To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,16

visitor is the second thing that lashes out at me.

“Fallon, can I come in?” Ayden’s hesitant but urgent voice flings through the small room.

“No.” The reply leaves my lips too quickly as I hold my breath, my nails biting into my palms as his smell lingers against my skin, begging me to come closer. I swallow hard, my eyes closing as images flash through my mind of my teeth sinking into him, his blood leaving his body to strengthen mine.

“Thank you, Ayden, but you should leave.” I back away from the dangerously small space that separates us until my legs hit the edge of the tiny bed. “Now.”

“I—I want to help you.”

“Ha!” The laughter crackles through my chest before I can stop it. “You can’t,” I say in a painful whisper, my voice teetering with emotion as the small smile slips from my lips.

He clears his throat, the sound of his boots shifting against the wooden floor is all I hear for a moment.

“Then I want to help us. I want to help the mortals. I’ll—I’ll talk further with Asher, but I wanted to tell you I can’t sit back and wait. I want to help.” A quietness seeps through the room for just a few beating seconds. “You’ll always have me, Fallon. We’ll always be friends.”

My chest aches, either from lack of air or from his words, I’m not sure. Our childhood together slashes through my mind. It feels like just yesterday, but the distance between now and then is too far. We’re too far apart now. And yet, he isn’t leaving, he’s ignoring everything he was raised to believe for me. Too bad he’s too late to save the mortal girl he remembers in his mind.

The stillness of my heart becomes so loud in my ears that it’s all I can hear even as he walks away. I exhale the breath I was clinging to, and my hands begin to shake until I wrap them around myself, hugging myself. I stand like that, alone in the dark, for so long I begin to think I might never move again.

The door creaks, scraping against the floor as it’s pushed aside, shaking me from my solitary thoughts. I blink a few times, realizing how wet my cheeks feel against my lashes before Asher’s striking features clear through the shadows around me. The sunlight filters down from the deck up above, dancing through the darkness, daring me to cross the room and touch it.

My fingers dig into my arms as I hold myself even tighter, my breath catching once again. Sharp teeth cut into my lip as I bite back all the things I threaten to say to him to get him to leave.

With heavy and cautious steps he comes to me. His strong arms wrap around me, enveloping me in his warmth.

I tilt my head into his chest, refusing to take the comforting breath I need, choosing the safety of his presence over the air my lungs crave. His hands drift up and down my spine, calming me the longer he holds me.

I should tell him to leave before I hurt him. Selfishly, I curl into him a little closer. My arms stiffly untangle from myself as I run my fingers down his solid chest, my nails biting into his hips as I pull his hard body against mine. My eyes drift close as I settle in against him.

Just like I used to.

“You should go,” I finally say in a clipped and defeated voice.

One reluctant second passes before he nods, his palm smoothing down my messy hair before pressing a soft kiss against my temple.

And then I’m alone again.

Nine

Jealous

Asher

The moment we reach the safe, rocky shore of our homeland, Fallon settles back into her basic routine of ignoring me once again. This time it isn’t just me. She’s ignoring everyone now. I haven’t seen her in two days.

Which brings me to my dangerously stupid hike through the Wanderer’s forest at two in the morning. Anything could be out here, especially after our less than friendly meeting in the Capitol recently. Fallon could be out here.

A growl scratches through the quiet air, and I’m unsheathing the sword before the source even comes into view.

In an instant Kaino pulls away from Shane, the two of them breathing hard as they look at me with the Crimson Sword pulsing red, a beacon signaling my presence. Their hair is disheveled, and a thin claw mark adorns the commander’s shoulder.

Awkwardness hangs in the air so