“I may have found something.”
“Yeah?” This time, I pulled back to look at him, but didn’t let go. “What?”
“Don’t get too excited. My last plan didn’t work.”
“I’m hardly any further along at finding answers in the Shadow Guild tower.” Unless the book panned out. “What did you find?”
“My maker is still alive, apparently. He’s the oldest turned vampire, though I haven’t seen him for centuries.”
“He can help?”
“Possibly. If he can’t, then he has connections with the most powerful seer in the vampire world. She’s an expert in all matters pertaining to us. She may know a way out.”
It was all we had, so it had to be enough. “Where is your maker?”
“In the town of Siaora, in Transylvania. We can leave now.”
“Now? You want me to come?” I was glad but surprised. He’d been so distant and secretive lately.
He nodded. “You’re half of this, and more than likely, we’ll see the seer. Her gift works by touch, just like yours. If we want full answers, we both need to be there.”
“It’ll give Seraphia time to work on the book I found.” Quickly, I filled him in.
When I finished, he nodded. “I need to stop by my flat for some things. Will you meet me there once you’ve collected what you need for a trip to the mountains? It could be cold.”
I nodded, already thinking of how I’d stop by Eve’s for some weapons. “I’ll see you at yours.”
Together, we left the library. On the street, we parted ways—he headed toward his tower, and I headed toward Eve’s place.
I reached her shop a few minutes later, finding her buried up to her chin in books. All around her, the shelves were piled high with gleaming glass potion bottles. Every color of the rainbow glinted under the lights, making it one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen.
Today, Eve’s hair was a brilliant copper. It gleamed like freshly polished metal and was twisted into intricate braids. Her dress matched, though in a slightly darker tone.
“Hey.” I shut the door quietly behind me.
She looked up, her face pale and her eyes tired. “Carrow! How are you? Figure things out with the mysterious raven?”
The bird was nowhere to be seen, and I thought she looked a bit shifty about it.
I shook my head. I was probably making that up.
“No idea what’s up with the raven, but that’s okay.” I gestured to the books. “What’s with the library here?” I was more used to her slaving over little cauldrons, not old books.
“Trying to create a new potion, but something’s not working right. I was hoping I’d find answers in these.” She sighed and stood. “No luck so far. How can I help you?”
“I’m going to Transylvania with Grey and was hoping you could help me out with some potions. Defensive, mostly.”
“Sure thing.” She came around the desk, her magic smelling like a fresh breeze and feeling like soft grass beneath my feet. “Follow me.”
She led me to the back room, where she began to fill a bag with potions. As she held each bottle up and described the potion’s use, I memorized it and the distinctive color and shape of its glass container. Some were for defense, some were for healing. They’d be marked, but when one was in a hurry, it was better to just grab and go.
Finished, she strode toward me and handed me the bag. “Be careful, it’s dangerous there.”
“What do I owe you for these?”
“A favor later.”
I grinned. “Sure thing.”
“Now get out of here, I have research to do.” Her smile was friendly, but her eyes were tired. I debated asking again about the raven—could she seriously not see it?—but I knew the answer I’d get. And anyway, Grey was waiting.
3
Grey
Carrow and I arrived in Siaora three hours later. She had been delayed in meeting me at my flat, but she’d come bearing a bag of potion bombs from Eve—a wise move.
We’d used a transportation charm to make the journey. Just holding her hand as we’d walked through the portal had made my heart race.
Who the hell was I becoming?
“This is…different,” she said, looking out at the darkened city. The sun hovered over the peaked roofs, and the golden glow should have made the place look beautiful. Instead, it only looked more ominous. A trick of the light made the sun look like blood on the cobblestones, and the ramshackle buildings were as dreary as ever. Though it was midday, it seemed dark as dusk. It would be worse at the castle.
“It’s far different than the rest of Transylvania,” I said, remembering the colorful shopfronts of my hometown in Sighișoara. And Brasov, where I’d taken her before, was also a bright, beautiful city.
But Siaora, the home of Silviu, was everything that humans thought vampires to be—dark, frightening, dreadful.
A face peeked out of a window to our right, then ducked back behind the curtain when I turned to look.
“Come,” I said. “It will be an unpleasant walk up to Silviu’s castle. It’d be best to make it before the weather turns.”
