Chapter 5

For a moment, I couldn't move.His cold hand was still around my neck, and my back was pressed against his chest. His words kept playing in my head.We had a deal, Veronica Night. You broke it.

The truth slowly sank in,I had broken our deal.My stomach twisted as another thought hit me.

Debby.Was he going to kill her?

No. No, no, no.

I twisted in his grip, trying to free myself. I grabbed his arm and pulled at it, but he barely moved. It was like trying to fight a rock. No matter how hard I struggled, he didn't even seem to notice.

"Let go of me!" I snapped, digging my nails into his hand.

Panic crawled up my throat. I had faced dangerous animals in the forest. I had survived situations that should have killed me. But none of that had prepared me for this man.

He was too strong. Too fast. And I had no idea what he was capable of.There was only one thing left to do.Something I hated more than anything in this world.

Beg.

The thought alone made me sick, but I couldn't let my pride cost Debby her life.

"Please don't kill her!" The words came out before I could stop them. "It's my fault. I broke our deal, and I'm sorry."

The apology tasted bitter in my mouth. I hated every second of it. I hated having to plead with a monster who could end my life without breaking a sweat.But if it meant Debby could live, I would swallow my pride a thousand times over.

Vladimir finally moved.He turned me around and forced me to face him. I stumbled slightly, catching myself before I fell.

We were too close.Much too close.

I had expected his skin to be as cold as his hand, but standing in front of him, I felt the heat radiating from his body. It caught me off guard. He looked like something that belonged in the darkness, yet he was warm.

His golden eyes settled on mine."And it's your fault your friend is already dead."

He said it without emotion.My heart dropped.For a second, I couldn't breathe. His words seemed to suck all the air out of my lungs, leaving me standing there, staring at him.

"No."The word came out so quietly that I barely heard myself say it.I shook my head."No."

He had to be lying. He had to be saying it just to hurt me. He couldn't possibly know what had happened to her. Debby had run before he caught me. She was clever, fast, and good at surviving.

She couldn't be dead.Not Debby.

I tried to step away, but Vladimir caught my hand before I could put any distance between us.

"You broke your promise," he said. "You lost."His fingers tightened around mine."I could kill you now."

My heart hammered against my ribs.He tilted his head slightly."But that wouldn't be any fun."

Before I could answer, he started dragging me away.

"Let me go!" I screamed, pulling against his grip.

He kept walking.I dug my heels into the ground, trying to slow him down. When that failed, I twisted my arm and scratched at his hand, desperate to make him release me.

He didn't even look bothered.The more I fought, the more helpless I felt. It was as if my strength meant nothing to him.

"Let go of me!"I struck at his arm again, but he barely reacted. My own movements were becoming clumsy, and I was only hurting myself.

Then, without warning, he stopped.I barely had time to register it before he bent down, caught me, and threw me over his shoulder."What the hell—put me down!"

I hit his back with my fists, kicking and struggling as he carried me like I weighed nothing.He didn't say a word.Of course he didn't.Why would he? I was nothing more than his captured prey.

I kept fighting, but then the world seemed to shift beneath me.Wind rushed against my exposed skin. My stomach lurched, and a wave of dizziness swept over me. For one terrifying moment, I couldn't tell whether my feet were touching the ground.

Everything blurred.The trees disappeared.The air grew colder, and the wind roared in my ears. I tightened my grip on his clothes, unable to stop myself from doing so.

Were we flying?

No. That was impossible.

And yet, whatever he was doing, it was nothing like running. One moment we had been in the forest, and the next, the world was spinning around me.

Then it stopped.My head was still spinning when I heard the crowd.A deafening roar erupted around us.

Vladimir had brought me back to the arena.

He lowered me from his shoulder and placed me on the ground. My legs nearly gave out beneath me, but I forced myself to remain standing.

The crowd was going wild.

Thousands of people cheered from the stands, their excitement filling the arena. They had been waiting for the hunters to return with their prizes, and now the Demon Prince had arrived with his.

The host hurried forward, gripping his microphone. His smile was so wide it made me want to slap it off his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouted, his voice booming across the arena. "Look who's returned! The Demon Prince himself, with his prey still alive!"

The crowd erupted again.

"Another winner has claimed his prize! What a spectacular hunt!"

I barely heard him.My eyes were already moving across the arena, searching the crowd of contestants and hunters.

Where was Debby?

I looked toward the entrance. Then the surrounding platforms. I searched every face I could see, hoping to catch a glimpse of ginger hair and freckles.

Nothing.

My chest tightened.

No.

I turned toward the contestants being brought back into the arena. Some were crying. Others looked too terrified to speak. A few were being dragged along by their captors.

But Debby wasn't among them.I searched again, more desperately this time.She wasn't there.

Vladimir had killed her.

The thought hit me so hard that for a moment, everything around me went quiet. The cheering faded into a distant hum. I could barely hear the host anymore.

All I could think about was Debby.Her refusing to leave me.The guilt in her eyes when she finally ran.I had told her to go because I believed she had a chance to survive.I had let her go.

And now she was dead.Something inside me snapped.

I didn't think about the consequences. I didn't think about the crowd, the guards, or the fact that I was standing beside the most powerful vampire in the kingdom.

I only thought about the monster who had taken everything from me.

My hand moved to my boot.

My fingers closed around the hidden handle of a knife.

I pulled it free.Vladimir was still standing beside me, looking entirely too calm. His golden eyes were fixed on me, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

I stepped toward him.And drove the knife straight into his chest.Right where his heart should have been.The sound of the crowd died instantly.

One second, thousands of people had been screaming and cheering. The next, the entire arena fell silent.I could hear my own breathing.

I stared at the knife buried in his chest, my hand still wrapped around its handle.

Vladimir didn't move.He didn't stumble. He didn't even look down.He simply stood there, his golden eyes fixed on mine.

My anger began to drain away, leaving something much colder in its place.

Fear.

Slowly, the reality of what I had just done settled over me.I had stabbed the Demon Prince.In front of the entire kingdom.And judging by the way he was looking at me, I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.