by Carrie Ryan
And man, this guy was fast. He’d lunged at the place I’d fallen, striking out with more than enough force to break my neck. Seeing he’d missed me, he didn’t waste a moment in coming after me in my new spot, and I hurried to get away. I was fast, but not as fast as him, and he caught hold of my sleeve. Before he could pull me to him, Dimitri and Mark were on his back, forcing the Blood King to release me. My companions were good—among the best—but it took every ounce of their skill to keep pace with him. He dodged every swipe of their stakes with the effortless ease of a dancer.
I sprang to my feet, ready to join in and assist, when I heard a moan coming from one of the tunnels. Ivan. I wanted to join the fray, but Dimitri and Mark had just parried some of the Blood King’s attacks, forcing the whole group to move to the far side and put my friends between me and the Strigoi. With no obvious opening for me, I made the decision to rescue the innocent and trust Dimitri’s and Mark’s skills. Yet, as I moved toward the branching tunnel, I cast an uneasy glance back at Dimitri. Again, I was reminded of that time long ago, in other tunnels. It was there that Dimitri had been bitten and forcibly turned into a Strigoi. Panic seized me, along with an intense, irrational need to go throw myself in front of Dimitri.
No, I told myself. Dimitri and Mark can handle this. There’s two of them and only one Strigoi. It’s not like it was last time. Another moan from Ivan spurred me to action. For all I knew, he could be bleeding to death somewhere. The sooner I got to him and helped, the more likely he’d survive. Going after him meant abandoning the lantern, since Dimitri and Mark needed it more than me. Besides, this tunnel was narrow enough that I could reach out and touch both sides with my hands, giving me some measure of guidance as I entered the darkness.
“Ivan?” I called, half afraid I’d trip over him.
“Here,” came an answering voice. It was astonishingly close, and I slowed my pace, reaching out in front of me in the hopes I’d feel him. Moments later, I touched hair and a forehead. I stopped and knelt.
“Ivan, are you okay? Can you stand?” I asked.
“I … I think so …”
I hoped so. Unable to see him, I had no idea if his blood was gushing out right in front of me. I found his hand and helped him up. He leaned heavily against me but seemed to have control of his legs, which I took as a good sign. Slowly, we made our way back toward the fight, our maneuvers awkward in the tight tunnel. When we emerged into the light, I was dismayed to see the Blood King still alive.
“Rest here,” I told Ivan, moving him toward a wall. He wasn’t in as critical a condition as I’d feared. He looked as though the Blood King had—literally—thrown him around a few times, but none of the cuts and bruises looked dire. I expected him to sit so that I could lend my strength to the fight, but instead, Ivan’s eyes went wide as he took in the battle. With an energy I hadn’t believed possible, he sprang forward with his ridiculous wooden stake and aimed it for the Blood King’s back.
“No!” I yelled, hurrying after him.
His stake didn’t pierce flesh, of course. It didn’t even hurt the Blood King. What it did do, however, was cause the Strigoi to pause for a split second and swat away Ivan. He flew across the cave, landing hard against a wall. In the space of that heartbeat, Dimitri and Mark acted with flawless, wordless efficiency. Dimitri’s foot snaked out and knocked the Blood King’s legs from under him. Mark surged forward, plunging his stake into the ancient Strigoi’s heart. The Blood King froze, and we all held a collective breath as a look of total shock crossed his features. Then death seized him, and his body slumped forward.
I exhaled in relief and immediately looked at Dimitri first, needing to make sure he was okay. But of course he was. He was my badass battle god. It’d take more than some super tough Strigoi—even one with a dramatic name—to take him down. Mark seemed equally fine. Across the cave, Ivan looked stunned but otherwise uninjured. He was watching us with wonder, and his eyes lit up when he met my gaze. He held his wooden stake in the air in kind of a mock salute and grinned.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
It turned out part of the reason Ivan hadn’t left when we told him—aside from his idiotic sense of heroism—was that he had no means to leave. Some friends from his village had dropped him off, with the intent of coming back in two days to see if he was dead or alive. We could hardly leave him there in such a beaten-up state, so we made the two-hour drive to take him home. The entire time, Ivan kept going on and on about how he’d saved Dimitri and Mark in the nick of time and how they would’ve met certain death if not for him.
