The creature pulled back its lips, silently snarled, and pounced. It grabbed the man from behind, slamming its fangs into his neck.
Blood gushed from the wound, a glorious fountain of crimson.
A word surfaced in the creature’s mind as it drank.
Vampire.
It grinned against its victim’s neck.
The man struggled, a mangled scream coming from him as he slammed his back into a tree, cursing as he attempted to dislodge his attacker.
The vampire barely registered the blow. It held on tighter, drinking faster.
This mortal would not win.
More, more, more, more.
It drank and drank until the man had nothing left.
With a final death cry that echoed through the woods, the man dropped to his knees and planted face first in the snow.
The creature kept drinking until every drop of blood had been removed from the man’s body. Only then did it withdraw its fangs.
It inhaled, and like a puzzle piece falling into place, the blood healed a portion of its mind.
Just a bit. Just enough.
A memory slipped past the fog, and the creature… grinned.
For the first time since her escape, she felt… alive.
Her lungs expanded.
It was like she’d never taken a breath before.
Everything felt better.
She raised her head to the moonlit sky and basked beneath the moon’s loving gaze. She remembered the way the moon used to bring her peace, remembered hunting humans beneath that silver glow, and remembered the many times she’d attended celebrations honoring the goddess of the moon.
Sheremembered.
“My name is Therese,” she breathed, reminding herself of things long forgotten.
Her name was ashen in her mouth, but the sentence was music to her ears.Finally,she recalled who she was.
“I am one of the Twelve, blessed by the gods themselves, and I have returned to the land I once ruled.”
The Scent of Death
Marius’s arms ached from helping Vivienne drag bodies off the road. She’d volunteered to do it herself, but he hadn’t felt right about that. Not when they were on this journey because of him.
He’d Seen the attack but hadn’t been fast enough to warn them. Felix had already received the cut across his cheek when Marius left the carriage.
Shame was a cold pit in his stomach. This was his fault. What good was being a Fortune Elf if he couldn’t even use his magic to help protect his friends?
Felix had been gone for a half hour, and they were just now clearing the last body off the road. The moon shone above them, and a cool breeze blew through the forest.
Vivienne sighed, dropping the last body and rubbing her hands together. “That’s the last of them.”
