Page 146 of Tainted Souls
“No,” he says flatly.
“Just at the entrance,” I bargain. “I won’t go outside.”
He sighs, then shifts to allow me passage to the narrow crevice. “Stay where I can see you.”
I nod my agreement and squeeze through the opening, careful not to step fully outside. The sky beyond is dark with early evening, stars twinkling faintly behind wispy clouds. The air is cool and fresh after the staleness of the cavern, and I inhale deeply, savoring it.
From this vantage point, I can see the foothills stretching away, the distant lights of Northcross barely visible on the horizon.
Somewhere out there, Redmoore is making its decision about our proposed alliance. Somewhere farther, Cain holds my brother prisoner. And somewhere beyond that, my mother waits, having spent over a decade in captivity while I grew up believing she’d abandoned us.
How did my life become this tangled web of vampires, witches, and ancient grudges? How did I end up standing at the threshold of a cave, allied with the creatures I once hunted, contemplating a war that spans generations?
A movement in the shadows below catches my eye. Ace materializes from the darkness, mask on, his white hair gleaming in the starlight as he approaches the cave entrance. He carefully scans his surroundings with each step.
When he spots me watching, he pauses briefly, then continues his ascent. I step back to let him through the narrow opening, our bodies nearly touching as he squeezes past me into the cavern. He smells of night air and cigarette smoke, with an underlying metallic hint that can only be blood.
“You fed,” I observe, noticing the slight flush to his skin.
“Just enough,” he admits, no apology in his tone. “The others will need to as well, before we meet with your Redmoore friends.”
“They’re not my friends.”
His eyes study me with that unnerving intensity. “Then what are they to you?”
“Just comrades,” I say, realizing it’s not the answer I wanted to give, but the one trimmed down for convenience. We aren’t quite friends. Friends laugh. Friends linger. But there’s trust. Familiarity. Maybe even care, once. Just not the kind that lasts.
“We’re leaving soon,” he announces to the others, offering me nothing in return. “Kale, you and Palina will approach from the east. Reece, Irene, the west. I’ll take the dhampir directly to the meeting point.”
No one questions his orders, just begins preparing with the ease of routine. I notice he’s calling me ‘the dhampir’ instead of my name and wonder what changed since our almost-civil conversation earlier.
As the Ravens gather their belongings and extinguish the remaining torches, I find myself watching Ace again. Despite everything, I cannot deny his effectiveness as a leader.
His people trust him implicitly, follow without question.
I wonder if I’ll ever understand him, or if we’re destined to remain adversaries even as we fight for the same cause.
I wonder if I’ll ever stop wanting to hate him.
One thing is certain: the next twenty-four hours will change things. For better or worse, the alliance we might forge tonight could shape the course of this war. And I can only hope we’re making the right choice.
CHAPTER 31
AFTER WHATFEELS LIKEan hour of walking, Ace falls into step beside me, his pace matching mine.
The others have already spread out as planned, taking different routes to the rendezvous point. It’s just the two of us now, moving through the hushed woods.
He glances sideways at me. “You should feed before we reach the outpost.”
I nearly stumble. “What?”
“You’re showing early signs of thirst. You may not feel it yet, but once you do, it’ll be too late.”
I wrap my arms around my middle as if I could contain the craving that way. “What are you proposing? It’s not like we have time to stop.”
“We do.” He nods toward a cluster of lights a short distance away. “There’s a small settlement beyond those trees. Farmers, mostly. Easy enough to approach one, feed, and leave without incident.”
I stop in my tracks, horrified. “You want me to just… snatch some innocent person from their home?”
