The Vampire in the Pines
1715 Words
Future Ashen.
“Papa,” my daughter whispered, “was the vampire scary?”
I looked toward the window, where night pressed black against the glass.
“Yes.”
My son leaned forward. “Scarier than the hunters?”
“In a different way.”
“What way?”
I smiled faintly.
“Hunters wanted coin. Ravenna Selka wanted entertainment.”
My daughter blinked. “That’s worse.”
“Much worse.”
My son frowned. “Then why did he save her?”
I turned the ring on my finger.
“Because the cinder boy had a terrible habit of saving people before deciding if they deserved it.”
“And did she deserve it?”
I thought of red eyes, sharp fangs, and a woman who complained her way into loyalty.
“Not at first,” I said. “But that never stopped him.”
The vampire smiled at us like we were late to an event she had personally been looking forward to ruining.
Moon was in my arms, still weak from Nara’s blast. Her fingers clutched the front of my shirt, not tightly enough to hurt, but enough that I could feel she was awake now. Aware. Afraid, though she tried to hide it.
Solan stood a few feet away, one hand wrapped around the hilt of his blade, the other pressed against his ribs. He had nearly died minutes ago. Veyra had given him one of her lives, and he looked like someone had dragged him back from the edge of the world by the collar.
Veyra was gone.
Nara was gone.
The fae portal had sealed.
And between us and the northern trail stood a vampire with fangs, red eyes, and the kind of confidence that made death look underdressed.
“Hey, guys,” she said brightly. “Where’s the party? I saw the lights.”
Her gaze dropped to the blood staining the snow where Solan had nearly died.
“Oh,” she purred. “And snacks.”
Solan lifted his blade higher. “That is deeply rude.”
The vampire’s smile widened. “Werewolf prince, yes?”
Solan’s eyes narrowed. “Depends who is asking.”
“A woman with excellent taste and terrible finances.” She tilted her head, studying him. “You look half-dead. Cute, but inconvenient. I prefer my meals with more fight.”
Moon’s fingers tightened against my shirt.
I shifted her higher in my arms.
The vampire’s red eyes moved to her.
“Princess Moona PentNova,” she said. “Alive, as requested. Pale, unconscious-adjacent, but breathing. Dorian will be thrilled.”
My jaw tightened.
The vampire noticed.
“Oh, do not make that face, Snow Prince. I am not the one who put a price on your tragic little head. I simply saw a job posting and thought, why not? Bounty work builds character. Also, I overspent this century.”
Solan blinked. “This century?”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Former queen. Immortal. Financially irresponsible. Try to keep up.”
Moon lifted her head slightly. “Former queen?”
The vampire gave her a lazy bow. “Ravenna Selka. Former Vampire Queen of the Crimson Vale, current bounty hunter, reluctant member of the working class, and generally superior to everyone present.”
Solan glanced at me. “We are being hunted by unemployed royalty.”
“Underemployed,” Ravenna corrected. “There is a difference.”
I did not lower Moon.
I could fight while holding her if I had to.
Not well.
But enough.
Ravenna’s gaze flicked to my arms, then my face.
“You are really going to fight me while carrying her?”
“If I have to.”
Her eyes sparkled. “That is so stupidly heroic I almost feel bad about killing you.”
“Almost?”
“I am trying not to grow as a person.”
She vanished.
Not fast.
Gone.
One heartbeat she stood between the pines. The next, black mist curled through the air.
“Left!” Solan barked.
I turned.
Ravenna appeared beside me, one hand reaching for Moon’s throat, nails sharp as claws. I twisted away, using my body as a shield. Her nails tore through the shoulder of my coat instead.
She laughed.
“Oh, he does move.”
Solan lunged.
Ravenna slipped under his blade and flicked two fingers against his wrist. He hissed, hand spasming open.
“Careful, little moon prince,” she said. “You are held together by arrogance and whatever that fae did to you.”
Solan’s mouth curved despite the pain. “And yet still charming.”
“Debatable.”
Moon stirred harder in my arms. “Put me down.”
“No.”
“Ashen—”
“You hit a tree.”
“I am aware.”
Ravenna clapped once. “Adorable. Domestic arguing during combat. Wolves truly are emotional furniture.”
I lowered Moon behind me near the base of a tree, fast but careful. Her knees nearly buckled. I caught her chin with two fingers before her head dipped too far.
“Stay behind me.”
Her eyes flashed. “I am not helpless.”
