The knight froze, sword outstretched. The card I’d activated would freeze the target for a short time. I had seconds.
The blade in his hand was cursed copper. I couldn’t touch it, and I couldn’t reach my thigh sheath with my hands bound.
But I didn’t need a weapon.
Iwasa weapon.
I darted past the knight, getting behind him, and lifted my arms around him.
Then I buried my fangs in his neck.
“Monster,” he growled through frozen lips.
Yes, I was that and more. But I was a survivor. I drank deeply. His blood was warm, the perfect temperature, and revolting. But I drank and drank, listening to the sound of his heartbeat slowing.
Ba-ba-dump. Ba-ba-dump.
Ba… dump.
Ba…
He collapsed against me, and I shoved him away. All at once, the illusion magic faded. The chain between my cursed copper shackles was suddenly clear, the style all too familiar.
Demos jolted, taking the sight in, and ran over in a blur.
“Sam?” he demanded. “What happened?”
“He tried to kill me. I—” I swallowed, the tang of his blood still coating my throat. “I killed him.”
I’d killed him. I felt sick to my stomach, and worse that it had more to do with his taste than remorse. I’d killed another witch, one who’d wanted to kill me because I was a vampire.
The irony might be funny in a decade or two. Right now, though, there was only a growing sense of dread inside me, a numbness that left me fuzzy-headed.
“You did the right thing. I don’t understand how I missed it.” Demos bit off a curse as he inspected my hands, barely hiding his flinch as he lifted the cuffs.
“Illusion magic. Powerful magic.” Illusion magic was the strongest type of disguise magic and hard to come by, almost as hard as creation magic. This plot wasn’t just about killing me. It was about the grimoire. Somehow they knew about it.
It was hard to think with my wrists still burning. “Hand me that.” I jerked my chin at one of the rings Ferro had shown me, the one with a pointed claw.
“What are you doing? You’ll hurt yourself more. I’ll find a key,” Demos said.
“No need.” It took a moment of effort, given that picking a lock on oneself was a great deal harder than doing so on someone else, but the shackles fell to the floor with a soft thud. I rubbed my palms over my wrists, trying to dissipate the hurt. The skin beneath was almost raw.
“The blood will help you heal,” Demos said. It was almost a comfort. “You did what any vampire would.”
I had. Was it the vow that I’d given Raphael that compelled me? I didn’t think so. In the past week, I’d just… gotten more used to thinking like one.
And in the past years, I’d done what it took to survive.
I grabbed the deck, flicking through to categorize the magic. I’d been lucky with my draw—few others would have been much help. But the magic was powerful. Charm spells, disguises, wards of protection.
The transport card he’d boasted about had fallen in the struggle. I snatched that up. Transport cards came in two flavors. This one was keyed to a specific location, but only the maker would know where. Still, it was strong enough that it had to be hundreds of miles away. Between this and the illusion card, they’d spent a queen’s ransom on this attempt. Strange.
“Are you injured, beyond the copper?” Demos asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
Demos gave me a shrewd look. “He chained you but didn’t kill you. Why?”
