Vampire Blood (Vampire Bite #2)

Chapter Seven

Annika

I drifted through sleep and sleeplessness, weightless and untethered, as if the world had unraveled around me. Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, pressing in like invisible chains. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, yet fear didn’t touch me. Not at first.

A voice broke through the void. It was soft and lilting, carrying an ancient rhythm that stirred something deep inside of me.

“Blood binds. Blood frees.”

The words pulled me forward, though my body didn’t move. The world shifted instead, folding in on itself until shadows peeled away, revealing a clearing bathed in pale moonlight. Jagged stones jutted from the ground like broken teeth, and the earth beneath my feet felt scorched and hollowed out, as though it had witnessed something it could never forget.

At the center of it all stood a woman.

I had never seen her before, yet I knew her. Not from memory, but from blood.

Tall and ethereal, her hair fell in wild waves, tangled with twigs and leaves, and her eyes burned silver in the moonlight. Power radiated from her, sharp and undeniable, and I felt it hum in my own veins as if answering a call I didn’t fully understand.

The witch.

My ancestor.

The woman turned, her silver gaze pinning me in place.

“You are the key,” she said, her voice carrying both strength and sorrow. “The bloodline endures.”

I tried to speak, but my throat felt tight, my voice trapped somewhere insideof me.

The witch moved closer, her bare feet gliding soundlessly over the earth. Her robes drifted around her like smoke, shifting and curling in the still air.

“He stirs,” the witch said, her expression darkening. “The chains weaken.”

I shivered, my pulse quickening. I didn’t need to ask who he was. I already knew.

“Aurelius.”

The witch inclined her head, her face unreadable. “Bound by blood. Mine. And now—yours.

I swallowed hard, the weight of those words pressing down on me. “How do I stop it?”

The witch’s gaze softened, but there was no comfort in it. “You don’t.”

The answer hit like a slap, and my chest tightened. “But—”

“You can only delay it,” the witch said. “Hold the chains. Strengthen them.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I don’t even know how.”

“You will.” The witch raised her hand, fingers brushing my cheek. The touch burned, cold and sharp, as if her skin carried the chill of death itself.

Desperation clawed at my throat. “Tell me how!”

The witch’s eyes darkened, her voice lowering to a whisper. “Blood binds. Blood frees.”

Before I could ask what it meant, the witch began to fade, her form dissolving into shadows.

“Wait!” I reached out, but my fingers grasped only air.

The clearing vanished, the moonlight snuffed out, and the darkness came rushing back.

I woke with a sharp gasp, the rough stone of the cell cold against my skin. Sweat dampened my forehead, and my pulse thudded like a war drum in my ears.

The dream clung to me, too vivid to ignore, too heavy to push away.

And though I was alone in the cell, the witch’s voice lingered in my mind.

“Blood binds. Blood frees.”

I sat with my back against the cold stone wall, my knees drawn to my chest. The dream still lingered, its weight pressing against my ribs, leaving my breath shallow and uneven.

The rattle of keys snapped me out of it.

I stiffened as the door creaked open, light spilling into the dark cell. My first instinct was to shrink back, but then I saw the hooded figure step inside, shoulders hunched as if carrying more than just the weight of the cloak. I waited a moment, then I saw him.

“Kael,” I whispered.

He closed the door quickly, turning the lock behind him before pulling the hood down. His eyes darted to me, sharp and searching.

“How did you get the keys?” I asked, shocked.

“The shifter who was supposed to bring you food agreed to let me do it, but he’s waiting in front,” he explained quickly. “I said I wanted to see the witch whose blood will bring back the demon vampire.”

I frowned. “He bought that?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We only have a minute, then I have to go back.”

I didn’t want him to see me on the verge of crumbling. I didn’t want him to see how much I needed to see a friendly face, even if it was the face of a stranger I still wasn’t sure we could believe or not. But I was still grateful to have him here.

“And you… are you alright?” I heard him ask in a whisper.

I nodded, but the truth lodged in my throat. No, I wasn’t alright. I was drained, aching and haunted by a dream I couldn’t make sense of. But none of that mattered.

