Quiet as a mouse, I slowly rise to my feet. His hand is gripped tight around the rope, leaving less than a foot between us. Whatever’s out there - it wants to pick me off.

I scan the long grass, but there’s nothing. It’s a dark moonless night, and I can only hear my breath.

A gust of wind hits, and the air over my ears is deafening. It could use the noise as cover to sneak up behind us. I whip around, but there’s nothing.

A twig snaps, and I almost jump out of my skin. That wasn’t us. Something’s out there, and it’s close. I never thought I’d be so thankful that Rahlan is standing beside me. He’ll kill it.

I follow his gaze back to our trail. The wind blows again, making the long grass move in waves. It reveals a dark protuberance behind the stalks, and my heart stops. It slips out of view the second I spot it.

An eerily cackle breaks the silence, and a dark figure rises from the grass where I stood just moments ago. I step back beside Rahlan.

The figure has long uncut hair. It obscures his face, but I catch a glimpse of his eyes – red. He’s a vampire, but his body is crooked, and his skin is dry and sunken into his skull, not allowing his lips to meet.

“All of you,” Rahlan says.

The figure spits on the ground, making me flinch. Out of nowhere, another one rises. Dark hair and crooked figure, just like the first. They’re joined by a third, and I gulp.

Rahlan points his sword in their direction.

“We don’t want you,” the figure hisses. His scratchy voice sounds like he’s smoked tobacco for decades. “We’re just here… for a snack,” he clicks his tongue on the k and his gaze lands on me, sending a chill down my spine.

“Get lost,” Rahlan spits.

The figure takes in a breath and draws his short sword. “Your choice.”

Rahlan’s hand lands on my shoulder, and the other two circle around us, positioning themselves on all three sides. Their gait is uneven and unnatural, like they don’t have full control over their muscles.

Rahlan keeps two in his view, his gaze alternating between them. I stand with my back to his, watching the third. I fish the metal eyeball flask out the bag on my back. The thought of it disgusts me, but I couldn’t care less at the moment. It’s better than nothing.

The one facing me draws his sword and bares his jagged teeth. It wants to bite me. I shudder and tighten my grip on the flask.

One charges. Rahlan shoves me to the ground and lunges to the left. The figure runs between us, and Rahlan strikes his back. He shrieks and waves his sword, but Rahlan parries and kicks him back.

The man regains his balance and shoots forward. Their blades meet again. Rahlan weaves his curved blade around the man’s sword and rips it out his hands.

Cold fingers wrap around my arm and yank me back. I scream and flail, losing my grip on the awkwardly shaped flask. Rahlan whips around and swings his sword just over my head, making the monster hiss and let go.

He drives it back, but the third is charging from his blind spot.

“Behind you!” I shout.

Rahlan jumps to his left, and the man strikes the place where he once stood, almost as if he didn’t see the movement. Their eyes lock and their blades meet. Rahlan wraps his curved sword around the man’s blade and disarms him too.

The figures back off and group together. One still has his short sword, but the other two have to resort to their daggers. One of them is holding his arm – an injury from Rahlan’s blade.

“Why draw this out?” one says, “There are three of us. You will fall. Give us the girl, and we will be on our way.”

“Perhaps you will be victorious,” Rahlan says, “but I’ll take at least one of you down, maybe two. ‘Tis a high price for a human.”

They mumble to each other. My gaze is locked on them, and my heart is banging against my chest.

The one chuckles, “These are our parts.”

“We’ll be gone soon.”

The crooked vampires turn to each other, mumbling something too soft for me to hear. They give each other one last look, then with a menacing glare in our direction, they slip back into the long grass, disappearing just as fast as they appeared.

Rahlan waits, listening for some time. I stay dead still.

He sheaths his sword, retrieves the flask and grabs my rope. I can finally breathe freely. He must be sure that there’s some distance between us and them. I stick to his side as we continue to weave our way through the field, looking back every few seconds out of paranoia.

“Do I get a thank you?” he says with a smirk.

“Thank you for keeping my blood to yourself,” I say with a sarcastic tone. I’m glad that I’m his captive instead of theirs, but I’m not going to genuinely thank him for it.

“They do not desire your blood.”

What?

“They’re ravagers. They crave bone marrow.”

A shiver crawls down my spine. They were going to kill me and crack open my bones? The thought that they wanted to take something so deep within me is extremely disconcerting. I lose blood every time I’m injured, so I know I’ll be fine as long as Rahlan doesn’t drink too much, but my body would be unrecognizable if they took my bones.

I raise my gaze to him. Does he want my bone marrow too? Is it some kind of delicacy to them?

“You don’t…” I trail off, unsure of how to ask.

“Don’t fret, I have no desire to end up exiled as a ravager. Human marrow addiction cripples us, deforming our bones and degrading our eyesight.”

I let out a silent sigh in relief.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He puts his hand on my head, and I swat it away. “Not funny.”

