My hand found the hilt, and I angled the blade, driving it with all my might into the bloodsucker’s neck. She let out a piercing, inhuman shriek and collapsed beside me, releasing her grip on my throat.
I turned and began crawling away, my head spinning. Somehow, I pushed myself to my feet and bolted, narrowly escaping the grasp of another one.
Shrill screeches and clicking sounds followed me.
The castle was too far and the station even farther. White flashes of snow streaked past, blurring my vision. Behind me, I heard the unmistakable crash of something tearing through the branches. My legs moved as fast as they could, leaping over roots and fallen trunks looming under the misty air.
Something caught my foot, sending me crashing down. I slammed face-first into branches and the hard ground, pain shooting up my cheek, temples, and knees. Nausea churned in my stomach, and I let out a cry of pure panic.
Cold, slick fingers held me down. The weight pressed my stomach against the ground, harder than before, digging deep into my back. The foul smell reached me again.
“You’ve angered me, sweet blood.” Her voice was a guttural snarl. “I shall make you burn.”
Summoning every ounce of strength I had, I thrashed wildly, my arms and legs flailing. My fist connected with her side, drawing a grunt, but this time, her grip held firm.
With my face down in the dirt, I could barely tell where the ground ended and the shadows began. I didn’t even notice her lowering her head until the sharp, searing bite into my neck set my nerves ablaze once more. My scream ripped through the air.
I clawed at the ground, my nails breaking against the frozen rocks, black spots bleeding into my vision. Despite the fear, the desperation, I could feel my movements turning sluggish.
The group of bloodsuckers advanced, rasping and clicking sounds echoing closer. The nearest one dragged himself along, weak and stumbling, just as she had been when I first saw her. But now she was steady, as if she was growing stronger.
The other creature, who looked male, dropped to its knees beside my legs. I kicked, but his hand clamped down on my ankle. Agonising pain exploded up my leg, like the fire in my neck.
More of them coming.
I can’t black out. I can’t.
My neck burnt, and pain throbbed relentlessly through my body. Their fangs sank deep with such brutal force that every part of me screamed.
I’m losing. Losing strength.I was going to die.
The Northern Forest was getting darker, and the pain swallowed everything.
I barely registered the crack of lightning, its flash brightening my face, the snow-covered dirt, the trees. Thunder echoed through the forest seconds later, roaring my name. The crushing weight on me lessened, and I sucked in a sharp breath, spinning onto my back as I was able to move again.
Lifting my head was difficult, heavy. Still, I caught sight of one of the fanged creatures writhing on the ground, shrieks cutting through the air. Another bolted toward the trees, but a streak of brilliant light trailed after it, striking it down. My eyes strained against the glare to make out the figure—a blur of white and brown, framed by a cascade of crackling electricity.
Reagan.
He was the source of the light, holding two of the creatures in his grip. His grunt split the chaos as he hurled another bolt of energy, bright and jagged like lightning, toward the advancing creatures. The air shook with a deafening clap of thunder from the storm brewing above.
One of the bloodsuckers on the ground, the one that had been feeding from me, jerked upright. It sprang to its feet, moving with inhuman speed, its form now solid, no longer hollow. It launched itself at him, the collision sending them both flying.
I flinched as Reagan hit the ground, his head snapping back hard. The creature drove its foot into his side, kicking him with bone-crushing force.
My vision was a blur, but I rubbed my eyes, my pulse racing again. The sound of a trunk groaning drew my focus to where the creature lunged, seizing his arms and pinning them against the tree. I couldn’t see him anymore until more crackling lightning surged far from the monster.
I glanced at the pathway a few metres away.
I could run. I could try to make it to the station.
My eyes darted to the bloodsuckers approaching the mage. They were distracted, too focused to notice me.
I forced myself to stand, my legs faltering as the world spun. Blinking hard, I shoved away the darkness creeping into my vision.
He came to bring me back.
She seized his legs, pinning them with enough force to make him grimace. Reagan pushed against her, his hands gripping her shoulder as she drew her mouth closer, her fangs closing in on his skin. The male bloodsucker, still tasting my blood on his lips, approached from behind.
