The Bloodbound Awakening

ingers curled against the cold stone sill. The rain fell in silver sheets, obscuring the ruins of the town below, but she could st

nt

h's presence lingered at the edges of her consciousness like a shadow

e come

ls burning where they burrowed beneath her skin. She could still feel the ghost of Raelith's hands on her throat, the way

rp, too impatient to be Raelith. Be

. A dark bruise bloomed across his cheekbone from where Raelith had thrown him into the wall, and his

" he said, his vo

slick with condensation from the storm. Jason moved with stiff, angry strides, his injured arm crad

ing metallic-blood, Elian realized, not

she asked again, her voi

ed?" he spat. "We barely made it out of those tunnels

omach twis

pressing against the damp wall as if he needed its support. His breath came in short, uneven bursts. "Do you have any ide

mouth, but Jaso

painting in the cathedral like you recognized it. The way you couldn't keep your hands off that damned statue." His gaze dropped to the pendant

eat spreading through her ribs like liquid fire. She wanted to den

moment they'd arrived in Veyruhn? The way the town had seem

ream echoed through the corrid

i

ured arm forgotten as he sprinted toward the sound

ed in their sconces, their flames casting erratic light across the stone floor. M

their faces hidden beneath wide-brimmed hats. The leader, a woman wit

like rustling parchment. "

lunged, his good fist ai

e mused. "But foolish." With a twist of her hand, Jason crumpled with

vision w

er skin ignited with crimson light, their glow pulsing in time with he

crashing into the far wall wit

le

lau

efore righting itself with a sickening crack. "Oh, little ves

r coats-revealing skin carved with the

rough the hall

oug

s coat billowing around him like wings. The torches

ters we

one, th

no sound on the stone. His gaze never left the hunte

d to wait," h

ritual must be completed before the blood mo

ed in her memory-something from the cathedral's

gers twitched

glance at Elian, they slipped into the sha

lattering to the floor. Jason cradled his b

lith. "What did the

he first time, she saw somet

ive," he said, "or if you become j