By the fucking goddess, I hated asking permission from anyone. Perhaps becoming Adrian’s wife would afford me some level of freedom again.
“At least let one of us escort you to the commander,” said Ivan.
“You said he was minutes ahead of me,” I responded. “I can catch up.”
“There are monsters in the woods, Princess,” Avram warned, as if I did not know.
“I’m armed.”
“If you want the commander, you must have an escort,” said Avram.
“Fine,” I said, haughty, and stepped between the guards. “Come along, Ivan.”
I did not wait to see if he began to follow, but I had chosen him over Avram, who I knew was far more athletic. Ivan would have a harder time catching me when I made a run for the border.
We entered the tree line. There were three paths where the vegetation had been worn down. Each led to a different stronghold on the border of Lara. I did not usually stick to paths when I entered the woods—mostly because I never wanted to be caught by the soldiers who used them.
“He went this way, Princess,” he said, pointing straight ahead.
My stomach dropped a little further. It was the direction of the vampire’s camp.
He isn’t this stupid, I told myself. Though I could not be sure, given how determined Killian seemed to handle me. That being said, Killian was loyal to my father’s orders. I wondered if my father retracted his offer to make me Killian’s bride once he’d decided to make peace with the vampires. Or was it still on the table?
That thought had me walking faster.
Ivan chuckled, already falling behind. “Slow down, Princess. You’ll get there with enough time to say your goodbyes.”
While it was my fault Ivan believed I was headed into the woods to have a tryst with Commander Killian, I still hated the implication in his tone and voice.
I paused abruptly.
“Did you hear that?” I asked.
Ivan went rigid and peered into the night. Slices of moonlight pooled throughout the forest, cutting between the canopy of branches overhead. A part of me felt guilty. Ivan was kind, he meant well, and I could tell he had transitioned, going from playful to soldier, his hand on the hilt of his blade.
“What exactly did you hear, Princess?” he asked, a serious edge to his voice.
“It was a rattling sound,” I said, which was usually a sign that a virika was near. Virika were creatures that moved with the shadows. They were impossible to see until they bared their bloodred teeth. They could be stealthy, unless they were hungry. Hunger made them stupid.
“Follow closely, Princess,” said Ivan.
I let him walk ahead, trailing behind him as I bent to pick up a rock. We continued for a little while longer before I tossed the stone into the wood nearby.
“What was that?” I whispered frantically.
Ivan turned in the direction I’d thrown the stone, eyes searching cautiously as I slipped away into the darkness. I did not take off at a run until I heard Ivan yell.
“Princess!”
I wasn’t made for running, and I certainly wasn’t dressed for it, but I pushed forward, running until I could see the vampire’s camp through the trees, then I paused within the shadows. Unlike this afternoon, the camp was alive with activity, and I was taken aback by how human everyone appeared. They were dressed in Adrian’s colors, the colors I imagined decorated the halls of Revekka—red and black. Flashes of gold armor that looked almost featherlike ignited like flame as they milled about, some gathered around the fire, while another group looked to be playing cards. They seemed carefree—as if they were not an army encamped in enemy territory.
Then again, they had little to fear. They were unbeatable.
I did not notice Commander Killian. I expected that if he’d attempted to enter the camp, he would have been captured by now.
Just as I was about to dart from the tree line and head straight for Adrian’s tent, a voice sounded from behind me.
“That was very unkind, what you did to your guard.”
I whirled to find a vampire I did not recognize behind me, and I hated that I had not been able to sense his approach. I stumbled back and, consequently, out of the tree line, and the vampire advanced. The moonlight cast beams of light over his body, illuminating slivers of dark skin and a pretty face—wide cheekbones, full lips, and a set of dimples on either side of his mouth.
“How long have you been following me?” I asked.
“I wasn’t,” he said.
My back met something hard, and hands clamped down on my shoulders. I reached back, grabbed them, and released my daggers into the person’s forearms. A scream that sounded more like a wounded growl erupted into the night, and I twisted to find another vampire. This one was slimmer, his hair hanging straight and lanky around a thin face. His fists were clenched, and blood dripped from his forearms.