A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon #1) - Kelsey Quick Page 0,109

even though none of the vampires pay me any mind, I can’t help but worry about every little detail. Chatter slowly surrounds us as we near the gated doors to the outside. Each post guard opens their gate, permitting soldiers to exit and survey.

“It came from the elite tower, I’m sure of it!” A soldier to my right says.

“What was it? Dynamite?” a soldier near Castrel asks.

“It must be some malfunction in the power supply. Lord Amaorin will have Majie’s head, that’s for sure.”

The loading docks’ open gates are so close that I can taste the crisp trees and bitter grass of the open world. My heart races with hope. I can already feel the cool nightly wind that tastes like a mixture of spring and winter. I can imagine the radiating warmth from the hands of both Glera and Ceti as Castrel and I climb into the chariot that will whisk us away to freedom. All of the good things that could possibly come of this horrible situation finally seem real.

But within seconds that hope is lost. The gate and doors close swiftly, nearly skewering a soldier in the process. We halt in a unanimous confusion. A vampire rushes out from behind the guard post to the left, elevating himself to become visible to everyone. My eyes widen as my body shudders with instant fear. Blond hair, light skin, cool and silvery eyes. It’s Narref.

“Listen, on behalf of the council,” he calls out over the crowd of soldiers, Castrel, and me. “A supply unit is missing from the supply holdings. A favorite of Lord Anton Zein’s.”

I swallow hard, barely noticing when Castrel shifts his body closer to mine.

“You are to stay in this tower and retrieve the supply unit. The situation in the other tower will be handled appropriately by the council,” he informs with a touch of unease. “The human is a female with red hair, green eyes, and freckled skin. Find her and return her alive and unharmed to Lord Anton Zein in the meeting hall as soon as she is captured.”

The soldiers all dip to offer an obligatory crossing-of-the-heart salute to Narref. Castrel and I promptly do the same. Then, they begin to disperse. Curiously, I watch Narref pace over and over, lost in thought, before Castrel yanks on my sleeve of armor, pulling me back toward the staircase that we had exited.

“Dammit,” Castrel curses shakily as we fall in line behind a group of soldiers on the stairs—all on route to find me. “That guy sure is paranoid, huh?”

I nod, but don’t openly respond, and he offers no more to the statement.

With vampires now so close, we can’t communicate freely with each other… and the silence is starting to kill me. The dock blockade obviously wasn’t part of the plan. This also means that Zein noticing my disappearance couldn’t have been either. My heart thunders through my chest, and my legs go suddenly sore as I seek comfort from Castrel. His mask is fixed and downturned, his body rigid. He’s in as much of a panic as I am. I’ll bet he’s trying to think of what to do now, and that uncertainty drains my hope.

The floors seem to blur together, each as indistinguishable as the last. It’s only when Castrel pulls me off of the unending cycle of stairwells and into the dim hall do I begin to recognize anything. The supply holdings floor. A twinge of fright pulsates through my brain and down to my lips. The concept of being forced to face Zein again fills my pores with heat. I would have to pretend that I don’t know what a monster he is. I would have to continue feeding him, kissing him, smiling at him. I can’t go back.

“Don’t tell me that plan B is returning me to the supply room,” I whisper.

“Of course not,” Castrel says, offended. “I’ll die getting you out of here if I have to.”

For some reason, these words simultaneously calm my nerves and upset the hell out of me.

“Don’t say that,” is all I manage, but he changes the subject.

“That’s where we are going.” He nods toward the pathway ahead.

A familiar emblem falls into my line of sight. Night’s Way. The stained glass windows aligned throughout let in incandescent hues of blue, red, gold, and green moonlight. They illustrate the possibility of blinding freedom to the open world; another way out. I understand now.

Most of the other soldiers turn down different hallways, many herding themselves toward the