To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,9
spokes.
As I walk closer to them, I realize the shift of the breeze sends their scent right to me. My breath catches in my lungs, refusing to breath in the intoxicating smell of the blood within their veins. With silent steps I walk near Asher sleeping on a bench. His young face appears sunken with worry even in his sleep. It’s as if the last few weeks have aged him into a waiting grave.
With a feather light touch I sweep my fingers up his strong jaw, lingering there for a bit too long. There was a time when he watched over me while I slept. I wish this was easier. I wish life was easier.
“We’ll be there within the hour, Princess,” Shane tells me, his eyes deadlocked on a far off destination.
I nod and step away from Asher, my palm reluctantly slipping away even after I feel the hum of his pulse against my fingertips.
Still holding my breath, I make my way to the back of the ship and stand just a few yards from Kaino and Shane. Not until my hands are tightly clasped around the smooth wooden rail, with my body leaning out into the depthless ocean below, do I take a slow breath.
Salt and clean, cold air is all I smell. My nerves calm as I close my eyes, focusing on the sound of the ship cutting through the waves instead of the relentless pounding of my friend’s hearts. Tension slips from my body with each breeze that pulls at my thick hair.
A single hopeful instant is all I allow myself. The meeting tonight doesn’t scare me the way I know it should. If it goes well, the mortals of my camp will have a real chance at life. The mystics will have a real chance at life. If it goes bad …
I don’t even finish the thought. I push it back, rejecting it from my mind.
Instead I choose to keep checking off things on my imaginary list. Once this meeting is finished, I’ll find Atticus and break the curse … somehow. My life will be normal again. I won’t want to literally murder Asher every time I look at his gorgeous face. And I won’t have to see that world-shattering look of disappointment in his eyes anymore. If everything goes well …
The ship docks at an oddly small port, and Asher is at my side before the ship fully stops. His arm brushes mine. His scarred skin feels smooth. A tingle runs through me at the slight touch. With a small and insignificant breath I step away, breaking the warm contact of his skin against mine.
A minimal amount of land separates the gentle sea from a towering brick wall ahead of us. It’s so tall, not even I can see the top.
“This is the entrance to the Capitol?” I ask Kaino, my attention settling over the tiny dock that greets us. There’s no real entrance in sight. Nothing but miles and miles of smooth brickwork lines the coast.
“No, we’re meeting Ayden here. This is the civilian port.” His prowling eyes continue to scan our dark surroundings.
The moon is the only light that filters over us. It doesn’t matter, though. I see movement long before a person comes into focus.
Ayden makes his way to our ship, slinking through the shadows like a … total mortal. His feet stumble against the damp grass nearly bringing him to his knees more than once. When he finally makes it to the dock, I step away from the rail, away from the one friend I’ve known all my life. Something similar to shame pounds through my chest as I back away from him, safely out of view.
“Are – are you coming down?” he yells up to the six of us.
A panicked look fills my face as I search out Asher. Hesitation doesn’t slip across his features for even an instant.
“We’ve brought cloaks,” Asher whispers down to him. “We’ll be down as soon as possible.”
The hybrid begins unpacking black cloaks from a bag near where he was sleeping. He hands them out one by one.
“Just Fallon.”
Asher halts his work immediately, and three long and assured strides is all it takes to bring him fuming to the edge of the ship.
“You really think we’ll let you sneak off in the middle of the night with her alone? After what your people did to us? After what they’ve consistently done to us all of our lives?” His hands grip the sleek wooden railing until