Page 3 of Treasured

“When do things ever go to plan?” I asked.

He chuckled, his hands slipping from my cloak to unclasp it from around my neck.

“Not often, Princess.” Sebastian pulled me onto his lap. I straddled him, and he exposed his throat. “Drink. We’ll leave once the sun sets.”

I eyed him. I wasn’t the only hungry vampire here. “I will if you do, too.”

The last thing we needed was for either of us to lose strength. As a Fledgling vampire, I needed more blood than him. Still, I didn’t want Sebastian to go hungry. One of the gifts of the Tether was that our blood sustained the other. Isvana ensured that Tethered partners could supply each other with whatever they needed as long as they remained close.

His eyes glimmered. “You’re getting bossy, darling.”

I smirked. “Only for you. Will you?”

He considered me for another moment before nodding. “Yes.”

Warmth settled in my core as we shifted, positioning ourselves for easy access. We could drink from our wrists, but why would we when this was so much more… pleasant?

His fangs pierced my flesh moments after I bit him, and his blood’s smoky, cinnamon flavor entered me.

As we drank, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go wrong tonight. I hoped I was being ridiculous, that my fears were for nothing, but a knot formed in my stomach.

What was waiting for us out in the snow?

* * *

Unfortunately, I was right.

Everything went to hell a few hours after we left the cave. We were flying through a blizzard when it began.

A piercing, shooting pain started behind my temples as though someone was repeatedly stabbing me in the eyes. That quickly bloomed into agony, which spread through me like a searing, scorching fire.

My wings faltered, and my back muscles quivered. My lungs tightened. My head pounded.

I cried out, the pain growing exponentially worse by the second.

I shook my head, which was a mistake of epic proportions. My brain slammed against my skull. My shadows pulsed and writhed in warning. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.

At the exact same moment, Sebastian cried out. The deep, anguished sound shook me to my core, and alarm raced through me. I looked for him in front of me, but he was gone.

The sky was empty. Clouds dotted the expansive night, but Sebastian was nowhere to be seen. My heart thrummed a frantic beat in my chest.

I looked all around, but I didn’t see him.

Then I looked down.

A strangled scream ripped from my throat.

Wrong.

This was so wrong.

That knot in my stomach was so large, it dragged me down like a millstone.

Sebastian’s wings should have kept him in the air, but they had failed him. He wasn’t flying. He wasn’t even falling.

He was careening to the ground.

Too fast.