Blood Bond: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: (Blood Rose Academy) (Haven Hollow Book 27) by H.P. Mallory & J.R. Rain

Author:H.P. Mallory & J.R. Rain [Mallory, H.P. & Rain, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2023-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Maverick

The rat led us through a maze of twisting corridors, all covered in murals.

I gave up trying to track our progress after the twenty-fifth, every landmark blurring together into a mix of marble and painstaking craftsmanship. There seemed to be one of the blasted murals in every corridor, most of them scenes of horrific battles, both victories, and defeats. I’d been right about one thing. The statues detailing the school’s violent history had been shoved out of sight and left to collect dust.

“Charming,” Taliyah drawled as we passed a statue of Sabine Grimsbane towering over the fallen form of Ballard Thorne. His head was on fire, face contorted into a rictus of agony as her hex killed him slowly. She watched on, marble face fixed in an expression of supreme satisfaction.

“If you think things are fraught between our species now, you should have been around for the Blood Wars,” I answered. “I’ve grown up in a time of peace, but Wanda could tell you some stories. The one she survived was more of a skirmish, not a full-on war, but things were still brutal. She lost friends and family. I don’t think vampires and witches will ever be able to make peace with each other. Tense non-aggression pacts are all we can manage.”

“There’s always a way. It may not be obvious or easy, but there’s always a path to reconciliation.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “That’s remarkably optimistic of you. I thought they stomped that sort of thing out of you in the police academy.”

“Not all of it,” she laughed.

“Aren’t hard-boiled detectives supposed to expect the worst from us mere mortals?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been reading too much Dashiell Hammett.”

I cocked my head to the side. “The Maltese Falcon is a classic for a reason.”

Her lips pressed together, going white with the effort it took not to smile or laugh. It made me feel a little lighter. We both knew why we were taking the piss out of each other. Each step took us a little closer to Astrid, but we still weren’t sure what state she’d be in when we found her.

Taliyah’s smile slipped, and she stared ahead in silence for several long minutes. Then, without warning, she turned on one heel, stopping shy of me. It was so sudden that I ran into her, almost knocking her over. I caught her before she could go toppling to the ground. Her expression didn’t change.

“Promise me something, Maverick.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “That depends on the promise. I don’t hand those out lightly.”

“No matter what we find, you have to promise me that you’re not going to go nuts and smite the people in charge here. I understand why you did what you did to Rupert. He had your daughter. I’d have probably done worse if he’d taken my sons and treated them the way he did. I know Astrid is your family, but keep in mind that we’re in a castle full of monsters. This place makes Rupert’s gala look like an intimate family get-together.

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