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I didn’t answer immediately, watching him in between swift glances at our attackers. Something was off about Roan. Had been off ever since we entered the Wild Lands.
It made my skin crawl and I had no idea why.
“Yeah, now what?” Clay called.
Grunting a curse, I shoved my concerns about Roan back down, though that didn’t stop me from keeping an eye on him too. “Circle up! We move forward as a unit, got it? Head for the?—”
Casimir snarled viciously, and my heart hit my throat.
Oh, shit.
I threw a glance back at him. The king of the fallen kingdom of Zenirya was a vampire, turned when his country fell in the Witch War over three decades ago. He and our princess were the only two of their kind possibly in all of existence who still had their human side intact.
But if the Voidborn got to him…
Gods, I knew those creatures were toying with us for a reason.
Casimir stood motionless while his shadow wolf, Ruhl, flowed around him like an erratic tornado, attacking the Voidborn in an effort to hold them back from the vampire. A burned gash cut through Casimir’s coat all the way down to the dark skin of his forearm, and I could see blood seeping from the wound. Nearby, one of the Voidborn hovered as if preparing to strike again, only to suddenly whirl away and dive back into a fissure like its tail was on fire instead.
What the hell?
“You okay there, buddy?” Clay called.
Casimir shuddered.
Not good. Tipped into madness, the king was easily as much of a threat as the Voidborn—and that was without taking into account the magic he possessed, courtesy of his decades of study and a heritage that apparently descended from angels. Against a predator with that much power, we’d be hard pressed to survive.
We did have one move to save ourselves, though…
“Clay. Lars.” I nodded for the twins to cover the stretch of our defense that I was currently guarding. After so many years of fighting and running together, the two understood me immediately.
“You sure?” Clay asked. “He’s not looking too friendly.”
“Just go.”
Seamlessly, we switched positions, the blond men watching the Voidborn while I headed for where Casimir stood. Gripping his sword tightly, the vampire king didn’t react to my presence, barring the quivers that began racking him so hard, the long braids of his dark hair shook.
“Hey.” I shoved up the sleeve of my coat and cut a quick slice across my forearm.
The vampire’s eyes snapped up to the wound immediately. His lips peeled back, revealing his fangs. Sharp, low growls slipped from him like the sounds weren’t entirely under his control.
Fuck…
Clay slashed at a Voidborn, holding the twisting smoke back. “Dex, maybe you shouldn’t?—”
Casimir moved so fast, I couldn’t even flinch before his fangs sank into my arm.
I grunted. Once, Niko had hinted that being bitten by a vampire was intensely intimate, but even if Casimir and I had slept together in the past, there was nothing erotic about this. With vicious pulls, Casimir dragged on my vein, both his hands gripping my forearm hard, like a predator determined not to lose its prey.
Shifting my stance with effort, I fought to keep my feet beneath me and my attention on the Voidborn still trying to reach us. Feeding him my blood was a desperate gamble, considering that—if he was too far gone—he might try to drain me dry.
But there wasn’t an alternative. Giant blood gave vampires their humanity back. Angel blood too, apparently, which meant Casimir had an innate advantage our princess didn’t possess. It was part of why he’d retained his human side when he was first turned thirty years ago. But how effective his heritage alone would be against the Voidborn was anyone’s guess.
So blood it was. After all, I didn’t want us fighting a war on two fronts. Not if we could help it.
The Voidborn swirled around us faster.
“I don’t think they like what you’re doing there…” Clay called.
