"Julia, 'tis morning," Rahlan says behind my ear.

"Mmhmm." I nestle deeper into the sleeping pouch.

He inches me around until I'm facing his chest. "You are awake?" he asks.

I yawn and shake my head.

He nudges my body up so I'm at eye level with him.

"I want breakfast in bed," he says.

"Very funny," I mumble.

He pulls my tunic collar back and slides his teeth under my skin. I flinch from the initial sting, but my muscles relax once he stills.

My eyes close again, and I drift off as much as I can despite the dull pain. I must have a scar from having that wound reopened every day.

He finishes up, pinching the cut closed with his fingers. I'm awake, but I wouldn't mind spending a few more minutes in this cozy pouch.

"How did you scar your face?" he asks.

"What?" My heart drops for a second. Was I injured without knowing it?

He lifts his finger. "There," he gently touches the bridge of my nose. "'Tis like you were burned with many sparks."

I run my finger over the spot. "Nothing feels different."

He reaches for the sword above his head and unsheathes it just two inches. The reflective blade acts like a mirror. He touches a spot on my nose again. "There."

"Those are freckles," I laugh, "You had me worried."

"Freckles?" he asks, puzzled.

"You know, freckles."

He stares at me with a blank expression.

Taking a closer look at his face, I realize that he actually has no freckles. His skin is ghostly pale, broken only by his inky eyebrows and emerging stubble. I grab his hand and inspect it. Nothing. I tug his sleeve up and angle his forearm under the morning light, but there's not a single speck. "You really don't have freckles," I say mostly to myself.

He touches my nose again, running his fingers over it like he's feeling for texture.

He thought I'd been burned. The absurdity makes me smile. "Freckles are just little spots we're born with. It's just a normal part of being human."

He nods, his gaze still transfixed on my nose.

I stretch and pull myself out of the pouch. We slip our boots on, and I follow him out the tent.

The camp is packing up, and soon we're traveling again.

* * * * * * * *

The sun is setting. Orange rays poke between the tall trees, illuminating the column of vampires.

The horse rider ahead of us twists around. I hope he's looking at Rahlan, not me.

"Twenty on south, pivot clockwise," the rider says.

What?

Rahlan repeats the phrase to the men behind us.

"What does that mean?" I ask Rahlan, looking up.

He pulls back on the reins, and Mittens comes to a halt with a grunt. His hands slip under my arms, and I'm placed on the ground before he jumps down himself.

He unties his bag from Mittens' saddle, dropping it on top of a small rock. The rest of the men do the same, removing bags from their horses and taking off their backpacks.

"It means you get to pick your favorite tree," he says.

I already know what he's going to do. "I don't like trees."

He reaches into his bag and pulls out the rope I'm all too familiar with. "Then I'm afraid you may find this a little awkward."

I step back, but his hand lands on my shoulder. He ties the rope around one wrist.

"You're an ass," I grumble.

"That hurt," he mocks, pushing my chest against a tree. The rope is wrapped around the trunk and attached to my other wrist, forcing me to hug it. There's no slack. I can't even sit down.

I glare at him as best I can as he climbs back on Mittens. He joins the other men. They move side-by-side, forming a front.

I wobble around the tree to try get a better angle.

The line stops advancing. I can only partially see the mass of vampires through the woods. They have their swords drawn. Is this the battle? It can't be. How could it just come out of nowhere? I can't spend the whole battle tied up!

I pull against the rope, but it does nothing but bite into my skin.

A loud roar cracks through the air. I stand on my toes to try see what's going on. They're charging. The horsemen are the first to go, quickly followed by the men on foot. Wherever Rahlan is, he's indistinguishable from the roaring mass.

I need to get out of here. This is supposed to be my chance. I can't climb the tree. There's no leverage. If only my one hand could reach the other, I could untie these damn knots.

I bend my arm around as much as the rope allows, inspecting the knot from different angles. There's a loop which seems to hold the whole thing together.

