Chapter 12
Ireach for the dagger at my thigh, but a hand wraps around my arm, pinning it behind my back so roughly I cry out. A large hand grabs my other arm, and then I find my back slammed against a hard chest.
Amabel tsks and flicks her hand in a simple gesture, prompting one of her vampires to restrain Tori as well.
“Get your filthy hands off me,” I sneer, but the vamp only laughs in my ear.
“The more you struggle, the more fun it is.” His hot breath fills my ear, and the more I fight, the tighter his grip becomes. I don’t stand a chance of breaking free like this; he’s too strong, and without feeding him my blood, I’m no match for him.
My eyes flit around the darkness, and I see three more vamps surrounding us, one of them with a foot pinned on the wagon driver’s back as he squirms against the ground. He screams out as the vampire pushes her foot deeper into his spine. I look away.
Amabel’s eyes are alight with amusement as she moves closer to us, a long fur coat wrapping her body in a sea of black. Her dark eyes sweep past me and to the man pinned on the floor in front of the wagon.
“You know, I’ve always wondered how they’ve been getting across the border. Now I know.” She turns to me. “I have you to thank for that, Adina.”
“Fuck you,” I spit. Amusement fills her features at my words.
Her steps are slow as she moves toward the wagon, lifting the edge of the sheet to reveal the terrified figures inside. She cocks her head in a feline-like pose as she takes in the individuals.
“Please don’t hurt us, we just want to be free.” The woman who was holding her baby earlier cries out. I grit my teeth, anger radiating through me as I still try to break the vampire’s hold on me. It’s futile. I can only watch in silent horror.
“Hurt you?” Amabel shakes her head. “I do not wish to hurt you, only free you as you so wish to be.”
Amabel steps to one side, gesturing for the group huddled inside to leave the wagon.
They move cautiously as they shuffle out, never taking their eyes off the vampires surrounding them.
At least twenty people leave the wagon. More than I realized.
Mothers and fathers clutch tightly to their children, as they bury their faces in their bodies. My heart pounds inside my chest.
They line up outside the wagon, fear etched across their features.
Amabel walks the length of them, eyeing every individual in the same manner she does when she is assessing us before a night of feeding.
Her eyes scrutinizing every move. She dips down in front of a child, smiling as she looks at him.
Tears make his brown eyes shine against the night as he looks back at her from within the folds of his mother’s cloak.
“Come, little one.” She beckons him forward, but he doesn’t move, his eyes rising to his mother for confirmation first.
“Please don’t hurt him.”
Amabel’s face twists in disgust as though the mere thought of someone believing she would hurt a child is insulting.
“You have no need to fear me, child.”
A long pause fills the air, and then the mother nods. Slowly, the child slips from her grip, taking slow footsteps toward Amabel. He stops when he’s at least a foot away.
“What is your name?” she asks from her crouched position.
He looks back at his mother again for permission. Her pale skin flushes red as she looks down at him in reassurance.
“Danay,” he whispers, his lashes so long they curl to touch the light brown skin of his eyelids.
“What a lovely name,” she coos. “And how old are you, Danay?”
“Seven.”
Her eyes flash up at the mother, a quiet rage brewing in her irises. She is no doubt wondering how his mother managed to keep him hidden all this time. She turns her attention back to the boy.
“My name is Amabel. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She holds out a hand to the boy, and he takes it awkwardly as she gives it a shake.
An unfamiliar expression crosses her face.
I have only ever known her to be stern and cruel, but something about seeing the children is bringing out an oddly softer side to her, yet I’m not foolish enough to think she will extend that kindness any further.
“The father?” she asks his mother.
“He’s dead.” His mother’s eyes briefly meet with one of the vampires circling us. “He was killed by a vampire.”
“Unfortunate,” Amabel says before looking down at the boy again.
“Do you know why you were in this wagon, Danay?”
“Mama said we were going to a special place. Somewhere safe.”
His mother tenses at his words.
“Well, she was right. You are going somewhere special.”
Her words seem to surprise us all, as does the gentle smile that touches her lips. Is she really going to let them go?
No, she is not. Keep your guard up, Adina, and be ready to fight, Athriel warns.
