THE EXCITEMENT LACED WITH terror that fills the air around us is palpable. I can smell it on them. The thrill of the hunt races through me, igniting my entire body. My fangs tingle, and I rock on the balls of my feet, ready to take off at any moment. I remind myself this is not real. I don’t condone hunting. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in it.
‘Tick tock,’ Cas taunts them, licking his lips, the neon lights of the nightclubs’ signs drenching his fangs in vivid colouring, bleaching his hair a magnificent neon green.
‘Okay, let’s plan,’ Alex says, turning to Raya.
‘Uh-uh,’ I intervene, placing a firm hand on his arm as it reaches for her. ‘In the real world, you don’t have time for planning.’
Alex huffs, not even looking at me as he turns his back toward me.
‘Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .’ Cas begins.
Alex and Raya take off at a sprint. Cas and I exchange amused grins. We move toward a bench off to the side of the pavement.
‘Anyway,’ Cas says, leaning casually against the tree beside him. ‘Talk to me. What is going on with you and the girl?’
‘Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that,’ I say as I drop into the seat and rest my elbows on my thighs. ‘Have you ever heard of a human and vampire bond?’
Cas stills, his eyes slingshotting to me. ‘What?’
Confirming his question, I nod. ‘Yeah.’
‘I’ve heard of it, sure. Never seen it happen.’
‘I didn’t know it was possible.’
‘It’s very rare,’ he says, giving me a curious look.
‘So they say.’
‘You know how old I am, and I’ve never heard of it actually happening.’
I can only nod.
‘How the hell did that happen?’ he questions, pushing off the tree and coming to sit beside me. He half-turns, directing his entire focus on my face as he assesses me, as if something in my expression will tell him if I’ve left anything out.
I quickly brief him on how it occurred. He listens intently, nodding, and never interrupting my explanation.
‘Well. That’s pretty cool,’ he says.
‘Pretty cool?’ I deadpan.
‘You’re walking, talking history!’ Cas exclaims, shaking my shoulders, his cold fingers digging into my bones. ‘Vampirism can be an incredibly lonely life. Now you have someone to share it with you. This is an amazing thing, Hunter.’
‘Tying her life to mine is not fair on her,’ I argue. ‘Nor is it fair on me. You should read the articles describing the grief of losing your bonded. It leads you into ultimate darkness. Complete and utter insanity. Then, you starve and die.’
‘So,’ Cas says, leaning back, propping up on his elbow. ‘Turn her.’
‘What?’ I jolt in surprise at his words.
‘Turn her.’
I’m torn by the thought. A part of me wants to keep her protected and sheltered from the harshness that can come from being a vampire while the other half of me is desperate to have her as my equal – to never have to be without her. The thought of anything happening to her cleaves my chest in two.
‘And place this curse on her?’
‘Curse?’ Cas scoffs. ‘What? The ability to get whatever you want? Do whatever you want? Live to see the entire world, through all its changes. Gifted with beauty, strength, cunningness.’ He shakes his head. ‘Vampirism is no curse. It is a gift.’
That is exactly what my brother says. And Theo.
Worry and regret swirls in my gut at the thought of Theo. As much as he gets on my nerves, I miss him. I hope he’s okay.
My head falls back, and I look at the dark sky, glittering with colourful, flickering stars. With my eyesight, I can see the details of them, as if I was a mortal peering through a telescope. Cas’s words swirl around inside my head.
A gift, he says.
‘I think they have had a much bigger head start than they should have,’ Cas says, rising to his full height.
‘Yeah.’ I sigh, reluctantly standing.
I don’t like the thought of scaring Raya, and further traumatising her. This is a terrifying thing – being hunted – and she still has nightmares from what happened to her when she first got to Red Thorne. Yet, I respect that she’s chosen this, and it’s up to me to show her what she’s truly up against.
‘Let’s go get them.’ Cas grins before he takes off, leaving fallen leaves circling in his wake.