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Chapter. 47

A hand wraps around the vampire’s neck. The grip on my wrists disappears, and I fall to the floor as my legs fail to support my weight. Keld flies across the room. His body crashes through a wooden table, snapping it in half like a twig.

Rahlan kicks Keld’s sword from his belt before the groaning vampire knows what’s going on.

Rahlan kneels in front of me, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Are you injured?” His eyes run up and down my frame.

I rub my head and wiggle my shoulders. My gut aches, but it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I shake my head, cursing myself for not insisting on wearing the tunic.

Rahlan stands, and his attention returns to Keld, who is in the process of sitting up.

“Did I not make myself clear,” Rahlan says.

Keld rubs his head. “What?”

Rahlan kicks Keld across the face, sending his torso back against the broken wood.

A low groan escapes Keld’s lips, blood now running from his nose.

Rahlan raises his foot over Keld’s stomach. “I said that I will discipline my pet, not you.” He stomps down, and Keld cries out from the impact.

I stand up with one hand nursing my middle and the other on the wall for balance. A part of me is happy to see Keld get a taste of his own treatment. That’s what it feels like to be powerless, to be at the mercy of someone who wishes to do you harm. Maybe now he’ll think twice before inflicting that feeling onto others.

“Lord,” Keld chokes.

“I said arrest her and go no further.” Rahlan slams his boot into Keld’s side, making him wail. He pulls back his foot for another strike. Keld’s wide eyes follow the boot, and he tries to shield himself from the blow.

I know that feeling, desperately hoping that that boot won’t slam into my side again, praying that his assault will end soon, wanting nothing more than for the onslaught of pain to stop, wishing to be anywhere else. It was the night when Rahlan beat me for my escape attempt. That night, when I was struggling to ignore the residual pain and fall asleep, I promised myself that if I ever held power over someone, that I would never cause pain for the sake of it.

I grab onto Rahlan’s coat. His boot stops in midair, and he steps back to steady himself.

“No more,” I say, shaking my head.

“I shall take retribution as I please. Remove your hand.”

“No,” I stumble forward into him, propping myself up between the two of them. “You will not hurt people because of me. You will not.”

He looks over my head at the vampire clutching his stomach on the ground.

I tug on his coat, pulling his attention back to me. Keld didn’t kill me. I’ve got little more than a few new bruises, and it’s not like this is the first time I’ve been struck by a vampire.

I drag him away from Keld, encouraging him to follow me out the house. His eyes land on the group of kneeling humans in the village center, and he remembers the reason he’s here. He straightens his coat and marches back to them.

There’s movement in the corner of my eye. It’s the young girl, hiding in the small gap between a house and a barn. Her legs support her weight without the help of the wall, suggesting that her injuries aren’t too bad.

She could land up in trouble if she’s found separated from the others. I hold out my hand to her. “Come.”

She hesitates for a moment. I smile, trying to appear as welcoming as possible while hiding the pain emanating from my middle.

She steps out from the structure, and a little boy follows with his hand locked in hers. They’re siblings. That’s who she was protecting. Without their parents, she took on the role of looking after her younger brother. Just like Jacob did for me.

She approaches, and I keep an eye out for any stiffness in her gait. It looks good considering the beating she suffered from Keld’s fist. I take her hand in mine and lead them both to the village center.

The urge to glance back to see if Keld is following gnaws at me, but I don’t want to worry the girl. I doubt he’s in a state to move right now.

I kneel at the back of the group of villagers, encouraging the boy and girl to kneel beside me. There are roughly thirty people, far fewer than I’d expect for so many houses. The others must have died in battle or fled well before we arrived.

Rahlan stands before the crowd, his menacing expression keeping their attention. His eyes scan the villagers, observing his new subjects. His gaze stops on me. He signals to Julke and points in my direction.

The blond-haired vampire circles around the group, drawing their nervous gazes. His hand wraps around my arm, gently tugging me up and pulling me to follow him.

I move without a struggle, not wanting to cause a scene and make the villagers worry. There is no danger, no reason to fight. The boy and girl watch me leave with wide eyes. I smile at them, trying to ease their nerves.

Julke and I stop a few feet behind Rahlan. He’s pacing from side to side with his hands behind his back and his eyes on the jittery villagers. They’re dead silent, each one afraid that Rahlan will single them out.

What do they think of me now, standing among the vampires while they kneel, decorated in royal clothing while theirs is muddied?

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