Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(43)

This particular path wound toward the wrought-iron fence that encased the entire property, following it as it divided Drake land from the neighboring property and made for the road at the front of the hall.

The moon was bright in the sky, and only the smallest sliver of sun was left, so I kept my jogging pace brisk. If I didn’t finish in time it was going to be totally dark, and the likelihood that I’d trip on something would rapidly multiply.

We’d been running for only a few minutes when a hideously loud, shriek-like bray shattered the silence.

I skid to a stop. “What was that?”

Josh peered past the fence. “I believe that was the neighbor’s donkey.”

I tried to process this information. “Wait, you guys know your neighbor?”

“Indeed. The dogs are rather fond of her because she gives them biscuits. They slip through the fence and run off to her house when possible—though sometimes the aforementioned donkey chases them away.”

It seemed weirdly domestic that the Drakes had problems with their dogs—which I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around—going to visit the neighbor. (A donkey-owning-neighbor, no less! It just seemed like something Killian wouldn’t normally tolerate living next door to him.)

“You have caught your breath, so I believe it is time to move on,” Josh said.

I nodded and started running again, staying silent as I mulled on the peculiarities of the Drake Family.

I happily noticed that my lungs didn’t burn much—maybe I was right about the stairs and my stamina was increasing?—but my sword started to feel really heavy around the time our jogging trail ran parallel with the road and looped near the front gates.

The gates were more for visual appeal than actual defense. Each gate was cut in the shape of a roaring dragon, and there were plenty of spots where you could wriggle through it, or the wrought-iron fence that separated Drake Family land.

My steps were getting heavier as I trudged along, so when Josh stopped, I assumed it was an air break for me. “Thanks,” I panted as I kept walking.

Josh, however, was statue still. He stared past the gates, and something in him moved.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as my instincts made me shiver and I finally understood how Josh came to be Second Knight in the Drake Family. I cleared my throat. “What is it?”

“Intruders.”

I blinked, and Josh had his cellphone in his palm, dialing a number with a careless swipe of his hand as he stared at whatever had his attention. “Intruders,” he repeated.

I casually shifted closer, trying to hear the other voice, but vampire hearing is so good they must set the volume on almost silent, so I couldn’t make anything out.

“Two,” Josh said. “A wizard and a werewolf.”

I squinted in the direction he was staring and could just make out two figures standing in the middle of the road just beyond the gates like a pair of idiots waiting to get hit. It took a moment, but I saw the suitcoat and the distinctive orange shade of the tie, and I realized at least one of the figures was a House Tellier wizard. Which probably meant the other person was the werewolf.

I stiffened. There was no way either of them was the murderer who was out on the loose—not many werewolves hunted alone, and those who did were carefully watched, and it would take a lot for a wizard to be able to take out a vamp. Plus, the wizard just happened to be from House Tellier?

Not likely.

He’d probably been sent by Mason—though I had no idea where the werewolf fit in all of this. Slowly, I untied my sword from my waist and considered sliding it from its scabbard.

“I assume they’re here for your wizard,” Josh said, still talking on the phone. “Do you wish for me to dispatch them, or…?”

“No, I’ll handle it myself,” Killian said directly behind me.

I was actually pretty proud that I didn’t jump at his abrupt arrival—another sign of improvement! (Or maybe living here had shot my nerves and adrenaline?)

“You think they’re here to spy on me?” I stepped aside as Killian adjusted his fancy gold cufflinks (dragon shaped, of course).

“Unless you have a secret boyfriend, or two.” Killian smirked.

“The wizard is House Tellier,” I said. “They helped Mason with his coup.”

“Are you certain the whole thing wasn’t a lovers’ quarrel?” Killian was almost purring.

“Mason threatened me with marriage, or the death of my House,” I said flatly.

“Very well. I’ll take care of it.” Killian frowned and adjusted my arms so I held my sword correctly.

“Yes, Your Eminence,” Josh said.

“Wait. Take care of it? What does that mean?” I asked.

Killian ignored me and jumped the fence. He was a smudgy blur in the blue shadows that were slowly taking over, so I actually only knew he went over because I heard the rattle of the gate. Moments later he was out in the road with the House Tellier wizard and the werewolf. He had them both by the throats—the werewolf was pinned to the ground with a foot and the wizard he held up so the wizard’s feet dangled in the air.

I didn’t even know how he did it so fast. There wasn’t a scuffle, Killian was just that overwhelming and moved like quicksilver.

Killian’s gaze wandered from the werewolf to the wizard, and his eyes started to glow an eerie, bright red. “You thought you could intrude on Drake land?” His voice was dangerously smooth, like a sword slicing through meat. “And escape with your lives?” He smiled savagely, his white teeth flashing in the darkness.