Page 23 of Elegy of Twilight
The man stood tall, revealing more of his gaunt appearance. “When you lay in death, choking on your own blood, just remember, you were warned.”
He took a step, and I saw them. The knights had surrounded us and were silently creeping toward the man. I had to say something to keep him distracted.
“What do I owe you for this warning?”
His nostrils flared. “Perhaps you’ll save the village.”
An arrow shot past, and I watched it as if in slow motion. The man’s grinned, white teeth flashing before he took off, sprinting in the wood.
The knights chased after him, but Captain Elroy paused beside me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine,” I said, holding up the frayed edges of the rope.
“I’ll escort you back to the abbey, you’ll be safe there.”
“No need,” I protested. “The wood is quiet. We didn’t see any vampires coming in, I imagine the vampire king is leading you toward them.”
Captain Elroy paused, fingers gripping his blade tighter as he glanced after his men. Itching for a fight.
“I’ve done this before,” I encouraged.
“Well done.” Captain Elroy relented, then chased after his knights.
I pressed a hand to my racing heart as warmth spread through me. The vampire king had fallen for our trap, and I hoped the knights would catch him tonight. Only the words the man had spoken about Titus were deeply unsettling.
Raindrops sprinkled my head as the gusts of wind picked up, bending the tops of the trees in half. The snap of a branch came, and then shrilled shrieks echoed around me. Owls? Bats? Vampires? I moved faster, weaving through the trees until a hand reached out and snatched me against a hard body.
I screamed, struggling to free my hand with the knife, but when I looked up, it was Titus who held me. Tight. He bent over me, studying me with an indescribable expression on his face. Lightning flashed, sending a surge of heated light over the glade, and icy blue eyes bored into mine.
“Lucia, why are you out here? I didn’t see a light in your window.”
A sliver of fear crawled up my spine. The hysterical side of my mind shouted that he’d been stalking me, while the reasonable side reminded me that we’d had this discussion. I was to put a candle in my window on nights when I sought him out.
“Let me go,” I said, the words of that strange man ringing in my mind. “I didn’t tell you because it was a trap, not for you but for the other one, the vampire king.”
My words had the opposite effect. His grip tightened. “The other one? Did you speak to him?”
“I...I did, and the knights are chasing him now. They’ll catch him, and this will be over.” Would it be? I wasn’t sure, but my mind desperately wanted to believe something. Yet the more I thought about it, I couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
A strangled curse left his lips, and he let go of me so suddenly I almost fell. Ibacked against a tree, breathing hard as I watched him. He wiped a hand across his mouth, staring, no,glaringat me.
“What did he say to you? No, we can’t talk here.”
He made to grab for my wrist, but I jerked back. “What do you mean?”
Something was off; he was upset, and tension bit the air. I also noticed that he wasn’t carrying his lute. What was he doing out here? Sneaking around at night? Had he been the cause of death and devastation, and I’d been wrong all along? Who was the true vampire king, Titus? Or that other mysterious man?
It occurred to me that they looked similar, with dark wild hair, deep-set eyes, height, and build. Blood rushed to my head, and this time, I wasn’t quick enough as Titus lunged for me again. He caught me, a powerful arm sneaking around my waist as the heavens opened and rain thundered down.
Titus scooped me up as though I weighed nothing at all. I closed my eyes, reminding myself of my conversation with Faith. There’s always a choice. I didn’t know the truth about Titus, but I knew how he made me feel, as though I were falling into a pit of darkness I could not escape from. He would tarnish my soul, swallow me whole with hisdarkness, embed me in a land of sin and pleasure, and I’d be lost eternally.
Inaction was not a choice. I had to act. I lifted the knife and pressed it against the cords of his neck. A high, broken sound came from his throat, sending a pang right through my soul.
“You, you of all people, my moon goddess, would turn on me too? You’re supposed to save me, not damn me to the hell I’m already living in.”
My hand trembled. He could knock the knife away as easily as it was a feather. I’d been trained in self-defense, but I hadn’t actually wounded another or drawn blood. Now that the moment had come, hurting another living being wasn’t in me. I couldn’t harmhimbecause it would be like plunging a dagger into my own heart.
I dropped the knife. “Then you have to be honest with me. Tell me the truth. What is going on?”