I give a silent acknowledgement as my eyes meet Tori’s. I send a warning with my eyes, and she gives a subtle dip of her head.
“In fact, all the children will go there to join you. How would you like that?”
The boy’s lips part in an excited grin, but fear knots my stomach. “I’d like that very much. Did you hear that, Mama? The lady is going to take us to the special place.”
Amabel stands up, brushing the dust from her coat.
Her gaze lingers on the boy’s mother, and as she rubs her hands together to rid them of the dirt, she suddenly moves—a blur I almost miss.
In an instant she is behind the boy, racing toward his mother with a speed no human could possess.
The world slows around me, and I watch in horror as Amabel seizes the woman’s head, twisting sharply until a sickening click cracks through the air.
The body falls to the ground with a thud, and it takes me a minute to realize what has happened. Amabel killed her. She’s a…
Vampire, Athriel finishes, disbelief coating his voice, too.
The night erupts into chaos as the others begin running. Parents drag their children away, trying to run through the grass, tripping and tumbling along the way. Screams fill the air, but it’s the cry of the little boy on his knees, hovering over his mother’s body that tightens my stomach.
“Mama, please wake up! Mama, wake up!”
I try to move toward him, but I can’t. My eyes land on Tori’s, and I see the same guilt reflected there as she stares down at the boy in sheer horror. We will be dragged back to the bloodhouse and punished for our crimes, but what we have left behind is unforgivable.
My eyes dart around frantically as humans scatter, desperate to flee vampires moving at speeds they can never outrun.
Limbs are torn from bodies, and hands plunge into chests, ripping out hearts and casting them carelessly to the ground.
The screams of desperation rip me apart.
Another child is torn from their mother’s arms, forced to watch as a vampire sinks his fangs into her neck and tears out her throat.
I desperately want to look away, but I force myself to watch.
This is all my fault. I caused this. My need to save Willow put a death sentence on every head here, so I don’t get to look away.
This is not your fault. Vampires are monsters. This is what they do.
They never would have found them had I not been here.
Perhaps, but you are not in control of their actions.
I wish I could believe him.
The vampires slowly return, dumping crying children in a pile like sacks of potatoes.
They huddle together on the dusty ground, their cries painting the dark sky.
One of them looks to me for help, his hazel eyes pained as he searches the darkness for his mother’s corpse.
I pray to the lost gods that he will never see the still body with the chest ripped open.
It’s a nightmare he shouldn’t have to live with, though I doubt he’ll ever forget this night.
The last of the vampires returns from the shadows with a crying baby in his arms, its tiny body covered in the blood of its mother. He rocks the infant in his arms, cooing, but the screams don’t stop as though it can sense the loss of its mother.
Amabel moves slowly toward the group of children.
“Stay away from them.” My voice is hoarse, and it’s only then that I realize I’ve been screaming.
She ignores me and looks down at the children.
“Silence.” The command is so forceful that they instantly fall silent. Their fear is palpable in the air. Even the baby’s crying ceases. “There is no need to cry. Today is the start of a brand-new life, and you will be grateful for it.”
A child in the middle stands to her feet, her face thunderous as she challenges Amabel in a staring competition before spitting on the floor at her feet.
“You killed our parents. We’re not going anywhere with you.”
The slap comes so fast, I gasp. The child flies across the sandy ground, clutching her face with her hand.
“No,” Tori screams out as she fights against the hold the vampire has on her, but her efforts are futile. “Don’t you fucking touch her again.”
The girl immediately stumbles to her feet, and I’m so proud of the fight she has left. She is trying to be their protector, and I admire her persistence. Her small fists curl at her sides, and she growls in Amabel’s direction.
“Such insubordination at your young age,” she says. “Don’t worry, it can easily be broken.”
“I’m not scared of you,” she sneers.
Amabel takes her in curiously, and I don’t miss the hint of admiration that creeps onto her face. She’s a monster.
Yes, she is.
“No, you’re not, are you?” She turns to glance at the other children, all still huddled on the ground, their eyes wide with fear. “But they are, and for every rule you break, they will be the ones to suffer.”
