Page 182 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

She shook her head, staring down at the female.

“Speak, Tessalyn.”

“N-no,” she whispered.

Theon yanked the female’s hood back, and even with her injuries, she lurched forward, hissing as she lunged for Tessa’s throat, and—

Those were fangs.

“She is a Night Child,” Theon said, gripping the female by the hair and yanking her back. He held his dagger at the female’s throat and tipped her head back farther. She bared her fangs again, a crazed sort of mania in her eyes as she tried to reach for Tessa once more, but Theon’s grip was solid. He wouldn’t let the female touch her. But the black streaks running through her skin, spider-webbing across her cheeks, down her throat…

“I don’t understand,” Tessa rasped.

“A vampyre, Tessa. She is what you would call a vampyre, and she was sent to take you.”

“Vampyres aren’t real.”

“And yet you look upon one.”

She shook her head, mainly because she couldn’t wrap her head around what he was saying.

And then Theon slid the dagger across the female’s throat.

Tessa lurched back as warm blood sprayed across her face, her neck, her chest. It was too familiar. Except this wasn’t the blood of her friends. This wasn’t the blood of other Fae being tortured to force her magic to surface.

Just like with the other female, the other vampyre, Theon brought the dagger down into her heart.

“Night Children can only be killed with blades made of certain material. This one,” he said, yanking the dagger free, “is made of nightstone. It must go through their heart.”

“I don’t know what nightstone is.” It sounded stupid, but that was the only thing she could think to say.

“I know, but you will soon,” he answered, and he was far too calm for a male who had just killed two people.

He cleaned his dagger off on the female’s cloak, leaving Tessa kneeling beside the corpse while he retrieved his other blade. His shadows loosened, freeing her wrists. She watched as both daggers disappeared among shadows, and then he came to a stop before her. He said nothing else, his hand appearing in her line of sight. He wiggled his fingers impatiently, and she placed her shaking hand in his palm.

With a sharp jerk, she was on her feet, and then an arm was wrapping around her waist, pulling her into his chest. Black wings of shadows appeared behind him, and she tried to push out of his hold. But he was already hauling her into the sky, a hand clamping onto her mouth to stifle her scream.

His lips brushed her ear as he said, “We have to fly low to avoid being seen right now. When we near the townhouses, I will use my shadows to shroud us. Do not scream. Do you understand, Tessa?”

She nodded. He released her mouth, only to slide an arm beneath her knees. She buried her face into his chest so she couldn’t see the land passing by below her, and when she felt his magic slide around her, she leaned into the darkness.

Let it calm her.

Let it soothe her.

Let it caress her.

She didn’t care that it was an extension of Theon. She didn’t care that the bond was using it to draw her to him more and more. Too much had happened in the last few hours. Seeing Mother Cordelia again. Sitting in a state of panic and memories for an hour. The run to the river. The vampyres. Watching Theon kill them. She could still feel the sticky blood on her face, her neck. She felt like she did after an assessment with too many emotions to process and too much shit to sort out. There were so many questions, but she didn’t know where to begin. She needed to clean this blood off her, but she also knew Theon was pissed. Consequences for her impulsiveness were coming, and maybe he wouldn’t give her the time to shower or think or—

The spiraling of her thoughts was cut off when they landed in the yard behind the townhouse, and Theon lowered her to the ground. The grass was cold beneath her feet, and a light rain was falling. The double veranda doors were thrown open, and Axel was there, taking her from Theon’s grip. She didn’t understand why until she saw Theon stripping off his suit jacket, followed by his tie and shirt.

“Where are your shoes?” Theon asked, glancing down at Tessa’s bare feet as he removed his own black shoes.

“By the river,” she rasped out.

“The river?” Axel repeated, grabbing her wrist. She hadn’t realized she’d been twisting her fingers into his shirt. “The Wynfell River? What the fuck were you doing there?”

“Call Luka. He shouldn’t be fully shifted, so he should answer. He’s taking care of bodies. Make sure he finds her shoes,” Theon said, stepping forward and taking her back from his brother.

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