Chapter 13 · The Hunter Is Back

The runes were still burning when I realized what I'd done.

Silver light crawled up every wall. Every pillar. The palace looked like someone had carved it out of lightning. And the screaming—vampires don't scream like that unless they're dying. Or terrified.

I looked down at my hand. Blood dripped from my palm onto stone that glowed back at me. The blade was still in my other hand. My blade. Hunter blade.

I was a Wren.

And everyone in this court knew it now.

"Iris." Dorian's voice cut through the chaos. He was on his feet, shadows still smoking off his shoulders where his father's bindings had been. His eyes locked on me. Not cold anymore. Afraid. "We need to move. Now."

"Move where?" My voice came out too loud. Too sharp. The runes pulsed with my heartbeat and I felt it—something old and furious waking up inside me. "You knew. You all knew what happened to my family."

"Not here." He stepped toward me and I stepped back. The blade in my hand hummed. It wanted blood. His blood. Three hundred years of blood debt and I was holding the receipt. "Iris, please. They'll come for you.