A Shade of Vampire 82 A Circle of Nine - Bella Forrest Page 0,21

space, where I could finish what I’d started. For now, our survival trumped everything else.

“Wait, I think I… I know them!” Ansel exclaimed.

I shushed him, but before I could react further, Ansel bolted out from beneath the underbrush. Valaine and I watched helplessly as he reached the road just in time to stop the riders. The Vision horses came to a violent halt, rising on their hind legs and huffing and neighing, panic in their eyes.

Ansel froze in the middle of the road, pale as a sheet of paper and realizing far too late that he’d startled the horses. It took the riders a while, but they managed to calm their Visions by stroking the sides of their strong necks.

“Dammit, boy! Are you insane?!” one of them snarled and jumped off his horse, eager to teach Ansel a lesson.

Cursing, I got up and rushed toward them. We had to protect Ansel, no matter what. Valaine followed, and we reached the riders just as the dismounted one grabbed Ansel by the throat and briefly lifted him off the ground.

“Please, don’t!” I shouted, while Ansel choked in the Aeternae’s hold.

“Ember, it’s me!” the boy croaked, his tongue sticking out.

Before we could say or do anything else, the rider let go of Ansel, his eyes bulging with shock. “Ansel Visentis?! What the hell are you doing here, boy?”

Everything stopped. For a second, I had the impression that time itself had pressed the pause button as we all looked at one another, trying to figure out where we fit into this grand picture of Visio and the turmoil that had led to this particular moment.

“Wait, you know these people?” Valaine managed. “Are they Darklings, Ansel?”

“No, no!” Ansel replied. “They’re Aeternae from Orvis!”

That name sounded awfully familiar. I’d heard it from Esme.

“Your brother is worried sick about you!” Ember replied and smacked Ansel over the head.

“Whoa, easy there!” Ansel shot back. “I was bringing them to you!”

Ember frowned at Valaine and me. “Why?”

“Yeah, Ansel, why?” I asked, equally fascinated.

The answer hit me before it even left Ansel’s lips. “Because I thought Esme and Kalon might be hiding there, if not in these woods.”

“And you didn’t think to say so from the beginning?!” Valaine replied, crossing her arms. The other three riders watched us with vague amusement.

One of them chuckled. “You were right, Ember. The city people are an absolute mess.”

“Well, you wanted us to stay out of everyone’s sight, and I didn’t think that would be wise,” Ansel explained, “considering my suspicions about Orvis. I’m sorry, I’m not really used to sharing all my thoughts with anyone.”

“Mm-hm, that’s a crappy habit you probably picked up from the Darklings,” I said, then sucked in a breath, realizing what Ember had just said. “Hold on. You mentioned his brother. Kalon’s with you? In Orvis?”

Ember eyed me carefully. “And who are you?”

“Tristan. Esme’s brother,” Ansel answered for me, further pissing me off. I wasn’t sure whom we could trust, given the circumstances, so I didn’t like giving my name out to anyone, especially Aeternae we met on this road.

“Oh, she’s in Orvis, too,” Ember replied, smiling. “Kalon’s with her. Funny thing, we were actually going out searching for you!”

Once again, I felt like a spectator of my life with no control over my own destiny. Had fate been so clever that it brought us here to save these Aeternae the trouble of looking for us? Had the universe found a shortcut for us somehow?

Either way, my suspicion melted into relief.

“Esme is safe?” I asked, barely hearing myself.

Ember nodded. “Yes. Both of them are safe. Kalla is with them. We’ll take you there.”

I looked at Valaine and felt myself smiling. Ember gave us his Vision horse, while he and Ansel climbed behind two of the other riders. I took the reins, and Valaine sat behind me, her arms wrapped tightly around my waist. For once, we had a clear direction.

Most importantly, the fire rekindled in my chest as I anticipated a reunion with my sister. She was safe. And she was looking for me. Maybe our fates weren’t as screwed as we’d thought. As soon as I got back to Esme, I would regain full clarity. I’d see this world in all its colors again.

As Valaine sighed in my ear and our horses started to move, I also knew that, no matter what came next, my life had already been irreversibly changed.

Tristan

As we drew close to Orvis, I became more excited with every passing minute. Of course, Valaine’s closeness