By the gods, what had they told her about him?
“Please,” he murmured. “My name’s Marius.”
Her fingers loosened around the tray, and she took a step back. Then another. Damn.
“I-I-I can’t talk to you.” She walked backward as if she was afraid to turn her back on him. “Papa said?—”
Sensing that his one opportunity was slipping away, Marius threw caution away and blurted, “I just need you to send a message.”
The young woman stilled; her retreat momentarily paused.
“That’s all I’m asking for,” he hurriedly added.
Her hands flexed at her sides. “A message?”
Given that she wasn’t running away screaming, he continued, “Yes. Just one, to Castle Sanguis.”
The royals employed hundreds of raven shifters and other nocturnal creatures whose primary duty was to deliver messages across Eleyta. Hopefully, there would be one such messenger posted nearby.
“To… to the castle?” She paled and shook her head. “I?—”
“Please.” Marius hated that desperation leaked into his voice, but he couldn’t help it. “I need your help.”
“I don’t?—”
He gripped the bars. “I assure you, the king will reward you handsomely for helping me.”
Life in the northern villages was hard. Marius’s brother-in-law and sister did as much as possible to make it easier, but there was nothing they could do about the harsh weather or the distance that divided the northerners from the rest of the continent.
The woman hitched a breath. Her features softened, and her brown eyes rose to meet his for the first time. She bit her lip. “H-H-He’ll pay?”
“Yes.” Marius was sure the king and queen would be willing to do anything to help him. He’d never doubted his sister’s love for him, even for a moment.
The woman chewed on her lip for a long moment before she dipped her chin. “I’ll try,” she whispered. “No promises, but I’ll try.”
It was better than nothing.
Exhaling, he loosened his grip on the bars. “Thank you. Here’s what I need you to say.”
He spoke slowly, picking his words with care. He had one chance to do this, and he didn’t want to mess it up.
After she’d repeated the message twice, she backed up. “I need to go. Papa will get suspicious if I linger.”
Marius stared at her as she left, only sinking to the floor once he was alone again. He nibbled on the stale bread, barely tasting it as he fervently prayed that she would be able to deliver the message.
He couldn’t help but feel like she was their only hope.
Darkness Personified
Fire ran through Vivienne’s gums, her stomach cramped, and hunger was a hollow pit in her stomach. She wasn’t sure how long had passed since she’d been placed here, but judging by the daggers stabbing her gut, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten, it had been hours, if not days.
She was alone.
Not even rats visited this black pit where the humans had dumped her. The only reason she knew she was still alive was the steady thrum of the dark monster living deep in her soul and the constantdrip, drip, dripof water somewhere nearby.
Light didn’t exist here. Even her vampiric sight was no match for this all-consuming blackness.
At least she still had her other senses.
