Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
LOOK AT ME
I stay as still as possible. ‘Not humans?’ I murmur. ‘What the … are you saying these are vampires? But it’s daytime.’ I spot another blur of black, closer to us, moving from rock to rock. Michael is tense as iron.
‘Reapers.’
‘What?’
‘Shh. Tell you after.’ Michael breathes the words. Light catches the silver blade now in his other hand. My stomach lurches, terror sinking vicious claws into me. We’re almost defenceless, out here alone. No one could help us, even if they wanted to.
Another blur of motion, even closer. A figure wearing black fatigues, their head completely covered by a dark helmet and goggles, crouches nearby.
‘Don’t look at them. Look at me.’
I turn my head. Oh God. He’s so close. His warm breath on my face, his eyes darkening as he stares into mine.
I almost kiss him, then. Because if I’m about to die a horrible death, it seems like the right thing to do.
I close my eyes instead, a single tear rolling down my cheek.
Cold air rushes past us both, a faint crackle of snow.
I keep my eyes closed, even though the urge to look is killing me. Looking will definitely kill me.
After what feels like an eternity but is probably just minutes, I feel Michael’s gentle touch on my cheek. ‘They’re gone.’
I open my eyes. My heart pounds, my limbs trembling. It’s fear, pure and simple. Nothing to do with how close he is to me. I move away. ‘Please tell me what the hell just happened.’
He laughs, the sound soft. ‘You haven’t changed, have you?’
‘Michael! How are vampires out during the day? And Reapers?’ I keep my voice low, aware of the nearby coaches. They may be shuttered, but they’re not soundproof.
‘Fuck.’ He pulls back, running his hand through his hair. ‘Where to begin?’
‘Um, at the beginning?’
‘Right. So, after my father threw me out, several years ago, I had to make my own way to the Safe Zone where we met.’
I nod, frowning. That can’t have been easy. Mistral’s estates are in France. I know he tried to change Michael to vampire, several times, and when it didn’t take, he kicked him out. Once again, I wonder what my mother ever saw in Mistral.
‘But why come here? Why not go to one of the Safe Zones in France? How did you get across the Channel?’
‘I wanted to get away from him. Managed to stow away on a vamp ship, cross the Channel, and made my way east. I don’t know what I was looking for. Maybe it was you.’
‘Stop being an idiot,’ I breathe. ‘Tell me what this has to do with Reapers.’
‘I … it was tough. I kept moving during the day, because I thought it would be safer. I had my blade, and my father taught me to defend myself, even if his methods were … harsh.’ Pain ripples across his expression.
‘I was low on food when I ran into what I thought was a group of humans, near the Safe Zone closest to your estate.’
‘They weren’t humans.’
‘No.’ He shakes his head, looking down. ‘I found out pretty quickly that they were vampires, shielded against the daylight by protective clothing and goggles. I managed to escape them and make it into the Safe Zone. And that’s where I found out they were Reapers.’
My mouth drops open. ‘But … what the hell? Why would they come out in daylight? It’s against every vampire instinct to do so!
Shit.’ I stare across the snowy landscape, as though it might give away their secrets.
‘Is this how they’re attacking Safe Zones?
Coming in during the day?’ I stand up. ‘I need to let my father know. If they’re planning an attack here, then—’
‘They’re not planning an attack.’
‘How do you know?’
He gestures to the coaches, to the now deserted Gathering field. ‘There are hundreds of vampires here, Raven nobility, entire battalions of guards. There’s only a handful of them. They’d be wiped out in moments or sent to the Pits. There’s no way they’d attack, not with those odds.’
‘But we can’t just let them go! They must have gone somewhere. These … monsters are literally tearing my people apart, and you’re just sitting there looking smug.’
‘I am not smug!’
‘You are so smug!’
‘E, it’s daylight. Who are you going to get to follow them? They’ll be long gone now, probably miles away.’
‘But—’ My phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it.
‘You going to answer that?’
‘Michael!’
‘I bet it’s your mother.’
I stick my tongue out at him as I answer the phone.
‘Have you frozen to death out there or do I need to send a blood dancer to get you?’ My mother’s voice is laced with humour but there’s an undertone of worry.
‘I’m coming back now.’ Because if I don’t, I’m going to kill Michael. I hang up.
‘You’re not going back now.’
‘Why not? I’d rather not still be out here if those Reapers decide to come back.’
‘They’re not coming back. And, even if they did, I’d keep you safe, E.’
I swallow. He’s too damn close to me. ‘How? That blade isn’t going to be much use.’
‘You’d be surprised.’
‘What aren’t you telling me?’ Because I know it’s something. I haven’t forgotten my desire to seek out a Reaper, to find out if they are connected to Lady Morvenna. If he knows something, I want to know it, too.
‘I’m telling you all I can.’
‘Which means you’re keeping something from me.’
‘Not necessarily. It means I don’t have anything else to tell you.’
‘Oh!’ My fists clench. ‘Do you really think I want a lieutenant who keeps secrets from me?’
‘No, I don’t.’ He moves even closer, his chest almost touching mine. I can’t breathe. ‘But I imagine you’d prefer me doing this to either of my brothers.’ Before I can move, he steals a kiss, his lips pressing against mine. God and darkness! My whole body responds.
I shove him, hard. ‘Do not touch me!’ I’m so angry I can hardly see. I turn away before I do something I’ll regret.
Michael grabs my arm. ‘What, that’s it? You’re just going to walk away?’
‘That’s what you did,’ I snap, pulling my arm free.
This time, when I head for the coach, he doesn’t stop me.
I go straight to my room, grabbing a pillow from the bed and punching it before hugging it to me, silently screaming into velvet and feathers.
Mistral, again. I swear to darkness the entire family was put on the planet just to annoy me.
Michael’s kiss still burns on my lips, as though my whole body is calling out for him.
And then there’s the insane fact of Reapers in the daylight.
My father taught me that it’s better to engage with an enemy you know.
I only hope I survive it.