Chapter 31 #3
He smiles, the barest chuckle falling past his lips.
“Tell me again once you’re back to normal.
Then I’ll believe you.” We walk in silence through the dark—but it isn’t quite as dark as it was before, the shadows shifting on their own, yes, but the colors are more vibrant, the scents of earthen decay and winter snow stronger, every brush of my clothes or Callum’s hand on my skin more intense.
I breathe as deep as I can and enjoy the sensations thrumming through my body, each one distinct.
If this is what a few mouthfuls of vampire blood can do, then I wonder what other treasures lie just beneath the surface.
Callum was right when he said that I value strength—but I’ve always wanted it to secure my place in a wolf pack.
What Callum promises isn’t strength as leverage, but strength as . . .
I lick my lips, the lingering taste of him stirring something inside my heart.
Freedom.
More than the wilds—more than what Revyn can offer me—that’s what Callum tastes like. A chance at rebirth. A home outside the limitations of shifter society. Something new and exciting and . . . tempting.
“You knew this would happen.” I sigh into Callum’s neck. “That’s why you offered me your blood.”
He is silent for a moment. “I knew that there could be side effects, yes, but I also knew that you needed healing.”
“You’re like a walking, talking drug.”
“Not everyone reacts so strongly to a vampire’s blood. I couldn’t have known how it would affect you.”
“But you had an inkling.”
He hums softly as our eyes meet. “You far exceeded my wildest hopes, Sienna. What you’re feeling—what I’m feeling—is a good thing. It means that we’re . . .” A slow smile curves on his lips. “Compatible.”
Shaking my head, I close my eyes and rest my forehead on his cheek. “I can’t be compatible with everyone.”
“Three people hardly account for the entire realm.”
They might as well with how often my world revolves around them. I keep my thoughts to myself. The last thing I need is another reason to doubt my plans. Because adding a vampire into my already fucked-up life, when I don’t even know where the hell I’m going to end up?
Gods, I’m going to ruin not just one life, but four. We’ll all crash and burn, laughing as the flesh melts from our bones and we claw our way past each other’s ribs to reach the heart. Mine. Revyn’s. Alistair’s. And now Callum’s too.
“Take a breath. The world does not rest on your shoulders.”
“Thank the gods for that.”
“I’d rather put my faith in what’s right in front of me.” Callum brushes his lips against my flushed cheek. “Like the beautiful woman in my arms.” His tone darkens as he draws an unnecessary breath. “I can’t wait to taste you, Wildflower.”
The innuendo warms my blood, reigniting the embers of desire he stoked mere moments ago. “Maybe we’ll win this challenge and you’ll get lucky.”
His eyes flash bright crimson. “Don’t tease a vampire unless you intend to follow through.
” He caresses my thigh as we walk through the edge of a tree line and enter a clearing shaped in a circle, the stone temple at its center covered in moss.
Moonlight blankets the area, its rays glinting off what appears to be crystal figurines, each one a mirror image of the next.
They line the stairs to the temple’s inner sanctum, where an even larger figurine—sparkling like a diamond—sits before an unnamed deity.
Their eyes are cast from polished green gemstones that glow in the soft silver light.
“Because that’s not freaky,” the female shifter comments aloud.
“Let’s just grab one and go,” the bear grumbles, stomping toward the array of figurines. A few have already been taken, but the vast majority lie untouched. “The sooner we get out of these godforsaken woods, the better.”
Wind rustles the trees, kicking up fallen leaves that rustle past our feet.
“Don’t piss off the gods.” I slide down Callum’s body, appreciating what I feel hiding beneath his clothes, before joining the others at the base of the shrine. “And be careful. There could be wards in place.”
“Or a curse,” Callum adds helpfully, “especially to those foolish enough to call them creepy.”
I hold back a laugh as cat girl shivers. “Whatever. Just grab one, Graham!”
He reaches for the closest figurine before stopping short and glancing up at the big one. “What if we take that one?”
“Professor Aesir said to take a figurine, not the figurine.”
“I agree. Don’t get greedy.” I make a mental note that his name is Graham and glance over my shoulder at Callum. Why is he standing so far away?
Graham chuffs and stands. “I can carry it.”
“You’ll break it,” I warn, grabbing his arm to stop him. “Then we’ll fail the challenge.”
“It’ll be fine. It’s made of glass, or something.”
“Glass is breakable.” I grit my teeth. “Take a smaller one.”
Rolling his shoulders back, he shrugs my hand off. “You take a small one. I’m getting the big one.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I snap, taking a few steps up and maneuvering in front of him. “Did that lightning strike fry your brain? Do you have any survival instincts? You don’t go after the biggest treasure. That’s asking for trouble.” I glare at his feline companion. “Back me up!”
She shifts her weight uncomfortably. “C’mon, Graham. I just want to get out of here.”
“Shut up, both of you!” Glaring at me, he grabs my arms and shoves me aside. “Especially you, fanger banger.”
A harsh hiss echoes behind us, but I ignore it and hold my ground. “You aren’t taking another step.” His eyes flash as he tries to walk around me, but I push back against his weight and hold him at bay. My muscles tense, but my blood flows freely, warming my body and making me sweat.
“What the fuck,” Graham chokes, pushing harder. “When did you get so—damn—strong?” He pants as he puts his back into it, digging his heels in and grunting from exertion.