“I know.” I touched her cheek once. “But you are hurt.”
The anger in her face softened for half a breath.
That half breath cost me.
Ravenna came again.
This time she moved like smoke wrapped around a knife.
I met her halfway.
Her hand went for my throat. Mine caught her wrist. She twisted, too fast, and kicked at my knee. I shifted back. Her other hand slashed across my arm, drawing blood.
She inhaled.
Her eyes brightened.
“Oh.” Her voice dropped. “That is interesting.”
I shoved her back.
She landed lightly, licking my blood from the tip of one finger.
Moon growled.
Ravenna looked delighted. “Princess, if you make that sound again, I might understand why wolves enjoy each other.”
Solan coughed. “Please do not flirt with the enemy while she is threatening us.”
“I was not flirting,” Ravenna said. “I was academically observing possessive growling.”
Then she lifted one hand.
The blood in my arm pulled.
Not out.
Inward.
My muscles locked for half a second.
Moon’s eyes widened. “Ashen!”
Royal vampire blood magic.
I forced ice into my veins.
The pull snapped.
Ravenna’s brows lifted.
“Well, that was rude.”
“You tried to control my blood.”
“And you resisted. We are both learning.”
Solan stepped into a thin strip of moonlight and flicked his blade upward. Silver light caught the edge. He moved faster than he should have, closing the distance between himself and Ravenna.
For a moment, he looked every inch a prince.
Pale. Injured. Elegant.
Deadly enough to matter.
Ravenna blocked him with one forearm and smiled. “You should be in bed.”
“You should be in a coffin.”
“Too predictable.”
She drove her palm into his chest.
Solan staggered.
I moved.
Ravenna turned to strike me, but something hissed from the trees behind her.
A blade flew through the dark.
Not at me.
At her.
Bloodsilver.
Ravenna’s eyes widened.
She moved to shadow-step, but the weapon had been marked. It followed her through the smoke, curving like it had a scent.
For one second, she stopped smiling.
I did not think.
I grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of its path.
The blade sliced across her palm instead of her heart.
She slammed into me with a furious hiss, one bloody hand catching my chest for balance. Her fingers closed over my right hand.
Over my ring.
Blood smeared across the Frostveil crest.
The ring went cold.
Then red.
Ravenna froze.
So did I.
Something snapped between us.
Not like the mate bond.
Not warm.
Not sacred.
This was sharp.
Old.
Commanding.
A chain made of blood, frost, and law.
Ravenna ripped her hand back, but it was already too late.
A red-frost mark curled around her wrist like a bracelet of thorns.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh, no.” Her voice dropped. “No, no, no. Absolutely not.”
I looked at my ring. “What happened?”
She stared at me like I had murdered her favorite century.
“You saved me with a royal blood ring while I was bleeding, you walking snow disaster.”
Solan lowered his blade slightly. “Meaning?”
“Meaning,” she snapped, lifting her marked wrist, “I am now blood-contracted to him.”
Moon pushed herself upright against the tree. “Blood-contracted how?”
Ravenna’s jaw clenched.
“Loyalty. Command obedience. Distance pull.” Her red eyes cut murderously to me. “And apparently—”
Her voice stopped.
Then another voice exploded inside my head.
Do not look so horrified. I am the victim here.
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Her face twisted with pure disgust.
“Oh, I hate this already.”
Solan blinked. “Did she just speak into your mind?”
“Yes,” I said.
Ravenna pointed at me. “Do not answer like we are sharing a skill. This is not a hobby. This is captivity with mental windows.”
“I did not mean to.”
“Wonderful. Accidental enslavement. How romantic for absolutely no one.”
Moon stepped closer to me, though she still looked unsteady. Her eyes narrowed at Ravenna’s wrist.
“It makes you loyal to him?”
Ravenna gave her a sharp smile. “Do not look so pleased, princess. I am emotionally opposed to loyalty.”
“You were trying to take me to Dorian.”
“Yes, well, nobody is perfect.”
A rustle came from the trees.
The bloodsilver blade had not flown alone.
Two bounty wolves stepped from the pines, followed by a thin man in a black hood holding a second marked weapon. His eyes went from Ravenna to me.
“Contracted?” he hissed. “To the target?”
Ravenna sighed. “Yes. Thank you for announcing my humiliation.”
The hooded man smiled. “Then we kill him and take you both.”
Ravenna opened her mouth.
I spoke first.
“Stay behind me.”
- Writer
