RONAN
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
Idon’t run, I fly through the unfamiliar forest, letting my instincts take control. They don’t fail me, and within maybe ten minutes, I hear people milling about in the distance. The village is close. I slow down when the forest begins to thin out. It won’t do to draw attention to ourselves and end up captured. I don’t know how much the inhabitants of Ellnesari know about vampires. Before the portals were sealed, only first-generation bluebloods visited this land, and I’m sure their visits were confined to palaces.
In my arms, Cheryl moans and scrunches her brows together. “Hang on for a while longer, Cher. Just a while longer.” I kiss her forehead and wince. She’s burning up.
From my vantage point, I see a square with several shops around it. There has to be a healer of some sort there. Nightingales are roaming around, but not that many. Perhaps they won’t notice that Cheryl and I aren’t one of them.
I finally make the decision to step out of my hiding spot when I hear a swishing sound cut through the air. I turn to pinpointwhere the noise came from and get hit on the forehead by a piece of wood. “Ouch!”
A swarm of Nightingale children emerges from the forest and quickly surrounds me.
“You hit him, you idiot!” a young boy says, smacking the back of the head of the ginger boy in front of him.
The red-haired boy steps forward, green eyes wide with worry. “Are you okay, sir? I didn’t mean to hit you. I was testing my boomerang.”
My forehead throbs, but that’s it. “I’m fine.”
He switches his attention to Cheryl. All the children do, actually.
“Hey, Dukie. Is that a relative of yours?” a blonde girl asks.
The redhead—Dukie—shakes his head. “I don’t recognize her. But she has hair like mine, so she must be. What’s wrong with her?”
Since these children haven’t noticed that Cheryl and I aren’t Nightingales, they could be helpful. “She was stung by a giant hornet monster.”
All the children gasp and then turn to one another, showing concern. Hell, their reactions can’t be good.
“She was stung by a hellionflare? What were you doing in Hornet’s Garden?” Dukie asks. “Everyone knows not to go there during mating season.”
“It’s a long story. She needs a healer.”
“My mother is a healer, sir. The best in town,” he declares.
The boy who smacked Dukie before scowls. “Your mother is not the village’s official healer.”
“So? Sheisthe best. Besides, I’m sure that lady would rather get treated by a member of her clan.”
“You don’t know if she’s a Mularkey,” the blonde girl chimes in.
Dukie makes an exaggerated motion with his hands. “Look at her hair! She must be a Mularkey.”
“Children! Focus,” I interject, losing my patience. “Can you take me to a healer, any healer, please?”
They gasp, and the girl points at my face. “Your eyes. Why are they glowing red?”
Fuck. My emotions are all over the place, and I lost control. “They do that when I’m afraid, and right now, I’m terrified of losing my…”
Dukie raises his eyebrows. “Betrothed?”
I swallow hard. “My friend. Can you please take me to your mother?”
I figure this kid is the most helpful one. I’ll take my chances with his mother rather than anyone else.
“Right away, sir. Follow me. We must make haste. The venom from those stingers is potent.”
He takes off at a run, and I have to hurry to keep up with him, surprised how quickly he can move. It’s not quite like Vivi walking the wind, but it’s possible all Nightingales can move at supersonic speed.
