A loud bang wakes me up, and the bed shifts beneath me as Rahlan gets out. I can't see much in the soft moonlight.

The banging returns, and I jump to sit up. Someone is knocking on the door – our bedroom door. Someone is in our living room in the middle of the night.

Rahlan heads to answer it.

"Rahlan?" I whisper. Why is someone else inside the keep at night? Rahlan's sword sits on the desk, far out of his reach if whoever's at the door decides to lunge at him. Wouldn't it be better if that door stayed between it and us?

He glances at me, interpreting the look on my face. "Intruders don't knock."

He opens the door, and candlelight fills the room. A vampire clad in dark wool with a sword at his hip waits by the door – Julke. His gaze jumps to me before quickly returning to Rahlan.

The light reveals that Rahlan didn't bother to change, dressed in only his underwear. I'm in nothing but my underwear. I yank the covers up to my nose. He shouldn't even be in here.

"Lord," Julke begins, "A servant of King Groel has brought an urgent message. He awaits your presence at the gate."

My heart flips. King Groel knows about Rahlan's quest to kill Ivan, and Rahlan left him with the impression that Ivan was dead. With King Groel's connections, he'd be the first to know of a Huntsmen attack – the first to know that Ivan is alive. I'll be forced to follow Rahlan as he hunts my last remaining family – the last connection I have to putting my life back together.

This can't be happening so soon. I'm not ready. We've been here less than a week. I haven't even had time to find a map to Fekby yet.

"What is the message?" Rahlan asks.

I take a deep breath. This is still King Groel's land, and Rahlan's here to act as his hand. This could be a message about anything – a command to ship supplies or tighten defenses. There's no need to panic.

"He claims that he is not to give it to anyone but you, lord," Julke says, "'Tis personal."

With a series of quick movements, Rahlan has his pants on his legs and his feet in his boots. He grabs his coat and sword and heads out the bedroom while still tying his shirt.

Without minding my improper outfit, I scurry out of the bed and hurry to the bedroom door, hoping to catch another piece of their conversation, that by some miracle Julke will say something that would rule out Ivan being the subject of the message. The initial embarrassment that I felt just moments ago has evaporated, replaced with a burning hole in my stomach. I catch a glimpse of the back of Rahlan's coat as he slides it over his shoulders and steps into the main hall.

I take quick steps up to the hall's threshold, hoping to hear more of their discussion and praying that I somehow misunderstood Julke's words.

They're silent. Did they hear my steps? Does Rahlan know that I'm eavesdropping? Is he waiting for me to step into the hall so he can turn around and scold me in front of Julke?

The sound of wood scraping against stone cracks across the room - the front door. Suddenly I wish he had turned back to lecture me. Anything would be better than this. Rahlan's about to find out that Ivan's alive, that I lied to him. He'll know that I listened to him pour out his heart about his father's death while hiding the fact that the man he blamed for it was still alive.

In a few moments, Rahlan will come back here. Furious. Betrayed. He'll bind me up with coarse rope and keep me tethered until he has Ivan's head in his hand.

Ivan. I can't go back to living under a vampire who wants the last of my family dead. I can't go back to dreading the future over the fear that I'll be forced to contribute to my uncle's murder.

It's over.

I shoot back to the bedroom and haphazardly yank my leather pants up my legs. What's wrong with me? I should be ready for this. There was no way a peace could ever last. I should at least be mentally prepared by now.

As the weight of my tunic hits my shoulders, an image of myself stumbling through the dark freezing forest flashes through my mind - voices following me, ravagers hacking, being hunted by men and monsters far worse than Rahlan. I'll be far from this warm room, far from this comfortable bed, far from the promise of delicious food every morning, far from safety and far from Rahlan.

Maybe the message is about something else? Rahlan could have personal matters which aren't related to Ivan? What about his mother?

If he learns that I lied about Ivan, I don't believe that he'd bring himself to harm me, though I'd imagine I'd lose all the small freedoms I've managed to procure thus far. The image of him bursting through the door and binding my hands again jumps forward in my mind. I'll be sitting here, helpless, cursing myself for not taking the opportunity to run when I had it. This is my only chance to get out of here, to protect my family.

My rushed movements send the wardrobe doors flying open, banging against the wall and making me cringe. If it sounds like I'm tearing down the building, I won't make it out the front door.

Being dragged along as a prisoner of a vampire for weeks has taught me more about traveling than anything else. I grab a large gray coat, a giant pair of woolen socks and a thin linen undershirt.

Staying here would mean believing that by some miracle the personal message has nothing to do with the very quest that has driven Rahlan for months.

I have to run.

I empty out the contents of Rahlan's travel bag and shove just the sextant, the waterskin and the sleeping pouch back inside. The woolen socks, coat and undershirt fit snugly in the bag, adding a layer of padding as I swing it around my shoulders.

But why am I hoping that this personal message will not be about Ivan? Why does a part of me want to stay here – to stay with him?

I hurry out the bedroom and grab the rope out from under the kitchen cabinets, remembering where Rahlan stored it after tying me to the chair. It can't be that I want to stay with him. That would be ridiculous. I simply fear what will await me in the wilderness – something to do with the evil I know versus the evil I don't.

A sparkle from the bedroom's golden doorknob catches my attention. Rahlan will pursue me regardless of how much I steal. The doorknob breaks off its mount with little effort, and soon it sits beside the socks and coat in my bag. If this is my only chance, I've got to make it count.

The front door will be visible to any vampires at the gate, meaning I'll have to find another way out of the keep. I rush into an old servant's room and close the door behind me.

