A Shade of Vampire 80 A Veil of Dark - Bella Forrest Page 0,21

on…”

We were Reapers. We were bound by the laws of life and death to never kill a living creature. The only killings that had occurred—of which there were few enough to be counted on the fingers of one hand—had been sanctioned by Death and were considered extremely special cases.

I knew Death would allow us to go ahead with this one, too, as well as the other nine that would follow, but still… I simply couldn’t embrace the concept. I needed a few minutes, a bit of time to process and to accept that what we were about to do was important, and that Morning’s freedom would not be achieved any other way.

How bitter the irony, that we were about to willingly break one of our most sacred rules to save an ancient Reaper. Then again, she, too, had been reduced to this form because of illegalities committed by one of her own. The Spirit Bender had left one hell of a mess behind, and we were tasked with cleaning it up. I worried about how low we’d have to go in order to do that…

Esme

By the time we were out of the imperial city, I was already feeling better, the energy I’d been building up through my convalescence bursting through me. I was once again riding Midnight’s Dream, alongside Kalon on Lightning, and the wind in my hair was all I needed to soar and smile and be thankful that I’d survived Zoltan’s attack.

We’d left the city hours ago, now trotting down a snaking country road. Forests rose on both sides, with giant trees and green crowns that stretched on for what seemed like forever. Wildflowers thrived in these parts, splashes of red, yellow, orange, and white covering most of the ground. It felt like walking through the universe’s own garden.

The temperature was perfect, and the air was dry. I loved it, and I could feel the smile widening on my face as we made our way ahead. Midnight was a pleasure to ride, too. She was gentle but remarkably fast when needed, much like Lightning.

“You look splendid,” Kalon said, disrupting my thoughts.

I turned my head and found him smiling as he rode Lightning closer to Midnight and me. “Thank you, I guess. It just feels nice to be out of that study room. I’m not cut out for a life spent indoors.”

“It was only two days.” He chuckled. “But I understand. I’m glad I decided to bring you with me, then.”

We had blood and healing magic supplies in satchels tied to our Visions’ saddles. I kept a flask of water, too, just in case we might need it, along with several invisibility pellets and red garnet glasses. Most of our journey here had been uneventful, with only a few instances of Kalon stopping to ask local villagers about several settlements and any activity they might have considered suspicious. They’d all walked away from him, unwilling to answer his questions—visibly fearful, even.

It made me wonder, but it frustrated Kalon more than anything, as he was trying to figure out whether the Darklings or at least Trev Blayne had been spotted around. But no one wanted to cooperate.

“What’s the next town we’re supposed to check?” I asked.

He took out a map, leaving Lightning to carry him without the need of reins, and unfolded the piece of paper. “Tromb,” he said. “Then Pygmal and Droob.” Putting the map away, he looked at me. “They’re all small towns. Tromb is more of a village, if you ask me. I haven’t been there in a long time, but I doubt it’s grown too much. The forests around here are pretty dangerous for the Rimians and the Naloreans. They prefer bigger cities.”

“And the Aeternae?”

“They, too, prefer bigger cities, though for different reasons. There’s a certain appeal to elegance and numerous facilities,” Kalon said.

“I’d love a little house in a countryside somewhere, someday,” I replied, gazing ahead. “Or a lake house, with deep woods and a little jetty. I’d make myself a boat, too.”

“Strange. You don’t strike me as a country girl,” Kalon shot back, flashing his debonair grin.

“Let’s just say I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve realized I like privacy and nature more than pretty architecture and super-crowded spaces,” I said. “It gets tiring after a while. The noise, the hustle and the bustle… I don’t know. Lake house sounds pretty sweet.”

“I have a lake house, actually.”

“Of course you do.” I sighed, stifling a giggle. The more time I spent with Kalon, the more I