But Ruvan doesn’t seem to see it. “And here I thought that perhaps…perhaps because you weren’treallyone of them you might just…” Ruvan curses. “Very well. Lie to yourself. Try to deceive with your half-truths. Further insult my attempts at kindness and generosity. It’s all your kind knows how to do anyway.”
He releases me with a light push. Enough to give him room to maneuver around me. But I wasn’t expecting it. I stumble. My foot lands on a board, rather than a beam. It plunges straight through the soggy, snowy wood. I’m off-balance, trying to catch myself. Despite his anger and his glares, Ruvan lunges for me. Our fingers pass through each other. His eyes widen slightly as I fall, crashing through the floor.
Wind screeches in my ears. I try and twist my body, to fall on my feet. I might shatter my legs, but I can have my knees take the impact and then—
There’s shouting above.Whizzing. Two strong arms circle me. Ruvan pulls me to him, twisting us at the last second. We crash to the ground, him softening the impact with his body.
We’ve landed awkwardly. I’m sprawled atop him, legs tangled. Armor pressed together. I groan, prying myself away. Ruvan’s arms are still around my waist. His hair is almost as silver as his armor in the fading light. His lips part slightly.
Just as I’m about to stand with a grimace and an apology, he twists.
“Look out!” Ruvan rolls over and atop me. A clang rings out against his armor, accompanied by a high-pitched screeching sound.
A shadow leaps back, clinging unnaturally to the corner where the wall meets the ceiling, like a frog or spider. Its claws are extended nearly to the size of sickles. Its mouth is permanently opened, a crackling noise reverberating between its four fangs.
“What the…” I breathe in shock.
As soon as I make a sound, the creature’s head jerks toward us. It lets out another blood-curdling scream. The sound is in my teeth. My eyes water and ears ring, dizziness overtaking me. The world suddenly has a sickening swirl.
“Riane, get a hold of yourself!” Ruvan grabs my shoulders, shaking lightly. “I need you with your wits.” He raises his thumb to his lips, as if he intends to bite it again and give me his power. Even with my consciousness tenuous, the hunger rises within me, eager.
But he doesn’t have a chance to break his skin before the beast launches itself into the air.
“My lord!” Ventos booms.
“It’s a Fallen!” That’s the only reply Ruvan has a chance to give before the monster is on him.
The beast is shadow and wind—a roar of claws and death. Ruvan is unflinching as he positions himself between me and the monstrosity. I watch; the world slows. I capture every detail as Ruvan raises his sickle. He goes for the monster’s throat, the creature rears back, the silver clips its shoulder. The beast howls and falls. I think it’s over.
I’m wrong.
I watch with horror as it slowly rises once more. An unrelenting nightmare.
“It—It—You cut it with silver.”
“Silver is a weakness of the vampir.” Ruvan glances over his shoulder, golden eyes swirling with anger. I honestly can’t tell if it’s directed at me or not. “I told you, these beasts arenotvampir. The deeper the hold of the curse, the less they are one of us. Be ready.”
“There’s another!” I bounce onto my feet as movement distracts me from the opposite corner.
“What—” Ruvan doesn’t have a chance to react. The creature lunging for him sinks all of its fangs into the hand wielding the sickle, puncturing the leather of his glove. The weapon clatters to the ground as Ruvan lets out a horrible scream. Black blood explodes. Before my eyes, it changes color to a sickly green shade.
I want to make sure he’s all right. The urge is strange and unwelcome. Fortunately for me, I have a compelling reason not to spend too much time lingering on the thought. I scoop up my sickle and face off against the monster barreling toward me.
Its gait is strange. It shambles on two legs, sprinting, tipping forward to run almost like a wolf on all fours. Its claws dig into the stone floor with every lunge forward, leaving deep gouges behind. It snarls and clicks at me, sniffing the air. It’s all limb and bone and sinewy muscle.
This isn’t like the vampire I’ve been fighting with. There is nothing remotely human about this creature—not even the strange and ethereal way that the vampire seem to mirror humanity.
Every instinct of self-preservation is screaming within me. Telling me to run. To flee. I hold fast. Another thing Drew always said was the mark of a good hunter: being able to hold steady even in the face of death.
I wait until I can see the dark pits of the creature’s eyes. They look more like husks, scabbed and scarred over, rather than anything that could be used for sight. It lunges for me.
I sidestep and slash, catching the creature underneath the ribs. It howls and rolls off my sickle, clipping my armor. Luckily I’m still unscathed. It’s dazed for only a second before it barrels back toward me.
“We’re coming down!” Winny shouts. A rope unfurls, drawing my attention and Ruvan’s at the same time. We see more movement in unison, because we both react.
“Don’t!” he cries, a hand clamping his wounded wrist. I wonder if they’ve seen the gash. Surely they must smell it. The scent of rot coming from Ruvan’s forearm is the only thing my nose can seem to focus on. “It’s a nest of Fallen. Keep moving, we’ll meet you at the old workshop.”
“My lord—” Lavenzia begins to say.
