CHAPTER28
I standin a city of stone and ice. Frost lines doorways and sills; ancient stalagmites hold fast to balconies, making idle threats with their dangerously sharp points. City buildings I saw from the castle are more massive than I could’ve imagined. They tower over me, several stories tall. The fortress in Hunter’s Hamlet is only four stories at its tallest point and for all my life I thought it was the highest building that could be made.
Turning, I take it all in. The silence. The snowfall glittering in the sunlight, dancing on my lashes and swirling in my clouded breaths.
“Welcome to the city proper. Tempost, the cradle of the vampir.” Ruvan releases my hand.
“It’s…” The shining spires, the glistening cobblestones, the ironwork that scrolls down the building’s sides…the beauty of it steals my breath.
“It’s not much, not now. But before—”
“It’s stunning.” I find my voice again.
Ruvan’s surprised silence relaxes into an easy smile. He seems lighter outside the castle, stands a little taller. “I’m glad you like it.”
“What was it like before the long night?” I ask.
Ruvan’s gaze grows soft and distant. He stares down the silent streets. “The truth is, not even I really know.”
“You don’t?” I glance over my shoulder, making sure Winny and Callos aren’t nearby, before I lightly touch his elbow.
“No…I was born after the curse was laid. Even as a boy, I only saw a shade of Tempost’s former glory. People were already becoming Succumbed, killing each other to survive. But in the city’s heyday, it was a place of splendor.” His words are full of yearning, of nostalgia for something he’s never even known. “The elders would say that things were quiet during the month, but the festivals around the full moon would pack the streets with people of all shapes. They would—”
“It looks all clear.” Winny jogs over from a large, nearby building, interrupting Ruvan’s musings unbeknown to her; Callos strolls behind. I quickly drop my hand, hoping they didn’t notice.
“That’s good.” Ruvan smooths his palm over the buttons of his coat. I’ve never been so enthralled with iron buttons before. But the way they slip underneath his long, elegant fingers before popping free is entrancing. It almost makes me lick my lips. It makes me want to slowly drag my tongue across the tips of my teeth. Feeling if I have—
My mind gutters.
Fangs.
That was what I had been thinking.
I suddenly become very focused on the architecture of the buildings, the layouts of the streets, anything else but him.
“Are you ready?” Callos says in a way that makes me think it’s not the first time he’s asked.
“Yes, of course.” I settle my hand on the sickle as we approach a hulking structure ahead.
Columns line its front. Its entry is an archway so massive that a horse and cart could fit through. Overhead is a crest and engraving coated with thick frost and snow, rendering it illegible.
“Are you all right?” Ruvan asks softly as we approach. Winny and Callos are leading the way. Winny I expect, but Callos taking the charge into battle is something I didn’t think the man did.
“I’m ready.” I nod swiftly, keeping my hand on the hilt of my sickle.
Ruvan gives a soft huff of what sounds like amusement. He’s underestimating me again, just like he did when we first descended into the old castle. I’ll show him. I’ll—
My thoughts stop for a second time, my feet mirroring, halting in my tracks.
I stand in a two-story atrium. Snow falls through the cracked glass of a dome above. There’s a stone desk, framed with marble, directly ahead of me. Its chair has long since been turned to dust.
But what is suspended from the dome consumes my focus. Overhead is a massive skeleton of a winged monstrosity. Fangs larger than Ventos’s broadsword point toward me as if it were about to swoop down and consume me in one bite. Claws sharper than my sickle extend from four legs. It’s held together and suspended by wire some smith must’ve spent hours making.
“What…what is this place?” I murmur, my hand relaxing at my side. As fearsome as the skeleton is, it’s not about to come to life and attack me.
“A museum,” Callos repeats, somewhat dumbfounded. The way he’s looking at me causes the heat of embarrassment to crash down on me, competing with the chill in the air and winning.
“Well that much is obvious,” I say forcefully. Too forcefully. Ruvan arches a silvery eyebrow.
