Page 68 of To Vanquish Darkness

Amalie didn’t know what she expected from Theo in that moment, but it wasn’t what she saw. The air around them went cold as Theo’s entire being threaded with shadow. He moved with it. Became it.

There was a click of a door opening. Then another. Amalie's head snapped up as two figures emerged from the rooms lining the hall. Shadows with eyes that gleamed like polished steel. Only two of them. Theo could outrun them, couldn’t he? Henriette could help them patch her up.

“To my room,” she hissed, the glamours already swirling around her like she’d been soaked in perfume.

Theo shook his head, his body tense as he watched the vampires approach. Amalie turned. There were no longer only two.

She swore under her breath. Why would a vampire do this? Why would he bring a human here only to hurt her and set her free?

Penelope clung to Amalie, hyperventilating. This was why. Ramon wanted to create a feeding frenzy. He wanted Penelope to be terrified in her last moments. To beg for life.

Amalie gripped Penelope’s hands, dragging them off her and rose. She didn’t have a weapon, but if she could find?—

“Stay with her.” Theo stepped in front of her. “Don’t move.”

Amalie's breath caught. Theo was cloaked in black mist, his eyes dark as coal. He flexed his hands and faced the vampires that still edged closer.

Theo's voice was like a whip crack. "Go back to your rooms."

The vampires snarled, their eyes glittering. These were the same men who’d been on the rooftop. How human they’d looked then. Now they were feral. Driven by blood lust.

"To your rooms." Theo's growl sent a shudder through her. His glamour, normally warm and peaceful, had turned to January wind.

One of the vampires took a step forward, and Amalie's heart leapt into her throat. He was tall, with a lean, athletic build and hair as dark as Theo's. His eyes were wild, and his lips curled back to reveal fangs that gleamed in the dim light.

Theo's hand shot out, and the vampire stumbled back, hissing. "I won't say it again."

The vampires looked between Theo and Penelope, their nostrils flaring. They were like wolves, circling a wounded deer.

The vampires pounced, swift and predatory. Theo moved like smoke. He ducked under a swipe of claws, then spun, delivering a kick to the vampire's chest. The creature flew back, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

Another vampire lunged, fangs bared, but Theo grabbed the vampire's wrist and twisted, the bones snapping with a sickening crack. The vampire howled in pain, and Theo's fist connected with its jaw, sending it sprawling.

They couldn’t die, but they could feel pain.

Theo delivered it. He caught a vampire by the throat and squeezed, then slammed his head into the floor. He broke skin. He shattered bones.

When they were down, Theo turned, his gaze locking on Amalie. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Theo Vallon was deadly. A Darkness.

He was beautiful.

Theo stepped forward, his movements slow and deliberate. He reached down and scooped Penelope into his arms. Amalie winced at the blood smeared on his skin and the torn fabric of his shirt.

He rose. “Are you coming?”

Amalie nodded, and Theo shifted Penelope so he could reach out and hold on to Amalie’s waist. He lifted her like she was nothing, and then the hall seemed to bend around them.

When the stones stopped blurring, they stood in front of another door, but Amalie didn’t recognize her surroundings. It had to be a different wing of the castle.

Theo didn’t knock. He set Amalie down and kicked the door open with his boot. A man skittered back, raising his hands as his eyes widened in horror.

Ramon. He was short. Thin. With pale eyes and hair that fell to his shoulders. “Theo, I didn’t?—”

“Shut your damn mouth.” Theo walked in and lay Penelope on the bed. He turned, his voice a low growl. "You will put her back together."

Ramon's eyes glinted. He took a step back. "She’s a human. I did as I wished."

In an instant, Theo knocked him against the wall. He caught Ramon’s left wrist as he tried to rise from the floor and raised the vampire’s hand in front of his face. Without a second’s hesitation, Theo pulled a knife from his boot and sliced off Ramon’s first two fingers.

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