“We can oblige,” Lady Decima said.
“And I’m going out there with you,” Cassius said, turning his attention back to Thalia.
“What! No—you’re a Vampyr, it will try and kill you. If it bites you—”
“And if it’s soul bonded to you, then it will listen to your commands,” Cassius countered.
Thalia felt her anger rising, her rage poking its head up. She stepped back into his space, planting a finger straight against his chest. “You stay twenty paces behind me. Don’t interfere, not unless it’s about to rip my throat out.”
Cassius flashed an arrogant smirk. “Of course, Princess.”
Thalia stepped back, allowing some of that anger to center her. “Then let’s go see what this creature wants.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Thalia stared at the closed citadel gates.
She swallowed, checking the dagger she’d strapped to her side.
“You don’t have to go out there.” Cassius’s low words brought her back. She glanced at him.
His face was in shadows, the strands of his long hair pulled back from his face. He held his sword loosely in his hands, but he’d strapped daggers to every place on his body. Fifty soldiers were lined up above her, all carrying arrows dripped in oil, ready to be placed in the flaming braziers if things turned ugly.
She just hoped Lady Decima was right about the soul bond.
Thalia shook her head. “No. It’s fine.” She fumbled with one of her straps, trying to tighten it.
Cassius’s hands closed over hers. She glanced up, and he said nothing as he tightened the strap for her, checking the other straps along her arms.
They’d dressed quickly, but Camilla had given her some light armor made of pliable leather to cover her chest and braces for her arms. Thalia wasn’t sure what it would do against the razor-sharp teeth of the creature, but she was grateful for any sort of extra protection.
“The creature’s about halfway down the bridge,” Keegan called softly above them. He stood with the rest of the archers, his own bow within easy reach.
Despite her initial reaction, Thalia was glad she had Cassius by her side, watching her back.
She nodded, and one of the guards stepped forward, grabbing the large iron latch that secured the gate.
It creaked open, and Thalia took another grounding breath before she and Cassius slipped onto the bridge.
The gate closed behind them as they walked, and Thalia spotted the creature standing in the middle of the bridge, its hide gleaming in the moonlight.
Thalia glanced back at Cassius, but true to their agreement, he stayed back.
She kept walking, her boots clipping along the stone bridge, the sound near deafening in her ears. The roar of the waterfall echoed, and Thalia stopped not twenty feet from the creature.
She swallowed, sweat dripping down her spine and working into the leather of her armor.
The creature seemed to sense her then.
She hadn’t realized it had been lying in wait, because suddenly it stood, rising to its full height.
Fuck.
It’d grown from the size of a dog to the size of a wolf, its head having fully formed back into its strange oblong shape. Its maw was full of wickedly sharp teeth glowing an eerie green color.
Tension radiated from behind her, but she held up a hand, urging Cassius to stay back without turning to face him.
“Did you come for me?” she asked the creature.