The light instantly dies in the girl’s eyes, and I see the moment she understands the threat. It’s one I’m all too familiar with. It’s the reason I learned to survive all these years.
Amabel smiles as she recognizes it too, and I promise to find a way to kill her for that one act. She turns to one of the vampires, its red eyes glowing hungrily in the darkness.
“Take the others and deliver the children to the orphanage.” The vampire nods. “And make sure they are cleaned up, only the Gods’ knows what filth they might be carrying. Make sure they are tested.”
The vampires herd the children as I would imagine one would with animals, pushing them through the darkness and out of sight. With the children gone, I can think of nothing but the horrors they were just forced to witness.
“You’re a vampire.” It’s not a question.
Her mouth curves up into a wicked grin as she relishes in my horror.
“I am.”
“That’s not possible, you look human. Your eyes…”
This time, she laughs.
“There is so much you are yet to learn. You and I could have made an unstoppable team, but alas, you are far too stubborn.” She moves toward the vampire holding Tori. “Let her go.”
He obeys instantly, releasing her as she stumbles into Amabel’s path.
Tori steps back in fear, only to collide with the other vampire’s chest. He pushes her toward Amabel, and she grabs her by the shoulders to steady her.
Then, in one quick motion, she spins her so her back is pressed to her chest and drags her forward until they are standing directly in front of me.
Amabel takes a long sniff of her hair, and Tori’s eyes widen with fear.
“Get away from her,” I hiss.
Amabel’s lips curve upwards as though her entire purpose is to antagonize me. She leans her head over Tori’s shoulder to look at me.
“You were brave to blackmail me, that’s why I like you, Adina. I see in you what was once seen in me. I only wish you had been strong enough to meet my demands.”
“Your demands?”
She nods as if it is the simplest thing in the world.
“This world is not for the weak. You either take from it or let it take from you. Luckily for you, I need you alive for what I have planned, and to take your place as the prince’s donor.”
“But you said I could—”
“I said that if you wanted the donor spot, then you would have to take it. And I so wished you had been strong enough to do so yourself. But I guess sometimes we all need a little push.”
Before I can make sense of her words, the glint of a blade sparkles in her hand seconds before she glides its sharp edge across Tori’s throat.
Tori’s eyes widen in horror as they meet mine, and a strangled scream rips from my throat.
I’m not sure whether I break free of the vampire’s hold or if he lets me go, but I reach Tori before she crashes to the floor.
She falls into my arms, and her weight drags us both to the ground, causing the gritty earth to dig painfully into my knees.
But I don’t care. Dark red blood pours from her throat in rivulets, and I press my hand against the wound, urging her to hold on.
I cry out to all six of the lost gods, begging them to help—but an answer never comes.
My body sinks as Tori becomes heavier in my arms, and the salty flavor of my tears touches my tongue.
“Please just hang on,” I beg.
Her head lolls back in my lap, her eyes fixed on me as the light within them slowly fades away.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be real.
She tries to speak, but it comes out in a gurgle as a single tear runs down the side of her face.
I hold her tighter to my chest, knowing there is nothing I can do as I watch the rise and fall of her chest begin to slow.
I turn to Amabel in desperation.
“Please, just heal her. I will do anything you want. Anything.”
“The time for deals is over, I’m afraid.” And with that, she disappears into the darkness, leaving me on the ground with Tori lying almost lifelessly in my lap.
I choke on my own tears as the blue in her eyes starts to dull.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let you come.
I should have found another way.” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own.
My head falls against her chest as I hold her tighter against me with zero care for the audience surrounding us.
The night is silent save for the ragged breaths wheezing from her lips.
I listen as they fade, each one weaker than the last, while my tears fall harder.
My chest burns, and a deep, twisting pain coils through my stomach.
I can’t do this.
“Tori?”
My whispered word is unanswered as I pull my head back and stare at her still face.
Her eyes are still fixed in my direction, but the light that was once there has gone.
The world swallows me whole as pain erupts through every inch of me, my head pounding to the beat of a screaming drum as I accept a new reality.
My eyes fall to where she lies in my lap, but there is nothing left of her now. My entire body is numb. She’s gone.
Tori is dead.