“Yes, about that,” Vrykolakas said, lifting his head and sending a casual look in Maxwell’s direction. “One last test of your mettle. Now that we know this family is directly related to the vampire hunters that have been plaguing our kind, they are too dangerous for us to allow their continued existence.”
I swallowed hard, not liking the direction this was going. “But surely the connections to their world, especially of their rank, are worthwhile. They are acquainted with the queen. And Raven has a plan—”
Vrykolakas snorted. “Humans will always fear us for our power. The wolf does not lie with the sheep.” He waved a paw toward Maxwell. “Go on, now, Lucian. Claim your reward. Once you’ve drained this mortal of his blood, you will find your powers restored, born again a strigoi, with abilities more potent than you’ve ever felt before, than any of our kind has ever experienced.”
I stiffened, eyes straying to Maxwell, who took a fearful step back. I could have my old life back, my livelihood, my powers. Everything I’d ever wanted was waiting to be seized, right there, inside him. I could take it all with his blood.
But that would mean killing him for it.
Yes,Vrykolakas confirmed in my head as he met my eyes.Prove that you are worthy. Prove that you are still one of us, untainted by your time among the humans. Take this boy’s life to realize your full potential.
I took a hesitant step toward Maxwell. My hand shook as he stared back at me, shaking his head ever so slightly. Maxwell. This was Maxwell.
“He is the price,” Vrykolakas said.
“Lucian,” Flora’s voice cut across the room, but was silenced with one look from Vrykolakas’s fiery gaze.
Maxwell backed away from me, inching toward the fallen form of his father. He stared down in horror, and then up at me with the same expression.
I closed my eyes. Maxwell was … just another in a long line of victims. I had to imagine he was a man walking along a fog-lined avenue at midnight, face obscured. A stranger. A chance encounter.
I pictured it in my head, a lonely country lane, perhaps a block away from the pub, a figure stumbling in the darkness, perhaps humming to himself. The fog reaching out to him, surrounding him in curtains of roiling tendrils. It filled my mind so that the fog blotted out everything. I became only instinct as I stepped up behind Maxwell so that I wouldn’t have to see his face. One arm snaking around his waist, I pulled him close, while my other hand combed through his curls before gripping the strands tightly and forcing his head back with a gasp.
Blood pumped through his neck, just beneath the surface, so quickly, so loudly, that I could practically taste his blood rolling over my tongue in waves in time to his heartbeat. My mouth salivated in anticipation as I leaned into him, my cheek against his cheek, before sliding ever so slowly down to his neck. My lips found the tender skin there, and Maxwell shuddered beneath me.
I paused, hesitating. I looked up to find Vrykolakas watching closely. “I don’t have fangs.”
The wolf grin on Vrykolakas’s face widened ever more. “Yet you still have teeth.”
I released Maxwell and he collapsed to his knees. I bent over, but not to pull him back to his feet. My hands sought the dagger that had been used to behead the duke. I straightened, wheeling on Vrykolakas with determination, putting myself between him and Maxwell. I made to strike the vampire god as the fog in my mind parted, revealing my true intentions. An inhuman cry escaped me as I launched myself at Vrykolakas with the dagger raised.
A paw batted me aside easily, and I grunted as I stumbled to the floor. I watched with dread as Vrykolakas approached Maxwell, shaking his massive head. “I expected better, Lucian. Perhaps your time among the humans has made you soft.”
I leapt to my feet, scrambling to get to Maxwell’s side. A laugh escaped Vrykolakas as he opened his mouth wide, revealing row upon row of sharp teeth, venturing deep into his throat, just like they had in bat form. His mouth was wide enough to swallow Maxwell whole, but he was poised to snap it down over his head.
If Maxwell was to survive, I needed to act now.
With a growl, I lunged at Vrykolakas. He would have easily swatted me aside again if he hadn’t been distracted by Isabel sinking her claws into his back leg. Taking this as a cue, Helena and Raven also attacked, the latter sinking her fangs into the vampire god’s chest. Emmett and Nancy joined the fray a moment later, looking unsure, attacking the wolf’s right flank.
I cut through the rope securing Maxwell and ripped his bonds from him and the gag from his mouth. I stared at him as he worked his mouth for a moment, ensuring that he was alright, that Vrykolakas hadn’t harmed him, before crushing him against me. “Maxwell,” I murmured into his hair.
Maxwell’s arms tightened around me. “Is Ambrose truly …?”
My heart sank. “I’m so sorry, Maxwell.”
Maxwell pushed his face into my shoulder before letting out a shuddering breath, pulling away from me. “He jumped me on my way to the stables.” His eyes shimmered. “If I’d been able to fetch the doctor—”
“You still wouldn’t have saved him,” I said with certainty. “Don’t blame yourself. We never had a chance. He would want you to make it through this night.”
Maxwell pinched his lips together and nodded, eyes darting to the battle behind us. I followed his gaze. Helena was sprawled onto the floor, blood running down her mouth. She spit out a tooth that clattered across the floorboards before she pulled herself back to her feet.
Isabel had managed to climb atop the wolf, punching her bloody fists into his back as Raven avoided his paws. Meanwhile, Nancy had been pinned beneath one of his back legs, Emmett working to free her.
Vrykolakas seemed to find this attack hilarious, laughter filling my head as blood seeped down his fur, cuts healing as quickly as the damage was inflicted. “It’s so pathetic,” he said gleefully. “Pathetic. Have you been brought so low? No bite, no ferocity. Just a bleeding heart. You did it all on your own, letting your humanity guide you to ruin.”
I bared my teeth, ready to join my friends, even without the powers they boasted. “Run,” I ordered Maxwell, gripping his shoulders. “Get as far from here as you can.”
He only stared at me wide-eyed, like a startled deer as I pushed him toward the door.
