Betrayed by Blood (Bloodlines Trilogy Book 1) by Liz Knox

Author:Liz Knox [Knox, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knox Publishing
Published: 2022-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

11

Rhea

I’m in tow behind Brenex and striving to hide my limp as we follow a man who looks oddly familiar to me.

Recognition tickles my brain as though his face is something I should know, and yet I can’t quite make the final leap as to his identity. But he arrived just in time to save us from those soldiers, and I will be forever grateful for his intervention.

He didn’t need to help us, strangers. Still, his control over those bats—real bats!—made all the difference.

He’s probably one of my grandfather’s high guards. Someone sent from the castle after being alerted to our approach. When he saw us in trouble, he stepped up. Simple.

That explanation makes the most sense to me.

There’s no way Dracula and his people will let us simply stroll right up to the front door and knock to announce ourselves in his domain. This is the welcoming committee, I think to myself, a bubble of hysterical laughter bursting out from inside of me.

No one spares me a glance at the sound, however. I quickly smother any other automatic reactions and attempt to mimic Brenex. He’s staring straight ahead, stone-faced and silent.

Except I’ve never done silent well.

“Thank you for taking care of those guards for us,” I finally tell our mysterious savior. Shaking, I wrap my arms around my torso to try and keep some of my warmth in. I fail.

“It was nothing,” the man says.

His accent adds a colorful lilt to the words. Odd and inscrutable. I love the way the syllables sound as they fall from his mouth. They are so different from anything I’ve heard before.

“Were you controlling the bats?”

Brenex shoots me a look filled with amusement over his shoulder but lets me ask my questions.

“They do respond to me, yes. Most of the night creatures will answer to my command when I ask it of them, although I try not to rely on them often.” The man stops. Swiveling around to face me and shooting me a tight-lipped smile. “You are a curious little one, aren’t you?”

“I’ve been called that, yes. Although some may say that my curiosity often comes to my detriment.” I avoid looking at Brenex. He has had nothing but trouble with me and my curiosity over the years. “Then again, I’ve been called many things.”

“Just as I have been called many things. Now, perhaps you can answer a question of mine,” the stranger says.

I’m not sure what I should and should not say in this case, but one question shouldn’t hurt. “What is it?”

“How is it that a child of the Greek Gods and her guardian has shown up on my doorstep? You’ve traveled a long way from Tartarus. Have you not?” he goes on to ask.

I stare at his armor in alarm. “You can tell where I’m from?” Shock has me straightening my spine. How does he know? I glance down sharply at my tattered silks. Perhaps it’s the way I dress that tips him off. Or rather . . . Brenex and his armor.

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