Page 65 of Mortal Shift
But it was unlikely to be one of my worst, either, given the whole feeding den disaster. All the more incentive to move faster. I really didn’t want to be publicly fed on. Too bad I wouldn’t be able to touch base with some of those humans when I left, though, just to be sure they really, truly, wanted to be here, of their own free will and not thanks to some kind of supernatural addiction. But even if they weren’t, what could I do, really? I couldn’t even stop one stupid vamp from treating me like a juice box.
I reached the wall, and made for the tree I knew marked the hole in the wards. My heart skipped a beat as I caught sight of the small shadow behind it. Ling had come through: my bag was ready and waiting. I was doing this. And this time, there was no-one around to stop me.
I snatched up the bag, and eyed up the wall. If the bag went over, then the wards were still down, and all I had to do was scramble up and follow it.
Here went everything.
I sucked in a deep breath, and slung the bag up and at the wall. For the longest moment it seemed to glide slowly, inexorably through the air and I waited, breath trapped in my lungs, for it to bounce off some unseen force and plummet back to the ground. But it kept going. And then there was a soft thud on the far side of the wall.
It was over. The hole was still there. And I was going through it next. The breath whooshed out of my chest in a sigh that wasn’t wholly relief. This was it. My last moments at Darkveil.
“Well, that was stupid.”
A strangled scream burst from my lips and I twisted round, searching for the source of the voice.
“Now you’ve lost your bag. Up here.”
My gaze leaped to the tree branches just as Thaden swung down and landed on his feet, making less noise than my bag had done. In daylight, and had it been anyone else, I might have been impressed. But out here alone with Thaden as he landed cat-like in near silence was eerie, and my heart hammered painfully in my chest.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, taking a step back and then catching myself a moment too late. Never run. Never look like prey. Never show weakness to a predator. I steeled myself, but not before I saw the anticipation play across his shadowy features.
“I think that’s my line,” he said, advancing a step. “Because to the untrained eye, it would appear you’re trying to leave the academy.”
“So, what, are you stalking me now?” I demanded, crossing my arms under my breasts, which immediately drew his eye there. Stupid dress. I quickly dropped my hands back to my sides. “Well?”
“I’m just making sure you’re not late for your appointment. The whole academy’s talking about it, you know.”
“Gee, great. It’s almost like the lot of you have nothing better to do.”
“Almost,” he agreed, taking another step towards me, and my feet took a step back of their own accord, backing me up against the wall.
“Why?” I whispered, and then swallowed. “Why do you care?”
“Because your blood belongs to me, and I don’t like to share.”
“Then give me a leg up,” I said, startled by my own boldness. But what the hell, I had nothing left to lose, not now.
He laughed, and I wondered if a serial killer might have the exact same laugh.
“Why would I want to do that? It’ll be pretty hard to enjoy your delectable taste if you vanish out into the mundane world.”
“Then what? You’re going to drag me back there and watch Azriel drink me dry in front of the whole academy? Because that sounds a lot like sharing to me.”
“No. I’m going to drag you back there, and then you’re going to bow your pretty head and offer your neck tomein penance, andIam going to drink you. Whether I drink you dry remains to be seen.”
“Gee, thanks. What an incentive.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” he said, his voice a whisper that crept up my spine, “I won’t let you die. I enjoy you far too much for that.”
And, for some ridiculous, insane reason, I trusted him. Not that he wouldn’t let me die through any sense of decency or altruism, but that he wanted my blood enough that he wouldn’t let anyone deprive him of it. He took what he wanted, and right now, what he wanted was me.
“Won’t Azriel have a problem with that?”
“Did I mention I’m a prince? Azriel may run the vampires inside Darkveil, but outside here, his clan bends the knee to mine. Power is fluid like that. Something you’d do well to remember, sweetness.”
“Oh, I remember,” I said. “I just don’t care. I don’t give a shit who you are. I don’t belong here.”
“You’re Cole’s mate.”
