Page 31 of A Blade of Blood and Shadow
Immediately, my smile vanished. Fury bubbled in my gut, and my fingertips crackled with power.
Kaden glanced down at my hands as though he’d heard it, but when he met my gaze, I merely narrowed my eyes. “Thank you for your help. You can go.”
Chapter
Ten
Ileft Imogen’s apartment as soon as the sky began to lighten. My muscles ached, and I was still weak from blood loss, but time wasn’t on my side. Silas had taken Imogen, and I couldn’t make myself wait any longer.
Birds chirped merrily from the treetops as I retrieved my daggers from the alley and wiped the blood from the blades. Going out in broad daylight came with its own risks, but at least I wouldn’t have to worry about blood-drunk vampires stumbling back from the bars and clubs.
By the time I pulled up in front of Adelaide’s bungalow, sunlight was just beginning to gild the rooftops of the houses along her street. I didn’t care that it was too early or that my leathers were caked in blood. I banged on her door until the old witch materialized.
As those milky white eyes swept over me, the wards over the threshold hummed and tightened. They buzzed unpleasantly against my skin, forcing me to take a step back.
“What are you doing here, girl?” Adelaide hissed. “I told you never to come here again.”
“It’s Imogen,” I said. “She’s been taken. By Silas.”
The old witch’s face paled, and an old darkness flickered behind those moon-bright eyes. Her lips tightened into a thin line, and I felt her power pulse.
“Iknewthis was going to happen,” she growled, clutching the edge of the door. “Five years, and she never heard from you. Five years you stayed away. You could have beendeadfor all she knew.” Adelaide wrinkled her nose. “Part of me hoped you were dead. At least then Imogen would be safe from you and your kind.”
I swallowed. The old woman hurtled her words with such malice and vitriol that my stomach tightened and soured.
“The second I learned you were back in her life, I knew you would bring her nothing but pain and suffering. And now look what you’ve done!”
Part of me wished Adelaide had reached out and slapped me. It would have hurt less. Salty tears tracked down my face, but I didn’t bother to wipe them away.
“Save your tears, girl,” she snarled. “They’re no good to anyone.”
“I’m going to get her back,” I said in a shaky whisper. “Please help me.”
“Help?” The old woman stared at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. “There’s nothing you or I can do for her now.”
“P-please,” I stammered, trying to keep my voice steady as snot trickled from my nose. “I-I know where he took her. If I could just —”
“Ofcourseyou know,” Adelaide shot back. “You’re the reason she’s gone!”
Each of her words felt like a physical blow as they pummeled me. My muscles clenched reflexively against the assault, and I made myself take three deep breaths. “Listen . . . I know this is my fault. I know Imogen would be better off without me in her life. But you can’t just abandon her when she needs your help.Please.”
I didn’t care that I sounded pathetic. I would grovel at the old woman’s feet. I’d do anything to get Imogen back.
“I’mnot the one who abandoned her.” Adelaide’s voice was surprisingly soft, but it would have been better if she’d shouted. “If he has her, there’s no getting her back. But you already know that.” She let out a shuddering breath, and the helpless look in her eyes felt like a knife to the chest. “There’s no point getting yourself killed. Imogen is as good as dead.”
Adelaide’s wordswere still ringing in my ears as I returned to Imogen’s apartment. I didn’t bother locking the door.
Silas wasn’t coming for me. He’d ordered Imogen’s kidnapping to send a message: I’d pay for my betrayal with my life, but not until he’d taken everything from me. And Imogen was everything.
Ever since my mother’s death, I’d had no one — not a single soul who’d cared whether I lived or died. No one but Imogen, anyway.
For five years, I’d tried to shield her from all of this. I’dshut her out completely — abandoned my friend — and yet she’d still invited me into her home.
I’d told myself that I could protect her, but the instant I walked across her threshold, I’d doomed Imogen to be the object of Silas’s wrath. I hadn’t protected her when it counted.
As I went to tug the curtains shut against the blazing sun, Goose let out a plaintive whine and threaded his body through my legs. I nudged him away with my foot, but he just continued those graceful figure-eights, mewing and rubbing against my ankles.
I glanced toward the ceramic bowl on the kitchen floor — the very empty ceramic bowl. My heart sank. I’d likely made Goose an orphan like us; the least I could do was feed him.
