To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,20

since she was turned,” Asher demands with a maddening smile, a detached and wicked grin that brings out his dimples. “You’re going to get us all killed. You’re on their side! Just fucking say it!”

Their side.

The skin-crawling image of Atticus’ hands cradling my head as he pressed his cracking lips to my neck slashes through my mind. My fingers skim my neck as the feel of his teeth sinking into my flesh becomes too vivid in my memory.

“You’ve spoken to them?” I ask in a confused but quiet voice.

Declan turns to me, blood staining the side of his face. His wounds have already healed, but the blood remains as a reminder of what just occurred. Dirt and leaves cling to his white shirt. Spots of red are splattered across it in an almost artful way.

Breathing hard, Declan glances around at the others. Each of them waits with narrowed eyes for the hybrid to speak. He swallows hard, his attention falling on me. A pleading look clings to his silver eyes in the moonlight. It’s as if he’s asking a vampire to have mercy on him.

That’s not exactly what we’re known for.

“Can you all just give us a minute please?”

“I’m not leaving you with him,” Asher says, refusing to move an inch as the others begin to depart.

A long and tired breath fills my lungs, and all I smell is their blood. Declan’s, Asher’s, even Ayden’s unshed blood claws at my senses. I swallow hard, trying to regain the control over my own life, my hands shaking at my sides.

“Leave.” The single word falls from my lips in almost a desperate scream, scattering up the cliffs around us.

Asher’s shoulders tense as he stares at the ground, his jaw twitching as he appears to let the silence pull at his mind. He meets my eyes, blinking rapidly as he tries to hold back the emotion that seems to be flooding his body.

“Are you trying to push me away?” Fear laces his words, the tell-tale sign of his heart soaring to life booms loudly through my ears. The hybrid that was once a mystery to me is very apparent now. He couldn’t hide his reckless emotions if he tried.

“Yes.” I say the simple word to hurt; I aim it like a dagger to his stomach. I say it to push him away. To save him.

The shock hits him hard, and his brows rise, his lips parting in silence. My own mortal heart quivers with regret within my cold chest, threatening to come to life once again.

“That’s all you had to say, baby.” The affectionate word is spoken in a familiar whisper, shaking over his lips, wounding me just as I wounded him. He blinks a few times, avoiding my impassive stare. His jaw tics as he brushes past me, leaving me alone.

Just like I said I wanted.

For a long time I don’t even know what to say. My feelings are a mess within me. All I can think about is Asher, but there are too many things in my way, things I have no control over. The only thing I can do is hope he still sees me. I hope he understands I’m not the woman he married anymore, but I’m still me.

Declan waits for my anger. He waits for my judgment. He waits for what might just be his death.

But it never comes.

He isn’t bad. I just know it. There’s something broken with him; I can almost feel his disconnected emotions spark to life; very infrequently but they’re there, deep inside him. Beneath the mistrust and bad decisions are sheltered emotions.

“Did you speak to them?”

He nods, his blonde hair brushing his brows as he looks to the ground.

“What did they say?”

A long exhale leaves his lips before he finally says, “They sought me out the morning after it happened.” He pushes hard at his hair, as if he might tear it out completely. “Their voices …” He swallows, blinking hard as he flings his head up, glaring at the heavens. “Their voices claw at my thoughts. Circling fragments of instructions. They’re easy to ignore during the day.”

Declan’s been awake more and more during the night.

Because of me.

Something in my chest shatters, breaking apart at his words. Because I’ve been there. Maybe they’re controlling him as they did me the night the curse was broken. Or maybe Declan’s just really, really bad at making life choices.

“What did they say?” I ask again, not allowing myself to become sidetracked.

A shuddering breath presses past his