She nodded and followed me down the street, sticking close as we passed darkened houses and stores. The streets were entirely empty, as if the citizens were afraid of stepping foot outside.
Some were, in fact.
All, actually.
With the exception of my recon trip, I hadn’t been to Siaora since I’d left it hundreds of years ago. By the time I’d moved on, still deep in the throes of Silviu’s blood lust, I’d terrorized the hell out of the inhabitants.
Perhaps I should make amends.
The thought startled me.
I’d never considered it before. Until now, I’d assumed that not killing people was the best I could do.
But maybe I owed something to these people, the descendants of those I had terrorized so long ago. They obviously still remembered me—I supposed the stories had been passed down through generations.
“What are you thinking about?” Carrow asked.
“Ah, nothing interesting.” I wasn’t keen to admit to my past, especially in front of the person who had inspired me to be better. I pointed to the hill that loomed over the city and the castle that sat atop it. “We’re going there.”
She looked up at it and swallowed hard, her neck moving. Hunger pierced me, desire following quick on its heels. My fangs lengthened in my mouth, and I pressed my lips tightly together, trying to force my teeth back to normalcy.
This was not appropriate.
We reached the end of town, arriving at the gravel path that led up the spine of the hill. It was the only path to the castle, a short but hellish ascent.
“You may want to zip your coat,” I said.
She nodded and pulled on the zipper, drawing it up so that it closed tightly around her. We stepped onto the path, the sharp gravel shifting underfoot. It was made of a gleaming black stone that would cut like a knife if we tripped.
As we ascended, darkness fell. All around, jagged spires of rock thrust heavenward, ominous sentinels guarding our route to the top. Soon, it was pitch black, punctuated only by cracks of lightning that lit up the sky.
“It’s too early to be nighttime,” Carrow said.
I nodded. “It’s a curse that surrounds the castle. Or perhaps it’s just Silviu’s energy. I’m not sure. But it has always been this way.”
She shivered. “It looks like every human movie about vampires.”
“Somehow, I think this is where they found their inspiration.”
We were about halfway up when the air began to chill more ferociously. Soon, it felt like the interior of a freezer or the depths of the arctic. Biting wind whipped our hair and cut into our cheeks. My eyes watered against the gale, and I squinted, tucking my head down.
The lightning struck almost continuously, and thunder boomed through the sky. As we climbed, the air seemed to seep into my bones, chilling my marrow until I felt like a sentient icicle.
Worse, it crept inside my mind. Horrible thoughts rose, the fears that haunted me at night. I could banish them while lying safe in my bed, but here, there was no fighting them. The wind pulled them out, forcing them to the front of my mind. Forcing me to walk through the gauntlet of the things that haunted me whenever I closed my eyes.
My life or hers.
The moment was coming, time marching inevitably onward. I would have to choose one day. Soon. Succumbing to the blood lust—killing Carrow—was the demon that haunted my thoughts.
It would happen without my conscious will. The beast inside me would rise, forcing me to obey. It grew stronger with each passing moment. Soon, I would take every drop of blood from her. She would be gone. Dead. Her brilliant energy would no longer grace the earth, her laughter and her kindness and her strength.
The mere thought made my insides twist horribly. It was the darkest fate I could imagine—the beast inside me taking her life. When she was gone, I would wake from the stupor, finding myself alone, guilty of the foulest crime I could imagine.
The thought nearly sent me to my knees. At the back of my consciousness, I knew that this was the magic of the gauntlet, forcing me to face my greatest fears. To wallow in them until they cut my knees out from under me.
There was only one option—one thing that might save us both.
If I were to find a way to lock myself at the bottom of the sea like I had my old nemesis, Ivan. Beneath a mountain of rock might work just as well. It would prevent the beast from rising, and eventually, the curse would take me to hell, thereby protecting Carrow.
But when did I need to attempt this? When would I no longer have control of my actions?
And could I tell her how I felt before I locked myself away?
No.
If I were to speak the words, it would be even harder to leave her. Perhaps impossible.
The idea that I might never tell her made my bone ache even more fiercely. The world had become a tunnel of darkness around me, illuminated only by strobing lightning: jagged black spears of rock piercing the sky, sharp stones underfoot, freezing cold.