Pressing my face against the large window provides the best view over the wall's ramparts. While it's too dark to make out anything in the towers, the ramparts are clear of vampire-shaped figures. Rahlan commands four soldiers – three who don't consider me worth their attention, Julke and the Maksan twins, and one who probably wants me dead, Keld. Two are needed to open the castle gate, and the two left over couldn't possibly guard all five sides of the fort. The towers overlooking this window may be empty, but I can't know with any more certainty than a guess.

I didn't want to try a risky escape again. This time was supposed to be different, but now it seems I no longer have the luxury of waiting. Holding my breath, I pick up the wooden bedside table and swing it into the window.

The glass shatters with a bang so loud that I feel it in my bones. I freeze in a trance, not breathing. They'll have heard that. I listen for shouting voices, expecting the door to fly open and steel arms to constrict around my body.

There's nothing.

They're by the gates, far from the keep, and the stone room must've made it appear louder than it was. I can't afford to hesitate any longer. Backing out now is impossible. There's no way I could explain this to Rahlan without revealing my intention to escape.

I throw the unused bedding over the glass riddled window frame and climb out onto it. The shards splinter and crack beneath my boots, but my feet are protected, partly thanks to Rahlan's willingness to pay far more than I could ever hope to afford myself.

Looking down, the ground is a little further away than I prefer.

Without allowing myself too much time to think about it, I jump. My feet slip over the wet grass, leading me to lose my balance and tumble a few feet down the hill before steadying myself. Mud now covers my arms and legs, but maybe it'll offer some camouflage.

I skid down the hill and hurry towards the nearest tower. These buildings, where the soldiers tend to linger, offer the only path up onto the walls.

The circular stone tower in the wall appears much more intimidating up close. A planked wooden door stands between me and the stairs inside. There could be a vampire waiting behind the door, but peering through the cracks reveals nothing but darkness.

Not able to afford waiting any longer, I open the door and step inside the dark cylindrical structure.

It's empty. No vampires and no stairs.

I brush my fingers along the wall until they touch something protruding from the stone – a wooden ladder. Swinging the travel bag into a more comfortable position, I climb the ladder based on feel alone. The wood crumbles like sand, splintering in my hands. I figure they don't use this ladder often, and I'm not sure if I should be relieved or concerned.

A trapdoor at the top blocks my path. Keeping all four limbs fastened to the old ladder, I gently press my head against the door, lifting it up.

To my relief, there isn't a pair of vampire boots waiting. I push the trapdoor open and climb up into the lookout section of the tower.

The tower's banister offers me some form of cover while crouching, but if I pause at every step with the worry that a vampire will spot me, then I'll never make it out in time.

With only the darkness to obscure my figure, I step out onto the wall ramparts and peer over the edge. It looks much higher from the top than it did when I was at the base.

I shake my head clear and take the rope out of my bag. Rahlan wouldn't let a little height scare him, and if I want to escape his grasp, I can't afford to be any less brave than he would.

I secure the rope to one of the wall's big stone teeth. Wrapping the cord around my uninjured arm, I test the knot with a few tugs before climbing over the edge. I begin my descent, never looking down, and trying not to think about the fact that nothing but my own muscle strength and some leverage stands between me and a nasty fall.

My eyes remain fixed on the stone, and my fingers ache from my overly tight grip.

There's nowhere to go but down. Loosening my hands, I let the rope slide around my arm in short pulses.

Something spongy meets my feet, and I jump in surprise. It's the grass. I'm down.

I step away from the wall and marvel at the obstacle I just managed to overcome. If I'm capable of scaling a castle wall in the middle of the night, then I'm capable of escaping Rahlan and finding Ivan.

I turn away from the vampire-ridden structure, and my body freezes at the sight in front of me. An iron sword is just inches from my face. My eyes follow the blade up to the man holding it. The moon provides just enough light to distinguish the scar across his face. It's Keld.

Keld, the vampire who's glared at me with contempt from day one, the vampire who Rahlan beat on account of me.

The night hides his eyes in shadow, but I have no doubt that they are beaming down on me, the little human trembling before him. My hands press against my pockets. I have nothing to defend myself, nothing to even give me a fighting chance. Why didn't I grab a knife?

The backpack hangs loose on my shoulders. I could slip it off and run?

My legs remain still, like they've been encased in pillars of stone. With one strike, his blade would sever my neck. He doesn't even have to step forward.

"I hate your kind," he growls.

A shiver runs through my bones. I've gifted him the perfect opportunity to kill me, offering up my life on a platter.

"Humans are selfish, greedy, cowardly creatures without a spine," he spits.

My body shakes. Simply extending his hand will send the blade through my throat. With the stolen bag and broken window, Rahlan will think I've run away. He'll never know if I was buried right in this field.

"Then there's you, little pet of Rahlan, using your puny influence to protect your adversary."

What?

"Perhaps you realized that the beating I administered was justified, or perhaps you simply can't stomach violence." He flicks the sword up into the air.

I flinch away, and he catches the blade between his fingers, facing the hilt to me. "Aware that the wilderness is a treacherous place, you acquired a sword from the chest at the base of the southern watch post."

My eyes jump between his eyes and the sword's handle. He's arming me?

My mouth falls open. Is this a trap? Will he strike me the moment I take the sword, claiming I was a threat?

He nudges the handle towards me, silently commanding me to grab the weapon.

Afraid of defying him, I gingerly take the hilt.

His fingers release the blade. Being heavier than I expected, it almost falls out of my hands.

He turns his back to me and begins down a footpath beside the wall. He's leaving, acting as if he didn't even see me.

His footsteps pause just before the next bend in the wall can obscure him. "Run, little pet, before your master gets thirsty," he says just loud enough for me to hear.

I gulp and take a step back. A whispered "thank you" escapes my lips, and I take off into the grassy hills. He helped me. The vampire who hates humans, who beat both me and the little girl in the village, helped me.