Page 89 of Vow of the Undead
“I never wanted to get to know the other vampires, and I definitely didn’t want to watch humans become vessels, so I preferred solitude. But you feel familiar.”
I scoffed. “Because we’re both living in regret.”
“And now working through the mistakes that led us here.”
When King Drakkar had said we were the same, I deniedit. I refused to believe it. I didn’t delight in death like a cruel king. But with Kayn…it felt right to say.
“We’re the same.”
His mouth lifted into an unusual smile. Unlike King Drakkar, he didn’t walk around with a wicked grin cutting across his face. He was unlike King Drakkar in so many ways. For one, he admitted his mistakes, his weakness. He also wanted to give me this power of becoming a huntress, of training, rather than trying to claim me like a prize to sit beside him on a throne.
And of course, Kayn never threatened to kill me.
Anger simmered with determination and I held tighter to the stake. If the king wanted to try to cut me down, he’d have to fight me first.
I lifted the stake. “Again.”
Kayn nodded, holding his smile steady, the softness of it inviting me to relish in this desire I felt for him. As hours slipped away and my arms ached, I tallied hundreds of different strategies. None of it unearthed whatever power Odin may have granted me but repeated practice lifted my spirits and my confidence.
Despite the moments of pain, Kayn praised me for my effort, complimenting me every time I struck with accuracy.
I began to crave the praise, pushing myself to keep going, keep training, until my breath was ragged and my blue fingers could no longer grasp the stake.
On the edge of collapse, Kayn drew the weapon from my hands and tossed it aside. He wrapped his arms around me, letting me collapse against his chest. Catching my breath while sinking into him, I soaked in the moment of rest, of trust, of every word he’d said.
He was here for me.
He was my support.
With Kayn, I could do this.
Once my breathing slowed, he gently released me. Hethreaded his fingers through my hair. Cupping the back of my neck, he pulled me closer. His eyes dipped from my gaze to my lips. The taut thread between us snapped and our mouths crashed together, urgent only for a moment until it melted into gentle embers.
It was never desperate, or hungry, or possessive like the king’s kisses. With Kayn, this intimacy lingered, slow and careful.
We broke away only when a shrill voice sent goosebumps over my arms. Stasia shrieked from somewhere behind us. Kayn snapped his attention to her as I spun around.
In the dim light, a flash of beige dashed toward us. Stasia’s usually light voice was twisted with distress. Exhausted as I was, we both ran to meet her halfway. She’d returned from the village to purchase cooking supplies for food and medicine for my mother with the little money Kayn carried around.
Breathless and with shaking hands, Stasia swung her arms wildly as she tried to speak. “I saw them,” she said, between breaths. “I saw them in the village. They’re passing through Mara. On their way to Einnland.”
My gut lurched. The exodus. “Stasia, slow down. Are the Grimward moving the exiles?”
She nodded and slapped her palms to her knees. Though Stasia was wiry like Ragna, she didn’t have the muscle and endurance. Her breaths still came quick and choppy. “Hundreds of witches and the executioners—” A sob cut her off.
I bent to scoop my arms beneath hers and gather her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”
She fell into me and I stumbled. Kayn pressed a steady hand to my back to keep me from falling.
Her voice was a whisper now. “I saw him. I didn’t get to see his face but it was his mask. The Wolf.”
“Finan?” I asked, though I already knew it was only him she cared for. Still, I knew so little, Stasia kept her heart close, speaking only of her passion for cooking and teasing me.
She drew back and wiped at her eyes. For a second, she wasn’t the confident handmaiden who’d helped me escape Mara’s Keep. In the silence and with a tear-streaked face, I saw Alva in her. A child wanting nothing but to be in the arms of the person she longed for.
She swallowed and closed her eyes. “I spoke to him, Silver. I told him to run with me before he dies at sea.” Pausing, she gathered herself. “He said he didn’t know me and that if I didn’t step out of the way, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me. But it was a lie. I know he recognized me. I know he did.”
The pressure of Kayn’s hand slid higher up my back. He stepped to the side, casting a shadow over Stasia. “This exploration, it’s so they can find more vessels. More sources of food before the population in Vylheim dwindles. There’s too many vampires.”
