To Love a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,49

back, his eyes closed as his chest rises and falls steadily.

Luca spots the guard as well, stepping carefully past me, her silent steps drifting over the dirty tile floor. She stands before the man and slowly leans toward him, her aggressively playful eyes watching him closely, her nostrils flaring, fanning her breath over his face.

It only takes a moment for the man to realize something is off. His even breaths halt, his body no longer filled with relaxation. Tension fills his shoulders as his eyes slowly open, blinking up at the warrior before him. His arms jerk, the chair scraping against the floor with the sudden movement. A smile consumes her features, her eyes lighting up like he’s the most amazing man she’s ever seen.

Her lips begin to quiver, her jaw shaking almost violently as she pins him with a glowing stare. She bares her teeth just as her jaw cracks, the snout of a wolf aggressively snarling where her full lips once were. The man flinches from her, his eyes scrunching tightly closed, pressing himself against the chair to create space between him and the mystic. A growl passes over Luca’s grimacing lips, a bark snaps from her mouth before she shakes her head, her face and features returning to the beautiful woman once again.

In a single breath, she says a word that throws him into frantic motion. “Run.”

He pushes past her, flailing against the smooth tile as he struggles with the exit door, finally pushing it open and rushing into the night.

Luca grips her stomach as her echoing laugh fills the hall, her shoulders shaking as she breathes out a happy sigh. “Did you see the look on his face?” She wipes a tear from her eye as she walks back to us.

“Are you done?” Kaino asks, quirking a brow at his sister's antics.

She licks her lips, smoothing the enormous smile from her face and nods.

I walk past her. “Is anyone else here?” I ask.

Kaino turns his head listening down the hall, possibly even the entire building. “No one else.”

Straightening my shoulders, I stand back from the thick metal door. “Open it,” I command, staring unflinchingly at Declan.

For a quiet moment, his gaze locks with mine, considering me—the only real friend he has—before he slowly moves passed Kaino. He holds the slim handle in his palm, he turns it but it doesn’t fully twist. His fist tightens and a snapping sound fills the air as the handle rotates full circle. Leaning his shoulder in, he pushes the door with force until it finally swings open.

My heart leaps and I rush by him. I nearly trip on Asher as I burst into the room. Just inside the room, he lies on his side on the dusty floor. His limbs strewn out at his sides. I kneel at his side but his breathtaking eyes don’t open to me. My hand clutches his, my fingers darting out, reaching for his pulse at his wrist. It beats wildly beneath my fingertips, just like he said it did. It beats for me.

Eighteen

Hysteria

We return to the Wanderers by the following night but it isn’t at all the community we left behind. The tree that should welcome us is split down the center. The words Wanderers Welcome isn’t at all a comforting sight. It’s encompassing and ancient limbs lay haphazardly against the ground, Half of it leans, putting effort into remaining in place, while the other half drapes across the forest.

Kaino and Declan race into the magic shielded community, Luca and I trailing behind them as she heaves Asher across her shoulders, readjusting the weight of the hybrid as she jogs.

The community fumes with black smoke, two fae use their power to diminish the leaping flames that are threatening to burn the trees and the community from existence. Water flows from their palms, putting out minimal flames as more and more seem to grow.

I cough into my arm, squinting my eyes against the tendrils of smoke. I know what’s happened before we even make it to the tent.

“They knew they couldn’t see us to fight us, they can’t enter here if they aren’t welcome, so they did what mortals always do,” Raske tells his son. The lord’s solemn eyes study the ground. “They bombed us in the middle of the night, racing off into the sky, refusing to fight for what they believe in.”

Luca stands with Asher still strung over her strong shoulders, but her eyes show weakness and fear. “How many lives were lost?”

“We