Page 61 of Land of Shadow

But that soldier… Somehow—I don’t know how—but somehow, I know he’s dead. I didn’t see it, but it’s like some visceral part of me felt it. There and gone in an instant.

Valen killed that soldier before he could kill me.

It’s a good thing I’m already numb inside, because if I weren’t, I truly wouldn’t know how to feel about any of it.

18

Istare at the ashy remnants of the blood I took into the sun. The slide cracked as soon as the light hit it, the sample on it going black and charred. When it happened, I realized two things. One, vampires cannot survive sunlight. And two, Valen is no ordinary vampire.

A week has passed since the protest, a week of healing and researching. I still haven’t had any word from Juno, but I see her on the screen from time to time. The blood resorts are continuing to open across the country, thousands of people signing up for a respite from the ravages of the plague. But what they’re actually walking into? I don’t know.

I have a suspicion, a fear that I hope couldn’t possibly be true. But knowing what I know now … I can’t deny the very real possibility that Juno is willingly offering up citizens to the vampires. Some manner of paying them back for her election. But that can’t be it. IknowJuno. There must be some angle I’m not seeing. Or maybe I’m altogether wrong. Maybe it reallyisthe Illuminati’s doing. That would be better, possibly even less far-fetched.

I make some notes about the charred blood then open the imaging from Gretchen’s investigation of the antibodies we found in one of the last samples. She’s done a strong workup, pages of analysis on the proteins and a hypothesis that the vast majority of them aren’t clinically significant. Possibly from common colds. But there was also an overabundance of a certain antibody that she couldn’t identify.

“What are you?” I flip through some of her work, trying to find what we’re missing. The familiar hum of a helicopter grows as it flies low overhead. My chest aches, fear like icy fingers along my spine at the thought of Juno flying away to meet with Gregor. Is that why Valen hasn’t come tonight? Is he with her?

I’m sipping a flat soda from a case Wyatt found in one of the back ballrooms and trying not to full-on panic when my doorbell rings. This time I know the sound.

“Can I come up?” Gage calls from the hallway.

I press the button to say yes, then hesitate when I remember what Valen said when he found Gage up here. They were only threats, but where Valen is concerned, I don’t have the luxury of believing any of them are empty. “I’ll come down,” I call into the microphone, then hurry to my room and throw on some real clothes.

He’s waiting by the elevator when it opens on the ground floor.

“What’s this?” I look him up and down. He’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. “Casual Friday?”

“It’s Wednesday and no.” He glances out the front doors. “Can we walk for a minute?”

I stare at the darkness beyond the glass for a beat too long. I haven’t been outside since the protest, which is dumb, of course. I can’t stay locked up in here forever. It’s not like it’s particularly safe—Theo got in and drugged me. Valen, an admitted murderer, has 24/7 access. But when I blink, I swear I can feel the gun muzzle against my temple again.

“Not for long. Promise.” He smiles, though it lacks its usual warmth. He’s tense, his gaze bouncing around.

“Um, okay.” I follow him out, the air humid and sticky. “What’s up?”

We walk slowly, the clear sky overhead giving us a sliver moon.

He stops at a cross street and turns to face me. “There are some things I need you to know.”

I look up at him, his eyes gone serious. “Like what?”

“There are three bloodlines. Dragonis, Corvidion, and Tantun. Remember them. Repeat them back to me.”

Confusion is too mild a word for what’s going through my mind. “What is this about? What?—”

He grabs my wrists and pulls me closer to him. “Repeat them to me. Do it now. Dragonis, Corvidion, and Tantun.” His voice has gone hard, his eyes boring into me. “Say it, Georgia.”

“Okay.” Panic wells in me. Something’s wrong. “Ah, Dragonis, Corvidion, and, and?—”

“Tantun.” He squeezes my wrists. “Again.”

“Wh—”

“Again, Georgia!” he snaps, his demeanor turning strained. “Youmustmemorize it.”

“Dragonis, Corvidion, and Tantun.” My voice is shaking.

“Blood Tantun, their bite is poison. Blood Corvidion have the power of flight. Blood Dragonis is the worst of them all. They can control your mind, your body—everything. Sunlight kills them. Silver slows them down. Otherwise, they’re invincible. You have to find a way to stop them. The blood camps are just the first step.”

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