“Sounds like you know him very well.”
Sorin raised his brows. “I do. Very well.” Then he pointed to the water. “Animals attract creatures just as humans do, some that live in the water. Alps, in particular, feast upon horses, but they are not picky when they are hungry.”
Alps were creatures that could morph into varying sizes depending on the prey they were hunting. They had frightening, demon-like faces, and their features were large, taking up most of their face—a wide, tooth-filled smile, a large, bulbous nose, dark, endless eyes, and tall, pointed ears.
“I have never heard of alps in Lara,” I said. Commander Killian took these paths with his soldiers; I was certain he had stopped to water his horses as well and never reported attacks.
“You do not have to hear of them for them to exist,” Sorin said.
“I suppose that is true enough,” I said.
It was also frightening, but that was the world we lived in. I stared at the dark water as it shimmered over the rocks beneath rays of moonlight and couldn’t help feeling a little betrayed.
“Allow me,” Sorin said. Retrieving a bucket, he then dipped it into the water.
“How are you able to approach the water?”
He smiled ruefully. “The only blood that pumps through these veins is that which I drain.” I did my best not to cringe, but Sorin caught my discomfort and laughed. “In time, you will come to understand.”
“I beg to differ,” I said.
His smile widened, but he said nothing as he held the bucket for me. I dipped my hands in the cold water, hating how much I mistrusted it after what Sorin had told me. As I pressed cool hands to my heated face, I looked at him.
“How did you come to be part of Adrian’s army?” I asked.
“I have known Adrian since the beginning,” he said.
I wondered what he meant by that. Was he referring to the time of Adrian’s curse? Or before that when he’d been nothing more than a man?
“You did not answer my question,” I said, and this time, when he smiled, it was not as wholesome.
“Nothing gets past you, does it, my queen?”
He looked off to where Daroc and Adrian stood together. My gaze followed, and I noted how Daroc stiffened and glanced toward us.
“Are you…lovers?”
“Daroc and I are two souls,” he said. “One cannot go where the other does not follow.”
“Why do I get the sense you did not choose this life,” I said.
“Mount up!” Daroc shouted suddenly, and I jumped at the abruptness of his voice. I wondered again if all vampires could read minds.
Sorin looked back at me and said, “I chose Daroc. I am happy with that.”
We continued. I’d felt a brief reprieve from my lethargy when I’d dismounted, but the steady sway of my horse made my eyes feel heavy. The next thing I felt was a hand grasping my arm. I jerked and straightened, looking into Adrian’s white-blue eyes.
“I will hold you if you wish to sleep,” he said.
His words sent a shiver up my spine that felt too thrilling.
“I’m fine,” I said curtly and scrubbed my face with one hand. I could not imagine what sort of line I’d be crossing if I agreed to share his horse and sleep in his arms. Sex was one thing—that required no trust and no affection—but this was a level of trust I wasn’t prepared to offer.
He did not argue, and once again, I found myself alone in the procession as I continued—and failed—to fight sleep. It wasn’t until Daroc halted his steed and held up his hand, signaling for the others to follow, that my body awakened, now pumped full of adrenaline. I tugged on my reins, staring into the darkness, feeling unease creep along the back of my neck.
“Attack!” Daroc barked.
“The queen!” Adrian commanded, and he yanked his horse around as if to charge for me. But I was confused. Nothing seemed to be amiss.
Then a fiery arrow cut through the air, lodging in the carriage behind me. Others followed, breaching the curtained window, igniting the interior, and within seconds, it was consumed in fire.
Carriages are targets, I thought just as an arrow whizzed past my face. Another hit my horse near my leg.
“No!”
Midnight neighed and snorted, a mark of her pain. She bucked and then tried to walk, wobbling until she stumbled forward as her legs folded under her. As she hit the ground, people emerged from between the trees—my people, dressed in gray shrouds, bellowing fierce battle cries. Some were armed with weapons, while others carried equipment from their farms—pitchforks and axes, sickles and slashers.