Page 81 of Unbound By Shadows
Through the shadows, Selene watched Margery’s expression turn from rage to surprise to confusion before falling into an expression of deep peace. Her body spasmed then slumped down over Selene’s. She was utterly still.
Selene laid motionless with Margery’s body draped over hers, too afraid to move. She couldn’t have been lucky enough to hit her heart, could she? When nothing happened after several moments, Selene nudged the vampire and got no response. Using all her strength, Selene rolled Margery’s body away and sat up. Death was undeniably written across the vampire’s face.
She had defeated Margery. Killed her, in fact, thanks to Sam’s help. Selene examined her hands, expecting them to be covered in vampire blood, but they were clean. It had all happened so quickly that Margery’s clothes had absorbed most of the blood leaking from her chest.
The shadows were still swarming over Margery’s sallow face, causing Selene’s heart to swell with gratitude for Sam. Even gravely injured, he protected her. Yet, as she looked around expectantly for Sam, her insides plummeted. He was lying in the same position as when he fell—unconscious and unmoved.
Selene scrambled toward him. The bloody gash on his forehead and the horizontal crack that nearly bisected his horn was horrifying. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she whispered, “Sam?” He didn’t respond. She stroked his cheek. “Sam? Please come back to me.” He failed to wake up.
The terror of possibly losing Sam was staggering. How could something so simple as a bump on the head incapacitate her unbeatable demon? Maybe the club was embedded with magic, or poisonedsomehow. Or was damage to a demon’s horn very serious? She wished she had asked him more about things like that. Like what it meant to be a demon, how it felt to live in his body, and the strengths and weaknesses of his kind. There was so much she wanted to know about him that she hadn’t asked—would she get the chance now? She wiped at the tears filling her eyes and looked around the forest, not knowing what else to do. Hopelessly, she turned toward the shadows writhing over Margery and cried, “What do I do now?”
Her voice made them stir and rise toward her. They hung in the air in front of her, almost expectantly, like a dog awaiting its master’s command. She gaped at them for a moment then experimentally, imagined them moving to envelop a nearby tree stump.
Before she could blink, they obeyed her wish.
Chapter 33
Pain. Raw, throbbing pain consumed Sam’s body. It was as though he was suspended in darkness, unable to see, hear, or focus on anything outside of the torment radiating from his head. His life force was weak, damaged. Yet he couldn’t remember how he had come to be in such a state.
Vaguely, he registered something cool touch his face, then it was gone. He wanted more, but he couldn’t seem to form the words to ask. The touch came again—soothing and welcome. Slowly, the darkness began to lift.
“Sam?”
A voice was calling for him. He wanted to drown in that soft lilt and bask in the cool touch. Yet his throat felt closed, cut off from speech, and his body was depleted of strength. If he concentrated very hard, perhaps he could open his eyes. His lids were heavy, yet after a moment, his right eye fluttered. Forcing the lids to open fully, a figure began to take shape before him.
“Sam! You’re alive!”
It was Selene leaning over him. It had been her touch, her voice. He should have known. Her forehead was furrowed with concern. Hewanted to soothe her, to assure her he was all right, but the only thing that came out was, “Selene.”
Some of the tension in her expression eased. He blinked again and wondered why he couldn’t open his left eye. Raising his hand to rub it, Selene stopped him, then threaded her fingers through his.
“No, don’t move,” she murmured. “Just rest for now.”
His fingers tightened around hers and Sam noticed there were bits of twigs and grass in her hair. “Where am I?” he asked.
“We’re in the forest. I’m not sure where. About a day’s walk from Brunie and Eldridge’s.”
“What hap—” Before he could finish his question, a flood of memories came back to him. Margery sprawled on the ground. A rustle in the trees. A figure in black before him, then an agonizing blow to his head and horn.
“Vampires!” he cried. Panic surged as he moved to sit up, but she gently pushed him back to the ground.
“Shhh. They’re gone now. We’re safe.”
“Gone?”
“Yes. Dead. Margery killed the one who attacked you, and then I… I killed Margery.”
“Youdid?”
Selene nodded. “The trap they set was for me. She was trying to take me away somewhere, to a king’s castle, she said. For a reward? I don't know. But she wanted to bite me first. We fought and I staked her.”
Sam couldn’t hold back a smile, even though it made his face ache. If he weren’t so weak, he would have kissed her at that moment.
“So brave,” he whispered.
Because the light of the forest was strangely bright, he saw her blush. Then her lovely face turned serious. “Sam, your horn is cracked.”
“Ah,” He reached up to touch it and winced. “So that’s why I blacked out.”
