“Yes, I am.”
“How much blood did he take?”
I was too tired to calculate. “A lot.”
It took two tries to roll onto my side, and even then, I had to stop and wait for a spell of dizziness to pass before I could look around.
“Where are we?”
Ahrun had left me in the middle of a field. Train tracks were visible in the distance. If I concentrated, I thought I could still hear the sounds of fighting.
“We’re in a field,” Connor informed me.
It was awkward tilting my head to look at him but I managed. “You don’t say.”
His nod was serious. “It’s true.”
My snicker was a little punch drunk. “Never change, Connor. You’re perfect as you are.”
Connor’s efforts to free himself stilled. “Thank you, sister. You are too.”
So sweet.
“We make a good family.”
Though I wasn’t including our sire or grand sire in that.
“Where is he, by the way?” I asked, my head feeling like it wasn’t entirely attached to my body as I made a show of looking around.
“Who?”
“Ahrun.”
“He dropped you and ran away,” Connor said.
“Asshole.”
Connor’s expressionless face seemed to agree with me as the sound of footsteps distracted us.
I lifted my head to see who it was and cursed. “We just can’t get a break.”
Dominick face was coldly furious as he walked toward us. “Why are you still alive?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
But I wouldn’t, since I was pretty sure the answer was that he’d run away like a fucking coward. He was just like a rat. Abandoning ship when it threatened to sink.
“I’ll have to take care of you myself,” Dominick muttered. “Your deaths will have to be enough to weaken Ahrun through his line.”
Alches stepped from the shadows and plopped his butt on the ground. His ears tilted forward as he stared at the back of Dominick’s head and whined.
Dominick frowned, shooting Alches a dismissive glance before turning back to us.
Connor and I held still as a tentacle unfurled from Alches. It made no sound as it wrapped around Dominick’s ankle. The vampire didn’t have time to scream as the tentacle pulled tight, yanking him off his feet.
Shadows erupted from the hound, swallowing Dominick whole.
twenty-one
