Page 48 of Fall into Place

But before she could take a third step, she felt one hand close around her wrist as another moved over her mouth.

“Don’t scream,” came a whisper. “Don’t move at all.”

Was that—

“Callum?” She turned, and there he was, wearing a grin tinged with violence. “How did you find me? How did you even know I was here? And who are those vampires—”

“Afraid we don’t have time for chitchat, love. One of us needs to kill a couple of vampires, and the other needs to run to her horse and trot on home. I trust you can figure out which is which?”

Tess rolled her eyes. Leave it to Callum Yoo to come to her literal rescue and still manage to annoy the absolute hell out of her.

“Fine.” Tess sighed. “What’s the plan?”

“I kill,” he said slowly. “You run. Do you need me to use smaller words?”

“No, I think I’ve got it.”

“Good.”

And with that, he left her and raced toward the two vampires, who were now less than forty feet away.

“Thomas, Althea,” he greeted them coolly. “Lovely weather we’ve been having.”

“Callum. You’re far from home,” the woman vampire said.

“I could say the same of you,” Callum replied, his tone casual—but Tess could hear the edge of a threat.

“You’re on our side of the Isle,” said Thomas.

Did that mean they were part of Felix’s clan? Tess assumed they had to be, given how chilly the vampires and Callum were being with one another.

“South of the forest is fair game,” Callum countered. “Which means you are too.”

“Is that a threat?” Althea hissed.

“Doesn’t have to be.” Callum shrugged. “You could go home to your shiny castle, knit some little mittens, maybe do a puzzle? We go our separate ways, everyone lives through the night. How’s that suit you?”

“You’re our sworn enemy, Yoo. Why would we show you mercy?” Thomas sneered.

“Oh, was I not clear?” Callum was toying with them now, Tess could feel it. “I’m not the one at risk of dying.”

He moved so quickly she could barely track him, but she heard a terrible scream and a sickening crunch. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Callum had torn Thomas in half and thrown his mangled corpse to the ground.

“You evil bastard,” Althea roared as she leapt toward Callum with such speed and force that it looked to Tess like she was flying. Callum dropped into a deft roll to avoid her, but she caught hold of one of his feet. Her forward momentum propelled them both in Tess’s direction—Althea hoisted him off the ground and launched him into the air like a shot put. Tess covered her mouth to suppress a gasp. Callum tumbled to the ground not fifteen feet away from her.

Tess wanted to run to the horse, but they were too close—she’d certainly be seen if she moved now. Callum sprang back onto his feet as the woman sped toward him; he stopped her with a vicious punch to the throat, and she bent over, gasping for air.

“What’s the matter, Althea?” he needled. “Cat got your tongue?”

“You won’t best me,” she wheezed, her windpipe clearly broken. “I’m stronger than you.”

“God, you’re so boring. Just throw a bloody punch already.”

He dove for her knees, knocking her to the ground with a hard thud. She kicked his head upward, sending his body reeling backward, but he was strong enough to plant his feet firmly and end up standing. She leapt up, and the hand-to-hand combat was brutal and intense. Callum was a magnificent fighter, nimble and graceful as he ducked punches and twirled into devastating kicks. But Althea was right—she was stronger than he was. And she was driving Callum closer to Tess with every landed blow.

They were just a few feet away now, and Tess could see Althea clearly: She was nearly as tall as Callum, broadly muscled with dirty-blond hair pulled back in a braid, wearing form-fitting black clothes that looked made for combat. She went to kick Callum again, but he grabbed her leg and twisted it to a sickening angle, and Althea yowled in pain. Callum pounced on her and sent them both hurtling to the ground. They landed with Callum on top—he wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed.

“Pity you have to die this way,” Callum clucked. “I thought you’d know better than to pick a fight you can’t win.”