The moment he falters, I shove hard. He topples backward and falls onto the glass figurines, shattering them beneath his weight. With a yelp of pain, he rolls onto the stairs, leaving blood and shards of broken glass behind.
“You fucking bitch!” Lunging at me, he tackles my legs and sends us sprawling onto the main platform.
The deity’s unseeing emerald eyes watch over us as we wrestle on the smooth stone, his blood coating the floor as he pushes the shards of glass—no, ice—deeper into his flesh.
Adrenaline keeps him moving, the growl rumbling through his chest inciting my own wolf to come out and play.
I sink my fangs into his arm, and he punches the back of my head. I tear my claws through his side, and he slams his elbow into my ribs. Shot for shot, we brawl, both of us coming up bloody. But to my amazement, both of our wounds heal—mine faster than his, even.
Callum’s blood.
I feel it coursing through me, making me stronger. Damn, that’s a fucking miracle drug. I grin from the rush of adrenaline, the bloom of heat in my chest, the sharpness of my senses.
Until Graham stumbles into the diamond figurine—a miniature version of the unknown deity, I realize, now that I’m up close—and sends it crashing to the ground.
It skids across the stones, the sharp scrape of its winged tips making us both flinch.
We stand in complete silence, my heart pounding as we wait for something to happen.
A curse. A spell. A trap.
Any number of things could manifest, and I’m not fucking ready for any of them.
I draw a breath and taste the frigid air before ice crystals form in front of my face, the temperature rapidly declining.
It stings my eyes and sears my skin, leaving me choking as I run for the edge of the platform and launch off its side.
Graham wheezes and clutches his throat, his eyes bulging as he stumbles after me. Shit. I left him behind. Reaching up, I call out to him. “Take my hand!” Unlike before, he listens, holding out his hand for me to take.
I grab him, expecting to feel the warmth of flesh and finding only frozen skin instead.
I hold on as crystals form at his fingertips and crawl up his hand, then his wrist, quickly climbing until he shrieks in panic.
I pull on his hand, and two of his fingers snap off in my palm.
The crystals spread onto my skin until I drop his flesh and pull my hand back, hissing as it burns down to the bone.
Graham’s body fights the only way it knows how, starting a shift that he won’t be able to complete.
A scream catches in his throat as he freezes mid-shift, yellow eyes wide, snout half-formed, fangs bared, one hand stuck as a mass of torn flesh and cracked bone while the other hovers in midair in front of me, completely human . . . with only three fingers remaining.
The two that broke off lay shattered at his feet.
His body tilts as its weight settles unevenly.
I reach for him and grab an arm, but it snaps at the shoulder, and the rest of him tumbles onto the stones, cracking through the middle as he lands.
Body parts splinter off and skid down the stairs.
I watch in horror as his neck snaps, sending his head tumbling to the soft grass in front of the shrine, where it promptly defrosts.
A scream rends the air.
I drop his dismembered arm and swallow bile rising to the back of my throat. Callum is hovering a few feet behind me, his voice gentle as he beckons me closer. I follow numbly while our teammate continues screaming. “Did that really happen?”
Wiping a streak of blood off my chin—mine or Graham’s, I’m not sure—Callum nods solemnly. “His heart is no longer beating.”
We watch as the crystal statue levitates back into place at the foot of its deity and what’s left of Graham’s body on the platform melts into water, quickly evaporating as though he never existed. The blood lingering on the stones seeps through the cracks, leaving no trace of our brawl behind.
I stare at the deity’s glowing marble eyes, unable to look away. “Which god is that?” And is Graham’s death the god’s doing, or is it our professor’s? My head swims as Callum leads us back to the front of the shrine, where our teammate sits in tears.
Graham’s head is the only proof that he was ever here, and even that is quickly swallowed by the earth as it sinks beneath the surface. It’s like he never existed.
“I thought the w-wards were in place,” the girl mumbles, her voice shaking. “We aren’t supposed to die!” She rubs the slash on her chest absentmindedly, but it’s already healed. All that remains is a pale scar that will disappear within a few hours.
“The gods hold power here.” Callum frowns at the shrine. “Apparently.”
“But Aesir placed those figurines.” I gesture toward what few dozen remain, the ones that weren’t smashed beneath Graham’s weight. “Why would he trespass on sacred ground?”
“Because he’s fucked in the head!” The female shifter stands abruptly. “He said he’d be impressed if we killed each other. Well, guess what?” She turns on me and bares her teeth. “You fucking did it, wild bitch! Congrats!”
I flinch. “This isn’t my fault!”
“That statue would never have fallen over if you two hadn’t gotten into a fight about it!”
“We wouldn’t have fought about it if Graham hadn’t been an idiot!”
“Don’t you dare say his name!” Her eyes flash, and her claws sharpen. “Fuck you! Fuck both of you!” With a sob, she runs away and disappears into the woods.
I take a deep breath and groan aloud. “We have to follow her.”
Callum nods. “I’ll hold the idol. It’s made of ice, so it won’t melt if I carry it.”
“Forget the fucking figurine.” I grab Callum’s hand and pull him after me. “I don’t care about winning anymore.”
“Are you sure?”
I swallow hard. “Yeah.”
If Aesir wants to play dirty, then we’ll play fucking dirty. His game is rigged, so we won’t play by his rules anymore.
“Let’s save our teammate and get the hell out of here.”
I’ve got a bone to pick with our fucking professor.