A distance scream echoes through the forest. I need to hurry. I bend a piece of bark so it juts from the tree trunk and try force it through the middle of the knot. The bark breaks, leaving it embedded in the rope without loosening it.

I angle another piece of bark for a second try, but the sound of horses' hooves makes me freeze. I peer around the tree. They're riding back. It's over already? This army of vampires traveled for three days for a five-minute battle?

Rahlan and the others return, reforming the column. He jumps off Mittens. There's no trace of blood, which I'm grateful for.

"Is the battle over?" I ask.

"That was no battle." He frees my wrist. "That was just a warmup."

I turn my back to him and untie my other wrist before he can see the piece of bark wedged in the knot.

He lifts me up and places me back on Mittens. His hand snakes around my middle as he takes his seat behind me.

I stiffen at the sight of a familiar face – Marcus. He's in line with a bunch of new humans being dragged into the column. They're bound together, with their arms behind their backs and blood running from various wounds.

Marcus's gaze locks with mine. He's just as shocked to see me. He's from my village, and he travels everywhere with Jacob. The idea being that two are safer than one. Why isn't he in Fekby with my brother now?

"Something wrong?" Rahlan asks. His hand rests on my abdomen, no doubt able to feel my tension.

"I'm fine," I quickly avert my eyes, not wanting to draw any attention to Marcus.

The line resumes its course. I discreetly peer around the column, trying to spot Marcus's brown hair, but he's being led too far ahead of us.

A heavy bell begins in the distance. Clang clong clang clong. It rings and rings, getting louder with every step we take.

The forest opens up to a clearing. There's a city – a human city. The bell rings in alarm from behind its yellow stone walls. Two large wooden doors creek closed, and screaming men and women sprint to slip through them before they seal. I don't blame them. I'd be terrified too.

Archers line the walls, and I start feeling a little anxious. Usually I'd wish nothing more than for a vampire army to be wiped out by humans, but I'm in the front lines among them, dressed in vampire leather armor. Any human will see me as a traitor, and the vampires would laugh at the idea of allying with a feeble human. I'm an enemy to both sides.

The archers don't fire, but they stand ready. The rest of the vampires pour out beside us, lining up at the edge of the clearing. They know exactly where to stop to stay out of range while remaining in the open, making their fearsome presence known.

"We'll be meeting your friend at dawn," Rahlan whispers in my ear.

I shiver. This is the last place I want to see Ivan. I hope he's far away, far from the horror the vampires will inflict on the poor people of this city.

I hop off the horse on my own accord. The vampires unpack their weapons – swords, axes and large oval shields. They tend to their horses, chop down trees and begin building fires.

I weave my way through the makeshift camp, leaving Rahlan to his own preparations. I need to find Marcus. There are vampires guarding the edges of the line, keeping a lookout over their flanks while also preventing me from straying too far.

I spot Marcus's chainmail armor. He's chained up with the other humans, and Jaclyn's cleaning his forehead with a rag.

"Marcus." I kneel in front of him. His head is bleeding, and he's clutching his stomach.

"J-Julia?" he coughs.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "Why didn't you go with Jacob to Fekby?"

He reaches into his tunic pocket under his armor, and a painful groan escapes his lips. He pulls out a thin chain and drops it in my hands. A pendant – my brother's necklace – the iron bow Ivan gave him.

My heart stops. Jacob loves this thing. He wouldn't just trade it away.

"Why-why do you have this?" I stutter.

"I-" Marcus coughs again, "I took it."

"I don't understand," I frown.

"That vampire you ride with..." He lets out a breath.

"Lord Rahlan? What of him?" My hands are trembling.

"A month ago... On the first day of the invasion... he took Jacob's life."

No. I rise on wobbly legs, and my eyes well up. "No..." I step back. "He..." It's not true. I can't breathe.

