Marius clicked his tongue, and Azil jumped over the log as though it was nothing.
A carefree, tinkling laugh came from beside him. Vivienne sailed over the obstacle, her graceful movements uninterrupted as she landed smoothly on the other side.
The vampire raced ahead, her feet pounding the snow-covered road, before she called over her shoulder, “Come on then, Prince. Is that all you’ve got?”
The joy infusing her voice would have warmed even the coldest man on the darkest nights.
“Is that a challenge?” he asked.
His bodyguard winked. “Absolutely.”
Laughing, Marius bent over Azil’s neck and whispered words of encouragement. The horse nickered, Marius squeezed his thighs, and they set off even faster than before.
This.
This was the independence he had so desperately sought, the freedom he’d been denied for so long.
As the wind kissed Marius’s cheeks and laughter filled the air, he grinned.
Freedom tasted better than he’d ever imagined.
The light,airy warmth in Marius’s heart remained for several hours.The moon was still high, and the snow was picking up when, suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled.
The air abruptly chilled as though he’d been dunked in the Black Sea.
Birds halted their serenades mid-stanza. Wolves ceased howling. Owls cut off mid-hoot. Even the wind, which had been tickling Marius’s cheeks and whispering in his ears, suddenly fell silent.
Marius squeezed his thighs, signaling for Azil to slow, and he looked around for the source of the disturbance. They were still in the middle of the forest, the road little more than packed dirt and snow, but something was different.
His heart pounded, and the reins slipped in his hands. Azil stopped, her nostrils flaring as white clouds billowed in the night air.
Seconds later, Vivienne skidded to a stop in front of him. Her sword sang as she unsheathed it, drawing it over her head in an arc as enormous midnight bat wings unfurled from her back.
She widened her stance, an aura of protective violence radiating off her. Gone was the joyful creature of darkness racing through the night.
Now, she was a bringer of death, through and through. His bodyguard, first and foremost.
She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes wide. “Do you smell that?”
He drew in a deep breath, but he instantly regretted it. Before, the air had smelled bad. Now, it stank of death and decay, as though a hundred rotting corpses surrounded them.
But there were no bodies that would produce that kind of stench.
“I do.” He wrinkled his nose, trying not to breathe. His efforts were largely useless. Now that he noticed the stench, it was getting worse with every passing moment.
Vivienne’s black eyes hardened. “Igo first, Prince.”
Not a question. A command.
For once, Marius had no problem listening to orders. Growing up in a castle with vampires, he was especially skilled at recognizing danger. Right now, death was in the air. With every inhalation, every passing second, it drew nearer.
He dipped his chin and dismounted with ease. Holding the reins in his left hand, he withdrew his dagger with his right.
Vivienne snapped her wings together, her shoulders tense as she led him into the forest. She was a silent wraith moving through the woods, her sword clearing a path and her feet barely touching the snow.
Thanking all the gods that the breathtaking, powerful vampire was on his side, Marius followed her lead.
The scent of death grew stronger until it was the only thing he could smell. The stench was made worse by the strange silence blanketing the forest.