Chapter 44: The Faces Behind The Hoods

••{RHIANNON’S POV}••

Hopeless.

That’s how I feel as they carry me through passage after passage.

I don’t know how far we’ve gone.

I don’t even know where we are because I can’t see much past the wall of the strange vampires surrounding me.

My shoulders and arms ache from being bent so tightly behind my back. My wrists burn every time the ropes bite into my skin. My throat feels so raw and torn from screaming that when I try again, only hoarse, broken sounds escape me.

My abductors haven’t said a word since they took me.

But what terrifies me most is that I don’t know who they are or where they’re taking me.

Cold air suddenly hits my face and I flinch, sucking in a sharp breath as moonlight spills over me.

We’re outside.

The moment my eyes land on the carriage waiting a few feet away, my heart slams painfully against my chest.

I immediately start struggling again, twisting desperately against their grip as tears well up in my eyes. But I’m too exhausted to put up much of a fight. My arms barely move, my knees buckle beneath me, and every attempt to pull free only makes the ropes bite deeper into my wrists.

Once we reach the carriage, another hooded figure opens the door from the inside and they hurl me in. My body hits the floor hard, the impact knocking all the air from my lungs in a painful rush.

As I lie there, struggling to draw another breath, the carriage rocks as several of them climb in and sit, their cloaks and boots brushing against my body.

Soon after, the carriage starts moving.

My whole body shudders as silent sobs tear through me.

I’m going to die.

I’m going to die and no one is coming to save me.

Suddenly, the carriage rocks so violently that my body slides across the floor and slams against the wall. Everyone inside is thrown off balance as it comes to a brutal stop.

For a few heartbeats, nobody moves an inch and there’s nothing but a chilling silence. Then my abductors draw their weapons, kick the door open and spill out of the carriage.

My chest heaves as I stare wide-eyed at the darkness beyond the carriage doors.

The silence lasts a moment longer before blood-curdling screams begin to echo from outside.

I quickly scramble backward, pressing my back against the wall of the carriage.

But then it dawns on me.

This is it.

This is my chance to escape.

I roll onto my stomach and start dragging myself toward the door. It’s slow and painful, every movement pulling at the ropes binding my wrists and ankles.

When I finally reach the door, I roll out and fall. Pain bursts through my ribs as I hit the ground, and for several heartbeats, I writhe on the dirt until it fades.

The moment I look up, my breath catches in my throat when I see him.

Azræl.

He’s a short distance away, tearing through my abductors like something out of a nightmare.

I burst into tears of joy as a wave of relief washes over me, but I don’t dwell on it. I quickly sit upright, my head whipping in every direction until my eyes land on a body lying on the ground nearby.

A dagger rests in their hand.

I fall onto my stomach and begin crawling toward the corpse as fast as I can, dragging my body across the cold, hard ground.

Once I reach the hooded vampire, I sit up and turn my back on him, fumbling with my fingers until they close around the hilt of the dagger. Then I start cutting through the ropes binding my wrists, careful not to let the blade wound me.

My heart races as I watch Azræl fight off my abductors.

Three of them charge at him from the right, another three coming from the left.

Azræl lifts one hand and the ones on the left freeze mid-step. Their weapons clatter to the ground and they begin clawing at their throats as they gasp and choke. Streams of blood rise into the air from their noses, mouths, and ears, then their bodies shrivel up before hitting the ground like empty husks.

Their blood twists in the air like a living serpent, circling around Azræl before he flings it toward the other three like a blade.

Their heads tumble to the ground before their bodies collapse, but more of them keep coming.

Azræl raises his hands and the blood soaking the ground obeys him, rising into the air and hardening into jagged crystals. In the blink of an eye, they rain down on my abductors, bursting through every part of their bodies.

Finally, the ropes fall from wrists.

I rip the gag away from my mouth then start cutting through the ropes binding my ankles.

Once they’re cut loose, I stagger to my feet and immediately run for a sword lying in the hands of one of my dead abductors.

The moment I snatch it from the corpse’s grip, something makes me pause.

As soon as I pull back the hood, my body goes entirely still.

I recognize him. I’ve seen him guarding my chambers before.

I move quickly and crouch beside another body, my hand trembling as I slowly reach for the hood.

The second I rip it away, a gasp escapes me and I fall back onto the ground.

Opal?

A shiver crawls up my spine, prickling goosebumps along my arms.

They were inside the castle the whole time.

Just as I turn to look at Azræl, I see one of them running toward him from behind with a sword.

Before I can open my mouth to scream, the blade punches through his back and bursts through his chest in a spray of blood.

My heart plummets into my stomach and I freeze.

Slowly, Azræl turns to look at me.

We hold each other’s gaze for a few heartbeats before he faces his attacker.

He raises one hand and the hooded vampire rises into the air, his feet kicking helplessly as he screams.

Azræl clenches his hand into a fist and his attacker’s body explodes, sending blood, flesh, and bone splattering in every direction.

Azræl sways, then staggers before his knees buckle and he collapses to the ground.

"AZRÆL!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

The sword drops from my hand as I rush toward him.

I fall to my knees beside him, my hands hovering frantically over his body, terrified that even the slightest touch might hurt him. The sword is still buried deep in his chest, blood seeping steadily from the wound and pooling on the ground beneath him.

He tries to say something, but all that comes out is a choked gurgle followed by a gush of blood.

"No, no, no," I sob, covering my mouth with my hands.

Something is wrong.

He’s not supposed to be like this.

The sound of footsteps pulls my attention, and when I look up, fear grips my entire body again.

The remaining hooded vampires slowly close in around me.

"Stay back!" I scream, my voice breaking. "Don’t come any closer! Stay away!"

One of them breaks away from the others and storms toward me, but the moment he reaches out to grab me, his body bursts into flames.

I stumble backward as he screams, thrashing wildly and running in circles as the flames consume him.

Another one catches fire.

Then another.

And another.

Until all of them are up in flames, shrieking and running blindly until they collapse in smoldering heaps.

The castle grounds fall completely silent.

My eyes remain wide as I stare at their charred corpses, my chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath.

"Rhiannon..." says a familiar voice.

My shoulders sag as soon as I lift my head.

"Nayeesha?"