He suddenly stiffened, scanning the darkness ahead of us in the corn maze.
Gwen took a step forward, her fists clenched at her sides.
“What is it?” I asked, peering into the blackness, wishing I had some ability to let me know what was ahead of us.
Ambrose began spitting up embers, yanking against the leash. The hairs on the back of my neck rose with the warm breeze that blew by. Power sang on the air.
“Vampires,” Gwen hissed, thrusting me behind her. “With silver.”
I didn’t have a chance to wonder if they were a threat because in a blink of an eye they stood before me. Five men, lips all pulled back, baring their fangs.
“Give her to us, and both of you can walk away,” a dark-haired vampire sneered.
The ground felt like it was slipping out from under me with nothing to hold on to, as I realized something important far too late. I had been targeted, and they weren’t ready to let me go. “What do you want with me?” I managed to choke out.
The vampire didn’t acknowledge my question. To Gwen and Finnick, he asked, “What’s your choice?”
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Gwen snarled, giving me a hard push, sending me soaring backward. Ambrose’s sparks were a trail of bright light as he went flying with me.
I hit the dirt with an oof, unable to make out a single body in front of me, only blurs of fists and kicks and grunts and blood, splatters of it being hurled in my direction. Both Gwen and Finnick were strong fighters; before the war began, every vampire was trained to kill with brutal efficiency.
I stared at the dirt waiting for a body to fall, praying it wasn’t a vampire I loved. The wind suddenly picked up, and a dark shadow crossed over the blood moon. Dust clouded my vision as that shadow landed in the middle of the fight, and a blast of power knocked me back. Again. Ambrose whimpered, and I lurched to grab him, holding him close.
It was over.
In the middle of the five vampires on the ground—one groaning, the other four not moving—Gwen and Finnick were covered in blood from head to toe, but the triumph in their eyes told me the blood didn’t belong to them. Next to them, Killian stood like what Finnick had called him … a God. A vampire who gave his word to those who lived in his city and kept his vow.
He turned to me, blood dripping from his hands. “All right?”
“Yes,” I managed to say before rushing to my feet and throwing myself at Gwen and Finnick, who wrapped their arms around me tight. “Oh my Goddess, are you both okay?”
“I’m confused, but fine,” Finnick said.
“Me too,” Gwen said.
I backed away from how they were looking at me, suddenly feeling like I’d grown a big, green, hairy wart on the end of my nose. I hugged Ambrose tighter, trying to hold on to a sense of reality. I was weightless, spinning out of control, as I felt Killian’s power brush against my senses before the bodies at his feet burst into flames. Another vampire blinked into existence, wearing the Manor’s uniform of black cargo pants and a black T-shirt.
“Take him home,” Killian ordered.
The guard picked the remaining vampire attacker up by his shirt and immediately vanished.
A long stretch of silence followed, filled with unasked questions, until Killian’s shoulders lowered like he’d calmed himself. Though when his gaze met mine, his eyes were glowing bright in the dark night. “From now on, until we understand why you’re under attack, you’re with me.”
A stupid witch I was not. “I understand, but my bookshop—”
“I’ll run the shop,” Gwen said, sliding her hand around mine. “Go with Killian. Keep safe, Willa. Something really terrible is going on here.”
I swallowed my fear, my blood chilled at the fright thick in my friend’s voice.
Finnick, obviously reading my emotions, wrapped me tight in a hug and said in my ear, “We’re here for you. A hundred percent. You need us, just call.”
“Okay, yeah, okay,” I said, unable to form words beyond that.
“Don’t worry about anything,” Gwen said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before releasing my hand. “The shop will be fine. Finnick and I will go to your place now and pack you a bag. Finnick can bring it to you at the Manor.” Her brow wrinkled as she asked Killian, “If that is all right, Warden?”
A nod. “Of course.”
“Thank you,” I forced out. To Finnick. To Gwen. “Thank you for helping me.”
Finnick gave me a gentle smile that usually reassured me but failed to do so now. “We love you, Willa. Please call us once you know what’s going on.”
“I will. Promise.” I ignored the blood now streaking my cheek and stepped closer to Killian as he opened his arm for me. Not even his wintery pine aroma could warm the cold inside me.
With Ambrose in my arms, Killian wrapped me in his strong hold and had us airborne, flying away from the second weirdest night of my life.
Chapter Four
The Manor, with its red brick and massive white Tuscan columns, was built during the first half of the twentieth century, Gwen had told me over wine one night.
The moment Killian landed on the porch, the dark wood double front doors opened, and a butler greeted Killian with a warm smile. “Welcome home, sir,” the vampire, wearing a black suit and tie, said.
“Good evening, Brant.” Killian gestured me inside. “Let’s get you more comfortable.”
With Ambrose still in my arms, I stepped over the threshold, and he followed me into the grand house. Killian led me up a sweeping curved staircase, past a guard armed to the teeth: silver daggers in every place he could have one. He wore black cargo pants and a black T-shirt, the same outfit as the rest of the guards, obviously the Manor uniform.
Killian kept walking until he reached the fourth door on the left and then opened it, soft light spilling out into the hallway. “You can shower in here,” he said, walking through the immaculate bedroom, with beige walls and a dark oak ceiling. A large limestone fireplace blazed across from a king-size canopy bed with cream-colored silk drapery. He opened another door past the bed, revealing an en-suite bathroom. “I’ll have your luggage brought up when it arrives.”
“Thank you,” I said, breathing past the hard rock in my stomach.
Killian studied me a moment, a frown pulling on the corners of his mouth before he set his gaze upon Ambrose. “I can take him down to get something to eat while you shower.”
“I’m sure he’d”—Ambrose fluttered out of my arms, flying next to Killian, his tongue wagging—“love that. Thank you.” I laughed.
Ambrose flew out the door a moment later, and Killian said, “Take your time.”
When he shut the bedroom door behind him, I let myself feel the full weight of what had happened tonight. Nothing made any sense. Trying to understand what trouble I’d landed myself in, I went straight for the large bathroom with an elegant pedestal sink and a framed mirror above, stripping my clothes off and placing them all in the garbage. I did not even want to consider what else was covering me besides blood. I stepped into the all-glass shower, turned the water as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed every part of my body, a few times over, washing away the horrors of the night.