A Rip of Realms (A Shade of Vampire #39)(47)

“Okay,” she replied, her voice high-pitched.

“Hungry?”

“No—I’m fine.”

“If you can manage to syphon through the door, Abelle is locked in the west tower. You’ll need to be quick though, we’re leaving shortly.”

She nodded her head, then quickly scurried up the main staircase without another word. She must have been starving. I hated seeing her like this—withdrawing from Abelle’s potion would have only made it worse. I cursed the vile woman under my breath. I should have trusted my instincts when it came to the apothecary.

Ragnhild and another guard approached me, waiting for their orders. Ragnhild was another one I wasn’t sure I could trust…but other than the journey to the temple, where he’d lied to Ruby, I had no cause to doubt him. And time was short.

“Ready the bull-horses and the vultures. All but the badly injured will accompany us—if there aren’t enough animals, some will have to walk until we can find more on the journey. Hazel rides alone. Only give the vultures to guards, not ministers—the emperor can have his choice of animal.”

I reeled off the instructions, still deliberating whether or not we should wait for the messenger I sent to the Memenion kingdom to return, but what would be the point? With or without their support, we would be going ahead anyway.

“Anything further, Commander?” Ragnhild asked.

“No—that’s all for now. Meet me out front. I will be riding alongside Hazel.”

The guards turned away.



We rode off in the darkness of the night, following the path that would eventually lead us to the main thoroughfare and then all the way to Queen Trina’s domain. The moon was high, sickly yellow in the star-studded sky, and seemed to be hovering over the Seraq kingdom—an ominous guide to light our way.

“Did you hear from Queen Memenion?” Hazel asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as if she feared disturbing the dark around us.

“No,” I replied. “I have not. I can only hope that the messenger has been detained for some reason, and that the queen has not abandoned us.”

As we left the forest that surrounded the path to the palace, we entered flatter land. Some of the fires started by the earthquake had left parts of the earth still in glowing embers, other landmarks completely eradicated, making the landscape appear alien and strange to even the most seasoned travelers of the land.

“Pick up the pace!” I called back to the rest of the riders, galloping on with urgency as I started to see the faint pinkish hue of the rising sun in the distance. I checked to see if Hazel was able to keep up, reassured when I saw her handling the bull-horse with ease—her eyes focused on the distance, her body moving in smooth motion with the rippling muscles of the beast beneath her.

Her dark hair flew out behind her, her face pale but determined. Her fingers clutched the reins, spurring the bull-horse on. She had forgone wearing a robe, and instead wore her human clothes, though the night air must have been cool against her skin. I wondered if her choice of clothing was a symbolic act; that when she faced Queen Trina, it would be as a human—regardless of the powers she now had, regardless of her transformation.

Watching her now, I could see she was a changed creature from the girl I had taken from Murckbeech Island. The girl who had stood in my living quarters, demanding that I told her what I was, deriding my actions and hating me with every fiber of her being for kidnapping her and her friends. She had been brave even then, but now her bravery and her courage had been tempered, like steel to flame.

My heart ached with how much I loved her, but at the same time, pumped cold blood through my veins – the fear that she would come to harm haunted me constantly, driving my already inherent need to control everything completely out of perspective. My one comfort was in knowing that wherever our fates led us in the coming hours, my soul would always be entwined with hers. If my body and mind ceased to be, my love for Hazel would continue to be as sure as the setting of the sun and the rising of the dawn. That part of me, at least, would be immortal.

She glanced over at me, her eyes bright and alive. She smiled.

A clattering of hooves could be heard from a distance, fast approaching. As the sound grew louder, I saw a rider holding up a burning torch, its flames lighting up the darkness around him.

“Commander Tejus!” the messenger cried, pulling his bull-horse to a stop in front of me. The creature reared up, almost knocking the sentry off. He regained his balance, turning to join us as we continued to ride.

“The Memenion kingdom comes not far behind! They’re joining us—three hundred in all, guards and ministers mostly.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, tension easing from my body as I heard the long-awaited news. “Ride ahead, light the way.”

The messenger nodded, pride evident on his face as he kicked his bull-horse to the head of the line.

“Did you hear that?” I called back to Ash, riding behind me.

“I did,” he replied, and I could hear the grin in his voice. “I’ll pass the message on.”

Soon I could hear cheers going up from the back of the line. We were no longer alone. I called again for the pace to pick up, and the answering cry and thunder of the herd sounded almost jubilant.

Not long after, we were met by Queen Memenion’s army coming from the east. They carried banners high above their heads, the insignias of not only the Memenion kingdom, but Hellswan too. In the hazy light of the dawn, all were lit by a fiery red, the ground trembling as the bull-horses galloped toward us. Alongside the army, fanged beasts raced toward us, perhaps ten or twenty in total, their howls ripping through the air, their silken coats gleaming. My mouth parted in astonishment—these creatures hadn’t left the safety of their forests in years.