I fought the urge to wipe a sweat-soaked lock of hair from my face. Now that I remembered his presence, I didn’t dare take my gaze away from him.

How easily they could kill humans. Memories of blood, of flesh rending from bone as easily as one tore off a piece of bread, flashed in my mind. I swallowed.

The moment stretched on, and I felt the last thing I expected around a bloodsucker.

Awkward.

I shuffled on my feet, edging back. “Well. Thanks for helping me get out. You’ve held up your end of the bargain.”

“I have.”

His voice was different outside the walls of Greymere. Irrationally, it reminded me of the night breeze.

Then what are you waiting for? I thought irritably.

“The western border is closest.” I pointed in the direction, which, naturally, was the opposite way I intended to go. True, we were several days’s ride from vampire territory, but witches avoided settling near the borders. Greymere was the farthest outpost in the Witch Kingdom, and it was still nearly a respectful distance from vampire territory.

“I’m aware.”

But still, he stood there, looking at me.

I was loath to turn my back on a vampire, but it seemed he wasn’t leaving until I did. He hasn’t killed me yet. It wasn’t the most reassuring thought, but it was the best I could manage with my heart pounding so loudly I could barely hear myself think.

He’d just drained the guard. He could drain you too, my vicious mind hissed. But surely he wasn’t hungry now. I just needed to escape before that fact changed.

“I’m… just going to head out, then.” To find a Monastery outpost that would take me in before word spread, and I was hunted down.

One step back, still facing him. Then another. When he didn’t move, I began to twist away in earnest, but his voice cut through as sharp as any of the guard’s blades.

“No. You’re not.”

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Six

My heartbeat accelerated, pounding so fast I could scarcely breathe. “Yes, I am.” Mad. I had to be mad to argue with a vampire. Be silent and survive. Words I’d lived by my entire life, even longer than I’d been in Greymere. But this night was so far out of the realm of my reality, I could scarcely believe it wasn’t one big hallucination. “We had a deal.”

A deal I must have been a fool for believing would protect me. A desperate fool.

“And I upheld my end of the bargain, seeing you safely out of this wretched prison. However, you’ll hardly survive on your own.”

I stiffened, but the vampire gave no notice.

“The guards will be found at the next shift change. This will hardly go unpunished.”

“You’re the one who killed them,” I protested.

“You’re the one who set me free, dove.” He rolled his eyes and began to tick his observations on his fingers. “They’ll have hounds on your scent, and tracking spells too, once they can convince a witch to come to this cursed place. You’ll be executed for treason before the end of the week. And that’s all assuming a troll or kobold doesn’t get to you first. Your only chance to survive is through me protecting you.”

I’d rather a kobold kill me than a vamp. I wanted to hurl the words as I fled, but if I ran, the vampire would catch me. He’d killed six guards like it was nothing.

If he wanted me dead, I’d already be in bloody pieces. My feet remained rooted in the ground. “Why would you want me to stay with you? I’ll just slow you down.”

The vampire canted his head to the side, studying me. Whether he’d expected me to immediately bow to his wishes or to stubbornly refuse, I wasn’t sure—probably the former—he hadn’t expected questions.

But he’d said the magic word: survive.

“Perhaps I’ll want a snack.”

Absolutely not. I’d rather die than let a vampire feed on me. There was nothing left in my stomach to vomit up, but if there had been, I’d have lost it all then. My fingers shook as I tried to reach for my skirt pocket, clasping for the cursed copper cuff like it might save me against this beast.

“Or perhaps not. You smell utterly repugnant. I’d likely get a tastier meal from a half-rotted animal carcass,” he drawled, wrinkling his nose slightly.

I’d never been more grateful for the lack of hygiene at Greymere.

“Though it’s true I’d move faster without you, you can still be useful to me. I need to pay a visit to Apante.”

The City of Answers. “But you’re a vampire.” The oracle magic there would never serve him, never give him what he needed.

“How observant.” A flash of teeth, this time almost mischievous. “But you are decidedly not.”

That was true—I could get him the knowledge he craved, whatever it was. This definitely made more sense than him continuing to protect me out of the goodness of his unbeating heart. But it would be another betrayal of my kingdom. “What answers do you seek there?”

“Sorry, dove, I don’t confide in smelly mortals.” He took a step closer, sensing me wavering. “You don’t trust me. That’s wise. But you’re safer with me than without, especially since I could use your assistance.”

My stomach twisted. Above, the sky had already lightened from utter darkness to a deep mauve. The guard change would happen soon. I didn’t want to be anywhere near the prison when the bodies were discovered. If I went with the vampire, I could still find refuge in the Monastery. Apante would have a big outpost—big enough to protect me if any of the king’s men came searching.

“Fine.”

And with that, I gained a bloodsucker for a traveling companion.

Once I agreed, the vampire wasted no time setting off. We traveled three days with little rest. He didn’t seem to care much for either of our comforts, but I wanted as much distance between us and Greymere as possible, so I didn’t protest.

We mainly traveled during the night. I was so perpetually exhausted that switching to sleeping during the day wasn’t a big adjustment. If anything, it was easier. After so many years of darkness, the sunlight was almost disturbing in its glory.

We did walk during the day as well, however. I’d thought vampires were unable to stand sunlight; my vampire apparently just found it irritating and stuck to the shade. In fact, there were a great many things about the vampire that didn’t match what I’d thought. He didn’t act anything like the uncontrollable fiend that haunted my memories. He moved fast, much faster than me, but whether that was because he was a vampire or simply that his legs were several inches longer than mine was hard to say. His eyes were the telltale red, but after a day or so, I found it less terrifying and more just a bit unsettling. He didn’t bully or taunt me. In fact, he barely spoke at all, which was an improvement over my experiences with Nelson.

We slept on the forest floor; we’d need to find proper shelter eventually, but right now we were in silent agreement to rough it. The vampire slept on his stomach, his bare back exposed and still shredded. Once, as we settled to the ground, I saw him cover a wince—a reminder he was, if not a living creature, then a creature that could feel pain all the same.

Truthfully, the forest floor was soft compared to the places I’d slept during the past few years. As bad as traveling with a vampire was, there was one major benefit: Everything knew he was the most dangerous creature around and steered clear.

On the fourth day, I woke to him returning to the clearing we’d settled in from the thick of the forest.

Blood colored his lips. My own parted at the sight. Just when I was getting close to—not forgetting, exactly, or accepting, but at least adjusting to the vampire—

Blood and blood—