Page 77 of Dhampira

I gave a slight nod.

We finished the dance and immediately launched into another. Rasimir observed from his throne, his chin propped in his palm. The music changed, the rhythm more sedate. Overhead, the nighttime sky deepened to black. The reflection of the thousands of orbs in the chandeliers glittered in the windows.

Lorcan stared down at me, a slight furrow between his brows. The female acrobat tumbled through the air above him. My gown swung wide, and the world seemed to slow. Caught in Lorcan’s gaze, I sank into his grip, my body finally moving without conscious thought. It was a surrender of sorts, letting myself be led. Trusting him to keep us from crashing into anyone else. His fingers spanned the small of my back. The dragonstones on my dress trailed narrow ribbons of ruby light. The lines between Lorcan’s dark brows deepened, and his low voice flowed through my mind.

Don’t fight me.

Before I could fully absorb the warning, he stopped and pulled me into a kiss.

I went rigid.

Lorcan stroked his tongue deep, his voice in my head thrusting just as thoroughly. In a few seconds, werewolves are going to crash through the windows. Rasimir is expecting them. He wants you to prove yourself in front of the court.

My gasp was lost in the give and take of his tongue and the scrape of his fangs against my lips. Long fingers slid through my hair and cupped my head. Lorcan bent me backward, one hard forearm like steel against the small of my back. His taste was different from Vander’s. Darker but not unpleasant. And he was warm.

No, hot. Lorcan burned like fire, every bold caress sending heat crackling over my tongue and down my throat. I’d been wrong to think him cold.

You have to drink, Corinthe, he said in my mind. Don’t be afraid.

His lips left mine. Cheers burst around us as he pulled me upright. We stood alone in the center of the dance floor. Courtiers applauded our kiss with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. But a weightier regard turned my head. Rasimir observed from his throne, his hands resting on the arms and one leg slung over the other. He didn’t look pleased.

Glass exploded along the wall. Shouts rang out as dozens of wolves leaped through the broken windows and charged across the ballroom. Courtiers hissed, baring long fangs. With a sweep of its head, one werewolf sent a man flying into a pillar.

Rasimir jumped to his feet. “We’re under attack!” He swung toward the knights positioned at the doors. “Remove these vermin from our presence!”

The knights sprang forward, drawing their swords as they ran. More knights poured through the doors behind them. Overhead, the female acrobat released a terrorized shriek as she flapped toward the musicians’ balcony. Growls ripped through the air. Everywhere, vampires and werewolves clashed.

A furry shape shot past me, and I spun to see a wolf slam into Lord Seldare. The impact took them to the ground, where they bit viciously at each other. Seldare roared. Shockwaves warped the air. Before they reached me, a growl at my back made me whip around.

Lorcan battled with a werewolf on the edge of the dance floor. The wolf’s eyes glowed a deep yellow as it lunged at him repeatedly. Lorcan’s fist flew, striking the wolf in the shoulder. The beast recoiled, shook its head once, and charged forward again. Crouching, Lorcan sprang into the air, leaping over the wolf and landing behind it.

Someone tackled me from behind. Pain exploded in the back of my head, and the floor rushed up. I sprawled on my stomach with the taste of blood in my mouth. As my head spun, fiery pain streaked down my back and hot, rancid breath blasted into my ear and seared my nose.

The monster inside me scrabbled to the surface. My fangs ripped through my gums as I flipped onto my back, swinging a fist as I turned. My knuckles glanced off a werewolf’s fang. My skin tore open, and my blood splattered over the wolf’s snout. Yellow eyes filled my vision as the beast plunged its jaws to my neck.

Gritting my teeth, I slammed my fist into its throat. The impact lifted it off my shoulders, giving me a look at the stump where one of its paws should have been.

Recognition barreled through me. I battled the same wolf Vander had chased earlier in the day. And it was out for blood. From the way wet spread down my back, it had already drawn it. It lunged at me again, its saliva splashing my face. I threw up an arm, a scream of rage breaking from me as I landed another punch to its throat. The claws of its good paw sank into my shoulder, sending more fire down my arm. It coughed, the sound like a dog’s bark. I brought up both knees hard and bucked the wolf off me.

I got a split-second reprieve. And it was enough. My feet hit the floor, and the werewolf struck, its front legs on my shoulders and its jaws in my face. Standing on its hind legs, the wolf’s head loomed above mine. As it drove me backward, the throne swung into my line of sight. Rasimir sat with his fingers laced under his chin and his gaze fixed on me. Vander started forward, and Rasimir lifted a hand, his lips rounding in an unmistakable No.

Vander stopped. His freckles stood out on his pale face, and his hands twitched at his sides. But he stayed put, his features falling into indifference.

My back slammed into something hard. A pillar. More fire streaked down my spine. My shoulders burned as I thrust out my arms, my hands buried in the fur of the werewolf’s chest as I struggled to fend it off. It snapped its jaws in my face, its yellow eyes rolling. It meant to kill me.

And Rasimir was prepared to let it happen. His entire court would either watch me triumph or die.

Well, I wasn’t fucking dying tonight.

The werewolf expected me to keep shoving at its chest. Instead, I let my knees buckle. As I dropped down, its momentum jerked its body forward. My face landed in its hairy, matted underbelly. Fur blinded me. More fur entered my nose and mouth. The scent of dirt, musk, and sweat gagged me. But something sweet flowed in rivers just under the surface.

Aim for the soft bits, my mother’s voice whispered in my memory.

I plunged my fangs deep.

The werewolf howled above me. Claws scrabbled at my shoulder, raising stripes of fire. I bit deeper and shook my head, growls spilling from me as hot blood pumped down my throat. A punch of sweetness followed, and satisfaction spun through me. I’d hit an organ. Something vital the beast couldn’t live without. Fangs locked around flesh and muscle. I drank faster.

The claws on my shoulder slowed…and then stilled. The werewolf shuddered.