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Chapter. 36

I shoot him a dirty look and wince from the pain again.

He heads for a guard tower, and I follow out of fear of the alternative. A young guard boy inside bolts the moment he sees us. “They’re inside! They’re inside!” he screams at the top of his lungs.

We hurry down the tower’s steps to ground level. We’re inside the city, and my arm is throbbing, but I’m relieved to be off that high wall.

He glances at me as a silent reminder to follow, and I glare back at him.

We hurry down the alleys between houses, crisscrossing from one street to the next. He’s searching for something. I manage to yank the gag off my head despite my stinging wound.

We turn a corner, and he jerks backwards, pulling me with him. His hand smacks over my mouth, forcing me to stand flat against the wall beside him. Numerous metal footsteps hurry down the adjacent street.

He waits for them to pass before shooting around the corner. I take the opportunity to run in the opposite direction, back down the street we came. I will not be a part of this any longer.

I’m not even halfway down the road when Rahlan’s arms wrap around my waist. He hoists me up into the air and carries me like a handbag, my body jerking from left to right with each step.

Turning a corner puts even more stress on my middle. Eventually he lets go, and I land on all fours on the dusty ground, the impact making my arm flare up.

He grabs the back of my tunic, and the pressure around my chest pulls me upright again. His hands catch mine, and he begins untying the rope holding my wrists together.

Houses are packed tight on either side of us. My eyes are drawn to the tavern at the end of the road. It proudly displays a metal plaque bearing the image of a blacksmith anvil. It’s the same stylized anvil from the letter Rahlan stole from the huntsmen by the river. This is the place he’s been looking for.

He finishes with the rope, freeing my wrists.

“Do you wish to live?” he asks.

“What?”

“Do you wish to live!?”

I flinch. “Yes.”

He points to the tavern door. “Then you will go in there. If you see Ivan, you will return to me and point him out. If not, you will have someone there lead you to whatever little escape tunnel he’s scurried off to. Understand?”

His red eyes are burning. I’ve never seen him so unhinged. The Rahlan I’ve known for the last few weeks is gone. No, he was never real. I feel like I’m a citizen of this city seeing a vampire for the first time.

He grabs my good arm and shakes me. “Understand!?”

I quickly nod.

He steps back, allowing me to move past him. “You have one minute.”

I press the tavern door open and slip inside, quickly closing it behind me. It takes a second for my vision to adjust to the dark room.

Twenty pairs of eyes are watching me. Men and women sit scattered around the tables with drinks in hand, and a woman behind the bar is packing glasses into a crate.

Their initial surprise quickly fades. Figuring I’m just another citizen, they return to their drinks, murmuring to one another. I scan their faces. Ivan’s not here. Thank goodness.

Rahlan expects me to figure out where he went, but I will not hand over the last member of my family to be at his mercy.

But what about these people? He could burst in here and murder one person after another.

What can I do? There’s thirty seconds left.

“Listen, everyone!” I shout. Their eyes land on me. “You need to get out of here. There’s a vampire outside, and he-”

The door screams open and crashes against the wall. Rahlan storms in, his face obscured by the bright sunlight. He grabs me, and my tunic tightens as his hand twists the leather by my back. His grip forces me up to my toes. The men and women shoot up, grabbing swords, kitchen knives and chairs as makeshift weapons.

A cold metal blade presses up against my neck – Rahlan’s curved sword.

“Stay where you are!” he shouts. He’s deranged.

The men and women shuffle around each other, the unarmed ones moving to the back of the pack. Rahlan’s grip tightens, making my shoulders curl back. He angles his back to the wall, and his blade presses against my neck, forcing my head up. I take short sharp breaths, afraid he’ll push the blade higher.

“This girl is one of Ivan’s.” Rahlan kicks the door closed, darkening the room again. “If he wants her alive, he’ll crawl out his hole and take her. Tell him!”

If-if he wants me alive? No. No. No. My whole body begins to tremble. I can’t die here. I can’t.

“Hogwash,” a man says, “If Ivan left without her, then she chose to stay like the rest of us.”

“She goes by Julia – a good friend of Ivan’s, and he would very much like her alive.” He shakes me. “Tell them.”

No, I can’t. I can’t tell them I’m Ivan’s niece. If he comes back for me, Rahlan could kill him. How could I sleep at night knowing that I sacrificed him for my own life? I couldn’t. No one will die because of me.

“Tell them!” Rahlan shouts.

I gulp and shut my eyes.

He swings me around and slams my back against a table. My head hits the wood, and pain radiates through my skull from the impact.

“Do you not understand!?” Rahlan shouts, glaring down at me. He presses his blade in the middle of my chest, pinning me flat against the table. “Do you not think I will kill you!? This is your only purpose! You are worthless if you can’t draw Ivan out!”

He’s ready to take my life. I’m going to die at his hand, just like Jacob. Jacob – I’m going to see Jacob again. Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I’m going to see Mom and Dad.

Rahlan angles his arm to be ready to drive the blade through me. The tip pokes through the leather tunic and marks my skin with a shallow cut. I wince and grit my teeth. “This is your last chance! Tell them how you know him, or you will bleed out on this table, and I will find him without you!”

I stare at his blade, blinking back tears. I remember the night Mom died. It felt so unfair at the time. I couldn’t understand why she had to go so soon. One day I was screaming at Jacob from my own pain, and he reminded me that we don’t remember Mom for her death but for her life.

Taking a breath makes me wince, the expansion of my chest pressing against the blade.

I will celebrate my life too, not mourn its end. I’m grateful that I had eighteen years, I’m grateful for the petty arguments Jacob and I used to have at dinner, and I’m grateful that I did not die in that shoddy barn when I probably should have. I had an extra two weeks. Though they were hard at times, I ate some amazing food, I enjoyed a warm bath, and I met a brave woman.

My blurry gaze meets Rahlan’s again. I take in a pained breath. Tears flow freely down my cheeks now. There’s no need for a tough facade anymore. It doesn’t matter what he thinks of me. “Goodbye, Rahlan.”

He grits his teeth, his arm shaking, making the sword ripple. I wonder if this was always his plan for me. When I slept beside him in ignorance, did he know that one day he’d run me through with a blade?

I close my eyes. I did my best.

“Bloody hell!” he shouts. The blade’s pressure disappears, and his hand slams into the table.

I jump upright, and Rahlan charges towards the men. They parry his storm of frenzied strikes. The door bursts open, and two new vampires storm inside.

I duck under the table. The vampires rush to Rahlan’s side, forcing the humans back. One man is cut down with a scream, and more of them funnel out the back.

Their backs are to me. This is my chance. I can get away! I bolt out the door we came through.

The city is breached. Screaming, fire and vampires everywhere. A horde charges in my direction. I run, skidding around a corner.

A blunt object strikes my head.

The sun is bright, overwhelming. I’m on the ground. Who hit me?

I don’t know. My vision can’t focus. Everything hurts. My limbs aren’t listening. There’s a loud ringing in my ears and a warm liquid running over my neck.

My eyes close.

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