Pointing out that it was only sheer luck that he hadn’t gotten them killed seemed useless at this point. We let him talk and were all relieved when we reached his village, a place that made Baia look like New York City.
“Sometimes I hear reports of other vampires,” he told us as he got out of the car. “If you want to team up again, I’ll let you come along with me next time too.”
“Noted,” I said.
The only person more infuriating than Ivan was Yeva. After five minutes with her, I was suddenly wishing I was back in the car with him.
“So,” she said, sitting in her rocking chair in the Belikov house like it was a throne. “It seems I was right.”
I collapsed onto the couch beside Dimitri, bone weary and wishing I could sleep for about twelve hours. Mark had already gone home to Oksana. Still, I had enough spunk in me to argue back.
“No, actually,” I retorted, trying to keep a smug smile off my face, “you said Dimitri would kill the Blood King. He didn’t. Mark did.”
“I said one who had walked the road of death would succeed,” she said. “Mark has faced death and survived.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but she had a point. “Okay. But when Viktoria said Dimitri would do it, you didn’t deny it.”
“I didn’t confirm it either.”
I groaned. “This is ridiculous! That ‘prediction’ meant nothing! Hell, it could’ve applied to Ivan, since he nearly died because of the Blood King.”
“My prophecies see many things,” responded Yeva—which was really no response at all. “My next one is particularly interesting.”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “Let me guess. ‘A journey.’ That could mean me and Dimitri going home. Or Olena going to the grocery store.”
“Actually,” said Yeva, “I see a wedding in the future.”
Viktoria had been listening to the exchange with amusement and clapped her hands together. “Oh! Rose and Dimka!” Her sisters nodded excitedly.
I stared incredulously. “How can you even say that? That can mean anything too! Someone in town is probably getting married right now. Or maybe it’ll be Karolina—didn’t you say you’re getting serious with your boyfriend? If it is me and Dimitri, it’ll be years from now—which, of course, you’ll claim you foresaw since it was ‘the future.’ ”
No one was listening to me anymore, though. The Belikov women were already chattering excitedly about plans, speculating if the wedding would be here or in the U.S. and how nice it would be to see Dimitri “finally settle down.”
I groaned again and leaned against him. “Unbelievable.”
Dimitri smiled and put his arm around me. “Don’t you believe in fate, Roza?”
“Sure,” I said. “Just not in your grandmother’s crazy vague predictions.”
“Doesn’t sound that crazy to me,” he teased.
“You’re as crazy as her.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
HEATHER BREWER was not your typical teen, and she’s certainly not your typical adult. Her love of the macabre inspired her New York Times bestselling series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod and its spin-off, the Slayer Chronicles. She dresses in black, decorates her office with antique medical instruments, and loves the music of Green Day—in fact, “Misery” was inspired by one of their songs by the same name. Heather lives in St. Louis
with her husband, two children, and three very spoiled cats. Visit her online at HeatherBrewer.com.
MEG CABOT was born during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign, but learned at an early age that a good storyteller can always give herself a happy ending. Her books for adults, teens, and tweens have sold more than sixteen million copies worldwide and included multiple number-one New York Times bestsellers. Her Princess Diaries series has been published in more than thirty-eight countries and was made into two hit films by Disney. Meg’s award-winning books include the Mediator series, Insatiable, Abandon, and the Heather Wells mystery series. Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit-forming”) lives in Key West with two cats and her husband, who doesn’t know he married a fire horse. Please don’t tell him.
MATT DE LA PEÑA is the author of four critically acclaimed young adult novels: Ball Don’t Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, and I Will Save You. He received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. He teaches creative writing at NYU and speaks at high schools and colleges throughout the country. Matt de la Peña lives in Brooklyn, New York.
