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NINETY | ELIXIR
Sheer relief stopped me from pushing him away and seating myself. He winced at my bloody forearm, and took a step back, his pupils growing. The relief turned to acid in my stomach.
“No,” Harper snapped, stepping between us. “You get the hell away from her.”
I could have rolled my eyes. With a groan, I dragged myself to my feet, leaning heavily on a nearby tree trunk. “Both of you, stop it,” I said, before aligning my back with the trunk and sliding down it. “I can fight my own battles.”
Cyrus’s eyes danced with mischief, and his lips twitched into a smirk. Even so, his ha
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The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-TWO | BURNING BLOOD
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The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-THREE | THE HEATH
I held the darkness close, using it to shroud me as I crept towards the building. I’d been home only briefly between the conclusion of the meeting and arriving at The Heath, and there I had found my phone placed carefully on my pillow. The sight had filled me with warmth, and something akin to homeliness, now that I knew who was behind the return of my lost items. Though he’d never said it, I’d assumed that Cyrus had returned the obsidian necklace to me, too – before I’d left it with Veronica. The screen of my phone was smashed, but it worked well enough after a quick charge for me to call Cyrus and fill him in.There was no word as of yet from Harper. I was glad of it – I didn’t have the energy to help him work through his fear. I had enough of my own shit to work through in the short time I had without worrying about him.I’d re-laced my boots before I left, and with each tight crossing I rem
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-FOUR | THREADS
Pain flared, pulling all of my focus to that single, tender spot. I felt the incision of each of her fangs, felt the slow pull of my blood being extracted from my body against my consent. I roared and writhed against her. She held me down, hardly breaking her concentration, so little an effort it was to keep me pressed down against the floorboards.I acknowledged death as an equal, as a friend. To die in battle was honourable. To awaken as a vampire – I shut out the thought, and redoubled my efforts. I would not allow her to turn me into one of them. I had accepted Veronica, and I had accepted Cy, but this – I could not accept this.My hands were pinned against my sides. If I could wiggle them free – even just a little, affording them some small amount of movement – I could dig my nails in to her skin. It would hardly hurt her, but it might distract her for just long enough that I could dig my stake into her
The Hunter and the Vampire NINETY-FIVE | OATH
My eyes were unfocused, glassy, as I watched Cyrus scream. The sound was raw, unlike anything I had ever heard before, least of all from him. The hot pulse of blood streaming from my neck eased, and I let my hand fall. I hardly knew what I was doing. My entire being was honed in on that awful, curdling scream.Even though I had done nothing, I had broken our agreement. I was a vow breaker. I had destroyed the burgeoning trust between us.I felt no sorrow for his Nanny, not really. Her eyes were as glazed at mine, but through my own haze I could see her smiling. Cyrus clutched her to his chest, sobbing openly, tears falling on her weathered face. But through it all she smiled, and placed a weak hand atop one of his.Something in his expression broke me, though. It crumpled, the skin pulling taut as he screamed his throat raw. But it was not the cries or the shaking or the pull of his mouth that twisted the knife in my hea
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I stared into the fogged bathroom mirror, my jar of coconut oil and a small vial of tea tree oil open in front of me, but as of yet untouched. It all felt achingly familiar: the little jar we kept our toothbrushes in, the speckles of black mould in the upper right corner of the shower, the burnt orange hand towel that had come with us from university house to university house, and finally to our first home.It had been the same way ever since I’d stepped through the threshold of the house and back into my old life. The rooms were the same, the furniture in them was the same; I could almost see our old selves wandering around, grinning and joking, Harper hugging me from behind, the bristles on his chin tickling the skin beneath my ear. I could see it all, but I felt… nothing.I blinked at my reflection. Same dark hair, only lanker and longer than the last time I’d seen it in this mirror; same dark eyes, underhung by purple
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