Everything hurts. I’m positive I’ve broken a few ribs. Possibly my ankle too.
“Hello, little one,” the man says. He’s standing several feet away, watching me with his head tilted.
He wears all black. A buttoned shirt. Straight-leg pants. Shoes that reflect the moon. It’s all simple, but undoubtedly expensive.
I’ve never seen this man in person, and still, I know him with unwavering certainty.
“Sebastian Vulce,” I whisper.
I have been taught to fear this man. King of the vampires. The ruler who fed from Madam Lyrie’s throat in a show of resistance. The man who brought the sun curse over his people. Madam Lyrie did it to punish Sebastian, but she’d punished them all. And now, I’m at his mercy.
“You’re a far way from home, little witch,” he says. He doesn’t have fangs that I can see, but I don’t doubt their existence. He could have my blood drained in seconds, and I’m assuming that’s on his agenda.
“I hate her,” I blurt. “Madam Lyrie. I hate her as much as you do. Maybe more.”
“Is that so?” Sebastian muses. He steps closer, his shoes kicking up dust. The Flight Realm, I realize. We’re definitely in the Flight Realm, but I’m not sure why I thought that would protect me.
This is the king of the vampires. He won’t fear the Flight Realm’s laws. By the time they find my drained body, they’ll have no idea who killed me anyway.
“Yes,” I say. My mouth is dry.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks. His attention flickers from me, almost bored, as he surveys the space around us. “Dangerous place for a young witch. Though by the blood on your clothes, you may be the danger.”
“I’m due for execution,” I tell him. There’s no point in lying. “Madam Lyrie wants my head, and I wasn’t interested in giving it.”
Sebastian’s expression doesn’t change, but his eyes return to me.
“Your crime?” he asks. His voice is chillingly soft, and I get the eerie sense he’s playing with his food. Luring me into a sense of calm before going for my throat.
“Murder,” I say.
Sebastian’s eyebrow ticks. I wait for him to ask whether my victim deserved it. Whether I feel guilty. Whether I’m ashamed.
Instead, he holds his hand toward me. I stare at it, seeing it for the viper it is.
“We cannot delay,” he says. He steps closer, roughly grabbing my elbow and pulling me to my feet. I’m shaking before him, trembling so hard my knees knock together. “Sunlight is coming.”
“Do it quickly,” I say. It comes out as a command, and for whatever reason, I hope I sound brave.
“I will not be killing you,” he tells me.
Without asking, he scoops me into his arms, holding me like a child. I shriek, hands instinctively grabbing his collar. My entire body hurts, but I can do one more spell. Just one more, and then I can keep running for the mountains.
“Close your eyes,” he says.
There’s no time to close my eyes, and there’s definitely no time to cast. We’re already moving, the world zipping around us faster than I can comprehend. My vision blurs and my stomach tightens. Before I realize it, I lose consciousness.
Some time later, I wake in an unfamiliar place. The walls are grey stone. The air is bitterly cold and unpleasantly stagnant. Dust covers every surface around me, including this bed.
I gasp, surging onto my elbows.
I expect to be alone, but the vampire king stands before me. He leans against the wall, surveying me with a displeased expression. I pat over my body, surprised to find my bloodied clothes still on but my wounds gone.
“You healed me,” I say. It’s more accusation than gratitude, but I can see the dried blood on his wrist. He’s healed me—and a vampire favor never comes without a cost.
“Yes,” he says.
“Why?”