“Did you find him?” I asked with a cracked voice, and I swallowed hard, but it didn’t help much. In fact, it didn’t help any. “Lucas?”

He knelt beside me, setting down a bundle wrapped in cloth. He opened it, revealing a hunk of bread and a flask of water. “I met with him last night.”

Relief hit me like a flood, but it soon twisted into fear, as a million questions started to swarm inside my mind.

“Is he safe? Does he know where I am?”

Kael’s expression softened with understanding. “He’s safe. They are all safe, for now. We’re preparing to get you out of here.”

My breath hitched, hope surging through me even as doubt followed closely behind. “But… how? There are guards everywhere. I saw them.”

“I know,” he nodded, glancing at the door, lowering his voice. We both knew that we could be interrupted at any moment. If we were, it would be all over for both of us. “But they don’t know me. Not really. I’ve earned enough trust to move freely around here. And Lucas… he’s ready. He just needs to gather allies. He’ll be waiting when we make our move.”

I clutched the flask, my hands trembling. “When?”

“Soon.”

“That’s not an answer,” I said more angrily than I meant to. I didn’t want to stay here a moment longer. I wanted to go home, to Lucas.

“It’s the only one I can give you,” he told me without any impatience. “They’re watching the camp more closely now. They’re preparing everything. We have to be even more careful.”

My stomach dropped. “The ritual.”

His eyes darkened. “Yes.”

I swallowed hard and looked down at the bread in my lap. My fingers tore at it absentmindedly, but my mind was already racing.

The dream. The witch. The chains are weakening.

“They are taking more and more of my blood,” I told him something he already knew.

I could see Kael’s jaw tighten. “Then, we’ll make sure they don’t get another drop.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to cling to the hope he brought with him, fragile as it was.

But then, he stood and pulled his hood back up, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out.

Kael paused at the door, glancing back at me. “Stay strong, Annika. Lucas won’t stop until you’re free.”

Then he was gone, and the cell felt even colder than before. I looked at the bread without any appetite, but I knew I had to eat. So, I forced myself.

The bread was dry, crumbling in my hands, and the water was lukewarm, but I swallowed it down anyway. Bite after bite. Sip after sip. It felt mechanical, like feeding a body that didn’t belong to me anymore.

Kael said Lucas was coming. He said they had a plan.

But when?

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, my fingers trembling. The room felt smaller now, the walls pressing in, shadows pooling in the corners like they were alive, watching. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help.

The witch’s voice echoed in my head. Blood binds. Blood frees.

My blood.

I pressed a hand against my chest, as if I could feel it there, pulsing beneath the skin, ancient and cursed. The same blood that had locked Aurelius away now threatened to free him, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Tears burned at the edges of my eyes. I bit my lip hard enough to taste copper.

I wouldn’t cry.

Not here. Not in this place where the walls listened, and the air felt thick with malice.

But my breath hitched anyway, and the lump in my throat swelled until I couldn’t swallow it down. My hands curled into fists in my lap, nails digging into my palms, and I bowed my head, letting my hair fall forward to hide my face.

Lucas.

I didn’t say it out loud, but the name echoed in my mind like a prayer.

Find me. Please.

I imagined his face, the sharp lines softened by shadows, the way his eyes burned when he looked at me, like I was something worth fighting for. Worth dying for.

I clung to that image like a lifeline, picturing him tearing through this place, unstoppable and furious, cutting down anyone who stood between us. I saw him breaking the bars of this cage, pulling me into his arms, whispering that it was over. That I was safe.

But the image splintered as quickly as it came, chased away by the memory of how they’d dragged me here. Helpless. Powerless.

I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes, as if I could block it all out, the fear, the doubt, the ache that wouldn’t go away.

I didn’t want to die here.

I didn’t want to let them win.

Come for me, Lucas.

I sent the words out into the silence, hoping that somehow, he’d hear them, that somehow, he’d feel them.

I had to believe he would.

Because if I let myself believe anything else, I’d break.