She made her way through the tall tussocks surrounding the inn, peppered by a coppice of soaring cypress trees, and headed to the adjacent stables, made of the same stone and timber as the main building. She darted behind the trees, her steps quiet but quick as she made her way back to the inn, the song of hooting owls following in her wake.
But all at once, the singing stopped.
Silence descended, the forest surrounding her hushed, as if holding its breath. Ravenna slowly looked up, narrowing her eyes. An owl took flight. She stopped walking, the hair at the back of her neck rising.
An inner warning trilled through her body.
Something was watching her progress, tracking her movement. Her breath caught at the back of her throat as she listened for movement within the tall grass. A branch snapped and Ravenna jumped a foot. She yanked her dagger from within her boot and spun, raisingthe blade to the level of her heart. Something prowled in the thicket. It felt sinister, animalistic, and far from human. She didn’t think it was one of the Luni.
Another branch snapped.
A soft gasp drifted out of her. How many times had her father warned her of the wolves and golden jackals that stalked the woods? How many times had he warned her of the vampyres who liked to hunt in the dead of night? They lived in the caverns in the north of the peninsula, preferring craggy rock to ferns and cypress trees, but it wasn’t unusual to hear of vampyre attacks in the hilly and forested regions near her home.
A sinister form crept through the night, rustling the tall grass.
It was draped in shadow, long in frame.
Thoughts raced through her mind. She threw a glance over her shoulder toward the inn, calculating her options. The front doors were sure to be locked. Her bedroom window was on the other side of the building; she could make it if she ran. Another movement, this time closer, coming from directly ahead of her. Whatever lurked in the dark was coming for her straight on.
Her heart slammed against her ribs, painful thuds that made her dizzy.
A low hiss drifted toward her.
Ravenna took off at a dead run.
Thundering footsteps followed.
She rounded the corner of the inn, her makeshift rope was just ahead, fluttering against the stone. Only a few feet before she could just reach—
A rough hand spun her around. The knife in her hand went flying, the blade glinting in the cold moonlight. She opened her mouth to scream but was dragged forward and pressed hard against a solid chest. His skin was ice against hers, cold to the bone. The dark magic inside her woke with a roar. She blinked against the hazy dark, trying to make sense of her situation. A tall form held on to her; the scent of pine wrapped around her.
Her mind flashed with quick realizations.
The knight held her.Saturnino.
She tried to scream—
Saturnino brought his hand over her mouth, cutting off the noise. He banded his arm around her lower back, a frigid snare. She struggled against him, but she might as well have pushed against a granite wall. Her magic thrummed under her skin, furious. It made her fingers tingle; her breath stuttered out of her. His nearness threatened the careful control she maintained to keep the dark side of her leashed.
He stared down at her. “I warned you.”
She squirmed in his arms.
“Don’t scream,” he warned, his voice low. He lifted his hand, slow, one finger at a time, his gaze never leaving hers.
Magic swirled through her. Ravenna panicked—she couldn’t use it, shecouldn’t. “Release me.”
Saturnino held himself still, immovable, calm and poised. Cool breath brushed against her cheeks when he spoke. “This is how easy it is for me.”
Her heartbeat roared in her ears. “What is?”
His chilling whisper cut through the night. “To get my hands on you.”
A shiver slid down her spine. She inhaled through her nose, fighting her magic’s siren call, but for the first time in years she was wavering. It would be too easy to give in. To let the magic engulf her senses, overrunning her body and control.
She would rather fight with a matchstick or a spoon, with her bare hands, than use something as detestable and shameful as her dark magic. “Please don’t make me do this,” Ravenna whispered. “Per favore.”
Saturnino shifted her in the cage of his arms, dipped his chin to better see into her face. He pulled his dark brows together into a quick frown. Moonlight cut across his brutally handsome face. “What do you think you could possibly do to me?”
