tightly in his arms.
Vail’s claws dug into my shoulders, and I heard the wraiths whispering excitedly as the scent of my blood filled the air. Hopefully, that meant they would focus on me and not Alaric fleeing with Nyx.
Fuck. On second thought, wraiths being completely focused on me sounded really, really bad.
Vail tilted his head, mesmerized by the blood pooling in thepocket of my collarbone. I had to snap him out of it, and then we needed to hightail our asses out of here to where the sun was still shining outside.
Erendriel didn’t seem to be bound by shadows, but hopefully these ones weren’t far enough along in their transformation to withstand sunlight.
“Vail,” I warned when I felt him adjust his grip.
Before I could do anything, he yanked me against him and ran a rough tongue against my skin.
Of all the times for his bloodlust to rise, of course it had to be now.
Thin tendrils of shadows leaked from the ceiling and brushed against the blood gushing from where Vail still had a brutal hold on me. Whispers swam through my mind, making me shudder until one word floated to the surface.