Understanding floods through me. “And you want that power. You were planning to, what … capture him and make him translate for you?”
A languid shrug. “It wasyouwho gave me the idea with your power thievery.” His eyes turn to slits. “Months of waiting for him to get close enough for me to take him. Gone.”
I drop my gaze to the book in Rorrik’s hand. The red cover is faded, the pages yellow, the spine cracked. It’s even older than I’d imagined.
In my mind’s eye, I see another stack of books next to a cracked stone wall that has recently taken a punch.
Realization slams into me. Rorrik schemed and plotted to get close to the vampire who could read those books.Andthe one in his hand.
Something I could already do.
Rorrik’s expression turns predatory as he clutches the book. The way he looks at me makes my stomach twist.
“I wonder,” he murmurs, half to himself, his fingers trailing along the spine of the book. “You are, after all,sucha curiosity.”
Opening the book, he holds it out to me, just close enough to reveal its strange, curling script. My gaze flicks to it before I can stop myself, and the letters shimmer, twisting into familiar shapes, burning their meaning into my mind.
“Are you able to read this text? If you lie to me,” he warns silkily, “I will know.”
“No.”
He laughs, and it’s a bright, exultant sound I never could have imagined him making. “Try again,” he purrs.
Just like last time, my eyes fill, and I know the tear rolling down my cheek is mostly blood.
And just like last time, the words begin to arrange themselves before my eyes, sending shards of pain into my head. I slap my hand against my temple in a useless attempt at some relief.
“No.”
“I’ve had plenty of experience watching you lie, Arvelle Dacien. I know exactly how the pulse pounds in your neck, the way your eyes widen just the tiniest amount. The way your teeth brush your lower lip as if wishing you could hold the words back.” His voice turns frigid. “Now read.”
My voice trembles. “In the beginning, the gods were—”
“You,” Rorrik marvels. “I spent so much time cornering this vampire, planning to imprison him. And yet you’ve just taken the power I need.” He snaps the book shut, tucking it beneath his cloak. “Congratulations, your value to me has greatly increased.”
I wince, wiping at my eyes. Something tells me being valuable to Rorrik is not a good thing. Although the two dead vampires sprawledat our feet warn me exactly how things go for people who Rorrikdoesn’tvalue.
Rorrik is still coldly furious, but he’s also watching me carefully. “You will work for me.”
My laugh is high-pitched, bordering on hysterical. “Absolutely not.”
“That wasn’t a question.”
My heart stutters. I just tried to save his life, and he’s silently threatening mine. Betrayal is bitter on my tongue. If he thinks I’m going to cooperate with him, he is dreaming.
Rorrik doesn’t know that I could already read that horrifying, painful language before this moment. Andthat’ssomething I will make sure he never learns.
“Don’t do this.” I’m not too proud to beg. “I just want to take my brothers and go.”
“Your brothers aren’t part of this. Unlike Bran, I’m not a complete monster …”
His voice trails off suddenly, and he gives me a look.
“What are you doing?” I ask Rorrik quietly.
He gives me a surprisingly warm smile. “Waiting.”
A body slams into me, and I swipe out with my knife, but he’s already dodging, thrusting me behind him.
