Page 3 of Bleeding Love

“Why is it always the same?” she hissed, her nails digging into my skin. “Everywhere I go, someone is trying to kill me. I have done nothing to you! I have done nothing to anyone in decades, so tell me, vampire! What is it going to take for everyone to leave me alone? Must I kill you all? Must I become the worst monster this world has ever seen? Tell me!”

I stared with confusion as she panted, her hand trembling while the hold weakened. But it wasn’t her words, not even the fact that she had actually beaten me—a vampire of a thousand years—that got me speechless. It was the desperate, hurt look in her eyes. A look I had seen before on a face very dear to me, a face I could barely remember now.

“I…” I started, not sure what to say. I didn’t care about living or dying, so even if she finished me off, it would have been just the same. But looking at her now, with those desperate eyes that stared through me, I wanted to know. I wanted to know who this witch was, and what happened to her. I wanted to know why she was this powerful and why her blood tasted like life itself.

Before I could decide what my next words should be, she swayed. I watched as more blood trickled down her nose right before her eyes rolled backward. Her body tilted forward, and she landed on my chest, where she remained lying while her breathing slowed.

I could feel her heartbeat thundering against my skin, her warmth enveloping me, and her blood heightening my senses. She was so light and so defenseless, yet even in her sleep, she was clinging to me like I was her salvation. Or maybe I was death, and she was too tired to keep fighting.

The roots grew still, and this time, when I pulled against them, they didn’t resist. I pried my hands free first, moving the witch to the ground so I could free the rest of my body. Once I was on my feet, I took in the carnage with a wince. This was going to raise a lot of questions, too many questions. Maybe even force me to leave.

I couldn’t afford that. My Master told me to wait here.

My eyes landed on the woman again and I crouched down, pushing the hair out of her face. She had lost a lot of blood, I could tell even as I fed off of her. And her magic hadn’t been depleted, but with her body weak, she couldn’t wield much of it.

I had been…lucky.

Licking my lips where the taste of her lingered, I scooped her in my arms and got up. Her head bobbed on my shoulder, eyes moving feverishly underneath her eyelids, but she didn’t stir.

I looked around until I spotted a large rock nesting between two of the trees. I ran my nails over it several times, sparks flying into the air after a few tries. One of them caught onto the fallen leaves, and a flame started to form, quickly devouring the halm. I stepped back, watching the fire grow, when my foot landed on a piece of wood that cracked under my weight. I looked down at the witch’s wand, studying the enchanted wood for a moment. I had heard of such things before, but never really seen one. As far as I knew, they were extremely rare and hard to make.

I tossed it into the rapidly spreading fire. A burst of magic blew into the blaze, turning it blue for a moment, and raising it all the way to the branches above. In just a couple of minutes, the clearing was devoured by the elements, swallowing the corpses and the blood from view.

I turned my back to the carnage, adjusting the witch in my arms.

That wasn’t how I had imagined my night to end, but looking down at the woman in my grasp, I had a feeling that my troubles weren’t over. And she could end up being my absolute destruction—or my unconditional salvation.

Chapter 2

Celeste

Whydidbadthingsalways come in bulk? How was that fair?

It had barely been two years since I woke up, and the Order was already biting on my heels. How could they possibly locate me? This place was so deep in the countryside that even I had trouble finding it. Did they use a witch to track me, or was I getting sloppy?

But most importantly…where did that damn vampire come from?

Throwing my head back, I studied the dark room.Roomwas a rather generous word for it. Judging by the hard, damp floor, the uneven walls, and the lack of windows, it was more likely a basement. Maybe even a dungeon.

I sighed.Just my luck.

I moved my body so I could check how much of the damage was healed when sharp pain exploded from everywhere. Groaning, I raised my hand to my neck, where the worst of the ache was coming from, and I sensed the unusual heaviness on my wrists. The darkness was too thick to see properly and my eyesight was still adjusting, but I knew what it was rubbing against my skin even without seeing it.

Shackles. I had worn enough of those to recognize the feeling.

Turning my head so I could look at them, I winced as I noticed the rune that was glowing faintly on the inside of the metal. So the vampire wasn’t stupid after all.

I knew it was pointless, but I still reached for my magic, hoping that one of those runes was damaged or misspelled. When I slammed against the familiar barrier separating me from my power, I clicked my tongue.

“Great,” I muttered as I pushed myself to my feet. The damn cuffs were suppressing my healing as well, which was probably why I hadn’t recovered yet. The hunters didn’t have the chance to hurt me too badly, thank the Goddess, but that vampire’s fangs got too close. In fact, once he sunk them into me, I thought I was going to die. He could have ripped my throat before I could defend myself, but instead, he chose just to drink from me. Was it because he preferred his victims to be still alive while he drained them? Or was it some other reason? Whatever it was, I…

My fingers treaded over something rough around my neck and I frowned, leaving the thought to trail off. I traced the fabric curiously, my eyes widening when I realized it was a bandage.

He bandaged me? After he almost killed me? Wait, maybe someone else saved me and…

“You are awake. Finally.”

My head snapped in the direction of the voice. There had been no sound of steps or movement, not even a creak of a door. When had they arrived? Had they been here the whole time? Who…

---