SIMONE ELKELES is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning series Perfect Chemistry, Leaving Paradise, and How to Ruin. Simone was named Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English and loves writing teen novels that appeal to both boys and girls. Find her at SimoneElkeles.net.
KAMI GARCIA is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and internationally bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels. Beautiful Creatures has been published in over forty countries and translated into over thirty languages and is in production as a major motion picture. Kami is also the author of Unbreakable, the first book in her solo series, the Legion, which is being developed as a major motion picture by Mark Morgan, producer of the Twilight Saga and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. When she is not writing, Kami can usually be found watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking Diet Coke. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and daughter and their dogs, Spike and Oz (named after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Keep up with her at KamiGarcia.com.
MICHAEL GRANT is the author or coauthor of more than 150 books, including the Animorphs series (with his wife, Katherine Applegate), the Gone series, and the BZRK series. He and Katherine are teaming up again for Eve and Adam. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
MALINDA LO, a former entertainment reporter, is the author of several YA fantasy and science fiction novels, including most recently Adaptation. Her first novel, Ash, a lesbian retelling of the Cinderella story, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award, the Andre Norton Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. She lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog. Visit her website at MalindaLo.com.
LISA MCMANN is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy, Dead to You, Cryer’s Cross, and the dystopian fantasy series The Unwanteds. She lives with her husband and their teenage son and daughter in Arizona. Visit her at LisaMcMann.com.
RICHELLE MEAD is an internationally bestselling author of fantasy novels for adults and teens. Her Vampire Academy series has received honors from the American Library Association and was recently followed by Bloodlines, a spin-off series about a secret society keeping the vampire world hidden from humans. Richelle’s books have been translated into more than two dozen languages around the world and transformed into graphic novels. A lifelong reader, Richelle loves mythology and wacky humor. When she’s not writing, she can be found spending time with her family in Seattle, buying dresses, and watching bad reality TV. For more information about Richelle, visit RichelleMead.com.
SAUNDRA MITCHELL has been a phone psychic, a car salesperson, a denture deliverer, and a layout waxer. She has dodged trains, endured basic training, and hitchhiked from Montana to California. She teaches herself languages, raises children, and makes paper for fun. She is the author of Shadowed Summer, The Vespertine, The Springsweet, and the forthcoming novels The Elementals and Mistwalker. She is also the editor of the upcoming YA anthology Defy the Dark. She always picks truth; dares are too easy. Visit her online at SaundraMitchell.com.
DIANA PETERFREUND is the author of eight novels, including the Secret Society Girl series, the killer unicorn novels Rampant and Ascendant, and the postapocalyptic For Darkness Shows the Stars. Her work has been translated into twelve languages, and her short stories have appeared on Locus’s Best of the Year list and been included in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, volume 5. Learn more about Diana at DianaPeterfreund.com.
CARRIE RYAN is the New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, The Dark and Hollow Places, and the original ebook Hare Moon. She has contributed to multiple story collections, including most recently Zombies vs. Unicorns, Kiss Me Deadly, and Enthralled. Her work has been translated into over eighteen languages and her first novel is in production as a major motion picture. Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Carrie is a graduate of Williams College and Duke University School of Law. A former litigator, she now writes full-time and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Visit her at CarrieRyan.com.
MARGARET STOHL is the author of the forthcoming sci-fifantasy novel Icons and coauthor of the acclaimed Beautiful Creatures novels, which have sold over a million copies in over forty countries and are being adapted into a feature film. Margaret studied literature at Amherst College, Stanford, and Yale and creative writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. She lives with her husband, three daughters, and two bad beagles in Santa Monica, California. Visit her at Margaret-Stohl.com.
LAINI TAYLOR is the author of five books, including Lips Touch: Three Times, which was a National Book Award finalist, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone, named one of Amazon’s Top Ten Books of 2011. She resides between raindrops in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their greatest collaboration, their daughter, Clementine. Visit Laini at LainiTaylor.com.