A Shade of Kiev (A Shade of Vampire #8)(15)
Author: Bella Forrest

She placed a hand on my shoulder. I stepped back, brushing her hand away.

“I used to be like you,” she said quietly.

Her words aggravated me. You have no idea what I am, was what I wanted to spit out, but I held my tongue.

“Afraid,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, the heat rising in my cheeks. “Afraid? Yes, maybe I am afraid of him. He could be a murderer for all I know.”

Saira nodded and didn’t say another word.

She turned around and left me standing there, staring after her.

Chapter 14: Kiev

The woman’s screams intensified. She tried to break through the crowds, but another ogre caught hold of her and dragged her away from the scene.

The two ogres set their eyes on me. Chained by my hands and feet and severely weakened from the torment of the sun, I didn’t attempt to fight. It would only make matters worse. One of them picked up a wooden stake while the other gripped hold of my neck and pressed me against a cool stone wall.

“Wait!” A voice boomed through the square. “I’ll kill him instead.”

I looked up and was confused to see a short round woman. As she made her way through the crowds with surprising speed, I realized that she was a werewolf. She leapt onto the platform, pushing the ogres aside. They both looked dumbstruck.

I racked my brains for any way I might have possibly harmed a werewolf, any reason why this complete stranger would want to kill me. Was this yet another person affected by my years of killing? Would I ever escape the scope of my bloody past? I was as confused as the ogres and audience watching.

“What?” one of the ogres grunted. “We have orders to execute him.”

“In case you forget, I’m Saira, the great-granddaughter of Minneas. That alone should make you heed my words, ogre.” She glared at him.

Saira. Mona’s friend. I hadn’t recognized her because I’d only seen her in her wolf form.

Nobody will have a chance to kill me if they don’t hurry up. The sun will do the deed.

I was relieved when Saira stood over me and blocked the sun’s direct contact with my skin. Without saying another word, she grabbed hold of the keys to the chains from the ogre’s belt and unlocked me.

“Take my hand,” she said to me under her breath.

I didn’t think about what I was doing, or why I would trust her more than the ogres. If I refused the ogres would kill me. I grabbed her hand and she helped me to my feet, holding my waist to support me.

“But… where are you taking him?” the ogre shouted after us as Saira led me away from the platform.

“To a death far worse than what you would have inflicted on him.”

Chapter 15: Kiev

“What are you doing?” I gasped as soon as we were out of sight of the square. I was relieved that she had led us over to some trees so my skin could gain some relief.

“There will be time for explanation later. For now, just hurry.”

As we were approaching the beach, I decided to not press her and rather concentrate on walking faster—a task that was not at all easy when it felt like I was about to faint with exhaustion at any moment.

After what seemed like half an hour of walking on the hot sand, a large ship loomed in the distance. We ducked out of the trees lining the shore again and headed toward it. I let out a sigh of relief as Saira led me up the gangplank leading to the deck and entered a covering away from the direct sun.

As soon as we reached the shelter of the boat, my knees buckled.

Finally she answered my question. “Saving you,” she said calmly.

I looked up at her face.

“Why?”

She hesitated, eyeing me. “I think you might prove to be a good asset for us. Just seemed a shame to have you go to waste. An errant vampire is quite a rare thing these days. Especially one as good-looking as you.” She winked at me. “Most have already settled into their own groups, or indeed settled at The Tavern, and have no desire to move. They’ll never know I didn’t kill you in the end. Just make sure to never visit that place again, because if you do not only will you get in trouble, but I will too. I may be the great-granddaughter of one of the founding fathers of that island, but I can’t pull rank on people there all that often when I’m not a resident. My rank was just enough to shock them into submission.”

She frowned at me as I lay on the floor.

“First thing we need to do is get you cooled down. You look a complete wreck. You’re no use to anyone in this state.”

Every muscle and bone in my body ached as I forced myself into standing position. She walked me down some several staircases until we reached a lower mahogany deck and found a spare cabin. She let go of me and I dropped myself down on the bed.

“I’ll ask for some spare clothes to be sent to you. For now, just lie down and get some sleep. Your body should recover on its own. Or did they apply any serum to you?”

I racked my brain for any memory of serum being applied to my body but found nothing.

“No idea,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, just sleep. We’ll soon find out, in any case.”

Saira left the room. I felt relieved to be alone in a safe bed. My body was overtaken with exhaustion and within a few minutes, I had fallen asleep.

Chapter 16: Mona

As we lifted the anchor and set sail, allowing the dolphins to begin pulling the ship into the open waters, I stood at the stern, watching the island fade away into the distance. The sun blazed down over the sparkling waters from its full height in the sky.

My thoughts drifted back to the vampire with red eyes. Another pang of guilt hit me. It’s not like you could have done anything, even if you had wanted to save him. He’s under the jurisdiction of the Tavern’s laws.

Just forget about it.

I left the stern and walked past the dozens of people milling about on the deck, still organizing things for our journey. I wanted to retire to my room and lock myself up until tomorrow. I was still feeling run down from the days of lost sleep I’d had at Aviary thanks to being kept a slave there, at beck and call for Arron and his companions at all hours.

I’d done my fair share of work in getting the ship ready for sailing. I trusted I wouldn’t be needed for at least another few hours.

Since I’d chosen to be on the lowest level of the ship away from everyone, there were no windows in my room. Still, when I opened the door and found that it was dark, it surprised me because I didn’t remember dimming my lantern before leaving.