I run back to Mittens, tears stinging my eyes. He can't be dead. He can't be. It's not true. He said he'd meet me at Fekby. We were going to- We were going to rebuild. How could- He's not a soldier. It's not true.

I slam into Mitten's side. It's not true. It's a lie. He's mistaken. I rip the bag open and throw out everything. It's not true. I can barely see through my blurry eyes. The sextant and waterskin fall by my feet. It's not true.

"What are you doing?" Rahlan growls behind me.

It's not true. I pull out the eyeball flask and rip it open. The strong chemical smell assaults my senses. I'm shaking like a leaf. It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. I tip the flask upside-down, sending its sickening contents into the dirt. The white spheres cluster below me. The flask falls out of my hands, and I fall to my knees. He-he's waiting for me in Fekby. I let out a sob. Rahlan's boots appear. I turn the eyes over.

Each one, each one must look at me. I turn the eyes with shaking hands. Blue. Brown. Brown. Blue. Brown. Golden green – Jacob's eyes. I let out a wail.

It's true. He's dead. I scream. I scream and scream and break into sobs. He's dead. He was murdered.

A hand lands on my shoulder. Rahlan. It was him. I stand up on wobbly legs and slam my fist into his chest. "You murdered him!"

He grabs my tunic – a warning.

"You're a monster!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

His brow twists up, and his free hand forms a fist. He hates it when I call him that. Good. He should hurt like I am hurting.

"You murdered him because you're a monster," I spit. "A sick monster. A cold-blooded monster. You belong in hell."

"Everyone in that flask got what they deserved!" he shouts, shaking me.

Got what they deserved?

I grab his sword from its belt and thrust it at his heart.

He shoves me away before the blade can make contact with his skin. A kick to my chest sends me flying. I lose my footing and fall on my back. He kicks the sword out of my hand, leaving a sharp pain in its place.

He grabs my tunic and drags me backwards through the dirt. I wail and scream and struggle against him. I can't see further than a few feet with my blurry vision. It hurts, but not my face or arms or chest or legs. It's deep in my core, like there's a knife twisting in my center.

He yanks my arms behind me and ties my wrists together. My back is shoved against a tree. He wraps a rope around my waist, binding me to the trunk.

"You think you can just do whatever you want," I choke out between my sobs. "But one day you'll pay, you'll be hunted and slaughtered like the monster you are."

He turns to leave, not looking back.

"I hope I get to see it!"

He disappears into the mass of vampires.

The rope forces me to sit and watch them. I wail and cry and writhe against my bindings. I hate this. I hate him. I hate all of them.

Pulling does nothing but hurt my wrists, and my anger dissolves back into sobs. He's dead. Jacob's dead.

This was all for nothing. Everyday I pushed forward with the knowledge that it would all be okay. I risked running from Rahlan at night, I jumped in the raging river, I pushed myself to walk on aching feet, all because I'd find Jacob again. We'd rebuild. He'd find a new farm for us. Everything would go back to normal.

How can he be gone? Life was just beginning. It's wrong. It took me years to get over Mom's death, but things were getting better. No matter what happened, we'd push through together. Now he's gone. He can't tell me stories anymore. He can't argue over dinner anymore. He can't hug me when I miss Mom anymore.

My throat hurts. I can't stop crying. I bet the vampires are watching, thinking pathetic slave girl. I wasn't a slave girl before. I was Julia. I was part of a family, even if there were only two of us. I was somebody.

What am I going to do now? I had everything planned out – escape, reach Jacob, find a farm. Now what? I have no home. I have no family. No one is looking for me. Everyone hates me. I'm nothing.

I'm alone.

Tears run down my face. I'm just a slave girl, Rahlan's slave girl. Cuddling in his arms, I let my guard down. I thought maybe he wasn't so bad. He lulled me into a false sense of security. I'm so stupid. I'm so stupid.

It hurts even worse because it's him. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't he just stay home, with his wealth and his castle, stay away from us? He ruined everything.