I glance behind us again. It’s all clear, but the thought that they could be there, just waiting for the opportunity to snatch me away, has my senses on overdrive.

I grab a piece of his cape and stick to him like glue.

“Scared?” he chuckles.

He may be an ass, but he’s the ass who will protect me from those things.

After an hour of trudging through the long grass, it opens up to plains of tiny shrubs and weeds. The air is chilly now that the sun’s lingering warmth has begun to fade. I’d be freezing if I didn’t have Rahlan’s coat.

Usually we’d be asleep by now. We’re out in the open, with nothing for those demons to hide behind. Granted it’s hard to see anything in the pitch-black night, but even my human eyesight would be able to spot something so large.

“Can we camp here?” I ask. I’m exhausted and my feet are aching.

“No, and for good reason,” he says.

“We can sleep in shifts. My feet are on fire.”

“Not an option.”

I grind my teeth and continue trudging through the weeds.

Another hour passes and my legs are killing me. The ground is covered in tiny mole hills too small to see but big enough to force my feet into awkward uneven steps. Rahlan looks unbothered. He could go on for days.

A sharp pain rips through my leg, and I hit the ground with a groan. Curling it up to my chest, I rub it up and down, trying to massage the pain away.

My body is hoisted up in the air and pressed against his chest. His huge arms are holding me bridal style.

“Lord Rahlan?”

“There’s no time,” he says.

“My leg just-”

“I know.”

I take hold of his shirt as an extra precaution. My gaze follows the buttons up to his formal collar. The stubble on his chin has morphed into a short dark beard over the last few days.

Letting out a yawn, I rest my head against his chest. The coat’s thick leather and soft inner lining wraps tightly around my frame, keeping me warm.

The pain in my leg dissolves into a dull ache, but any attempt to move makes it flare up again. It’s just a sore muscle. We’ve been walking since dawn. I’m used to traveling long distances to fetch water, gather wood or guide livestock, but humans aren’t built to walk for sixteen hours without breaks.

Rahlan hasn’t slowed down with the addition of my weight. In contrast, he’s sped up. My slow pace was holding him back. Vampires are stronger and tougher. That’s why their armies crushed ours. One vampire soldier is worth three or four humans.

I watch the terrain pass by as I lay comfortably in his arms, my eyelids growing heavy. I feel conflicted and confused. How many humans has he killed? I’d bet it’s more than I can count on my fingers, yet I’m nestled against him without fear.

With another yawn, I let my eyelids slip closed. For the moment, I’m secure, and it’s easier not to think too much about it.

* * * * * * * *

“’Tis morning,” Rahlan’s voice brings me back into reality. I look up at him and rub the sleep out of my eyes.

He lets me down in an open field, making sure I can support my own weight before letting go. A jolt of energy runs through me at the sight of the river. It’s huge - the Gaultane. The border to the vampire’s country must be close, and… I follow the river trail with my eyes. The castle! Lord Guerin’s castle, a human castle, right on alongside the river! It’s just like the map said. If I can make it there, I’m free.

Rahlan’s heavy hands land on my shoulders, and a shiver runs down my spine.

“Take a seat, breakfast,” he says with a smirk.

I resist the urge to snap at him for addressing me as breakfast. He sits and forces me down with him. His arms snake around my chest, not giving me the slightest bit of wiggle room.

I suck in my breath and clench my jaw. This is the last one. In just an hour I’ll be free, and my body and its blood will be for no one but myself.

He peels the coat away from my neck and bites down, making me hiss.

The minutes pass, my heart speeds up and my breathing quickens. He’s close enough to feel my body’s adverse reactions, but he couldn’t be bothered.

He finishes up, and I rise on wobbly legs.

We head towards the river. I grab an apple from the bag on my back and take a bite.

“I’m not your breakfast,” I grumble.

“You are my property. Your purpose is as I say.”

Not for long. Falling a few steps behind him, I get to work on the knot holding this wretched rope around my waist. As long as it’s slack, he won’t notice a change.

I pull it a little too tight on accident, compressing my bruised middle. The sharp pain makes me stumble, and I bite my tongue to hold in a groan. My gaze shoots back to him. He hasn’t noticed.

I let out a breath and try tying the rope again. My midriff is still sensitive from the beating he delivered the last time I tried to escape. There’s a chance that I’ll fail again and will be forced to endure his wrath a second time, but I don’t have a choice. The border is just passed the river. Once I’m in their country, my chance of escape dwindles to nothing, and with it, the chance of ever seeing Jacob again. No one will help me. They’ll consider me a slave or breakfast. My country is in shambles, but I can hide among the chaos. I need to stay in the land I know with the people I understand. This is my last chance to reach Jacob, and I can’t let it pass by out of fear of failing.

Soon I’ve added a quick release to the knot. He won’t notice the change without a close inspection, but just a tug in the right place will make it unravel.