Prince of Shadows Read Online Free
Author: Tes Hilaire
as we speak.>>
Valin sagged down onto the pavement, the adrenaline crash hitting him like a freight train. Gabby had been here. Less than five feet from him. And heâd lost her, again.
<>
Valin stared at the puddle of sticky blood, thinking of how not all of it was the vamps. Some of that had been Gabbyâs too. A lot of it, actually.
Sheâs okay. Okay enough to run away, at least.
<< V alin?>>
He rubbed his hands over his face, forcing his legs back under him as he stood. Looked like his plans for a reunion had been put on hold. <>
<>
<> Only this time heâd be ready. There was no way Gabby would get a chance to run away from him again.
***
Gabbyâs heart hammered, her skin itching under the thin coating of sweat as she stared at the fifteen cement steps that might as well be Mount Everest for the Herculean effort it was going to take to climb them on her shaking legs. She couldnât decide if she was edgy or exhausted. Probably both.
Nothing had gone as planned. She hadnât been able to get away from Aaron to feed. Nor had she obtained a new recruit to spy on the coven with. On top of those failures had come the last straw: the run-in with the damn Paladinâ¦or rather the Paladins . Not that she was going to think about him, no, them , right now. Not yet. Not until she was alone and could deal privately with her urge to scream. Or break something. Or damn it, curl up and cry.
First she had to climb those stairs.
She did it, though, as Aaron hovered beside her, his face pinched in concern, hand outstretched and ready to catch if need be. Good thing he didnât actually touch her. She might not have been able to control herself.
Blood seeped from the base of her throat, the sticky warmth forking over her breast to drip down her cleavage and run down the underside of her arm, coating her T-shirt in the process. The coppery stench filled her nostrils, turning her stomach even as it woke the beast within.
Eats garlic. And his trick with the flickering lights had come at just the right moment during their fight to distract the vampire.
âHold on.â Aaron raced ahead. Gabby dragged herself up the last couple steps as he punched in the code, then yanked the rusted metal door open for her. The moment she was through he was back by her side, hovering again. Garlic, garlic, garlicâ¦
âYou should check in with Jacob,â she told him, and when he opened his mouth to argue she said, âI think I can make it from here.â She smiled, careful to make sure her elongated fangs stayed covered. It mustâve looked more like a grimace if the dubious look on his young face was any indication.
His jaw tightened. âI think Iâll see you to Shae first.â
Gabby started to shake her head, but thought better of it. Their resident doctor tended to hold to a very old-school form of medicine. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning if youâre still alive. Gabby figured she could be in and out in under thirty seconds if she played her cards right. And given that Aaron would probably hound her until she had, it was better to just get it over withâ¦so she could get on with her private temper tantrum. Damn, but the cocky bastard had looked good fighting. But conceited. Still so fucking conceited.
Donât think of him, Gabby. Not yet.
They started down the hall. With each step, Gabby forced herself to walk just a little bit straighter, even though it cost her even more of her reserves.
She didnât need a doctor, she needed a donor.
Trying not to think about the meals-on-legs beside herâor the man she really wanted to take a chunk out ofâshe concentrated on her surroundings, which, okay, were not all that inspiring. Built sometime in the mid-1900s, the old private school had either gone bankrupt or moved on to
Valin sagged down onto the pavement, the adrenaline crash hitting him like a freight train. Gabby had been here. Less than five feet from him. And heâd lost her, again.
<
Valin stared at the puddle of sticky blood, thinking of how not all of it was the vamps. Some of that had been Gabbyâs too. A lot of it, actually.
Sheâs okay. Okay enough to run away, at least.
<< V alin?>>
He rubbed his hands over his face, forcing his legs back under him as he stood. Looked like his plans for a reunion had been put on hold. <
<
<
***
Gabbyâs heart hammered, her skin itching under the thin coating of sweat as she stared at the fifteen cement steps that might as well be Mount Everest for the Herculean effort it was going to take to climb them on her shaking legs. She couldnât decide if she was edgy or exhausted. Probably both.
Nothing had gone as planned. She hadnât been able to get away from Aaron to feed. Nor had she obtained a new recruit to spy on the coven with. On top of those failures had come the last straw: the run-in with the damn Paladinâ¦or rather the Paladins . Not that she was going to think about him, no, them , right now. Not yet. Not until she was alone and could deal privately with her urge to scream. Or break something. Or damn it, curl up and cry.
First she had to climb those stairs.
She did it, though, as Aaron hovered beside her, his face pinched in concern, hand outstretched and ready to catch if need be. Good thing he didnât actually touch her. She might not have been able to control herself.
Blood seeped from the base of her throat, the sticky warmth forking over her breast to drip down her cleavage and run down the underside of her arm, coating her T-shirt in the process. The coppery stench filled her nostrils, turning her stomach even as it woke the beast within.
Eats garlic. And his trick with the flickering lights had come at just the right moment during their fight to distract the vampire.
âHold on.â Aaron raced ahead. Gabby dragged herself up the last couple steps as he punched in the code, then yanked the rusted metal door open for her. The moment she was through he was back by her side, hovering again. Garlic, garlic, garlicâ¦
âYou should check in with Jacob,â she told him, and when he opened his mouth to argue she said, âI think I can make it from here.â She smiled, careful to make sure her elongated fangs stayed covered. It mustâve looked more like a grimace if the dubious look on his young face was any indication.
His jaw tightened. âI think Iâll see you to Shae first.â
Gabby started to shake her head, but thought better of it. Their resident doctor tended to hold to a very old-school form of medicine. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning if youâre still alive. Gabby figured she could be in and out in under thirty seconds if she played her cards right. And given that Aaron would probably hound her until she had, it was better to just get it over withâ¦so she could get on with her private temper tantrum. Damn, but the cocky bastard had looked good fighting. But conceited. Still so fucking conceited.
Donât think of him, Gabby. Not yet.
They started down the hall. With each step, Gabby forced herself to walk just a little bit straighter, even though it cost her even more of her reserves.
She didnât need a doctor, she needed a donor.
Trying not to think about the meals-on-legs beside herâor the man she really wanted to take a chunk out ofâshe concentrated on her surroundings, which, okay, were not all that inspiring. Built sometime in the mid-1900s, the old private school had either gone bankrupt or moved on to
Readers choose
Matthew Ballard
Erika Masten, Catherine Vale, Bryce Evans, Michelle Fox, Elle Boon, Katalina Leon
Roberta Kray
Vanessa Devereaux
Steve Miller, Sharon Lee
Kristen Proby
Alain de Botton
D C Grant
J.T. Edson
Linda Baletsa