Sleep didn't come that night. On a positive note, it meant the nightmares stayed out. On the other hand, it also meant my mind had time to repeat every horrible scene from the past few days. With tossing and turning, I tried to at least find a comfortable position, but it didn't come. Even listening to the peaceful sounds of the forest didn't give me some rest.

 
The monster disappearing into ash flashed before my eyes. I turned to my right. The creature's sharp smell filled the room, making my nostrils flare. I turned to my left. The grains of the wooden bedroom wall reminded me of its claw marks left behind on one of the trees right outside of Holt. Turning to my back, my hands combed through my loose hair sprawled around me. A groan escaped me. Its burning yellow eyes looked at me every time I closed my eyes. Had I truly felt a connection to that creature or had it simply been my imagination? Why would I even imagine something like that?

The clicking of a door scared the gory images away. Within the time to exhale, I sat up straight in bed, my hand wrapped around one of the knives I stole from the dinner table earlier that day.

Featherlight steps, almost too soft to be heard, made their way through the hall. No other sounds followed. Until another door opened with a creak. A small gasp and a foot that ended up on a groaning plank echoed in the otherwise silent house.

Curiosity made me walk towards the door. With a similar carefulness as the person on the other side of the door, I made my way through the small bedroom. I did a better job at keeping silent.

"-scared me." A hushed female voice croaked. 

"I thought you said 'we'," Heather's high pitched voice whispered. "Haven't you learned anything from your break-up with Jason?"

A silence stretched out. For a second I wondered if they were still there.

"I said sorry." The low timbre of Kate's voice reached my heart and gripped its claws in it. My bare hand reached for the empty wall as I felt my body sway. "I have to figure this thing out, and I won't risk the pack's safety by letting any of you near anything that has remotely anything to do with death."

"It's a noble thing to say, but all you do is leave them behind once again."

The princess sighed. "I'm not like all of you, I'm not made to stay in one place. That's why it would never work between me and Jason. Even though I loved him with all of my heart."

My nails dug into the wood, and my jaw clenched. 

"You can't go alone." Heather stated, her voice still a mere whisper.

"I'll be fine. Those corpse lovers might be a weird bunch, but I've dealt with worse."

They shifted. "It's not that. You can't leave the Hunter behind."

Clothes rustled, another little creak in the floor echoed through the hall. They moved, both of them, closer to my room. My lips pressed into a thin line and I held my breath. 

"Why not? She's not my kind."

"Maybe not, but she is magically linked to you." A silence settled for a heavy moment. "I felt it before, but yesterday I saw it. Clearly. You can't ignore this, Kate. Spells like that are cruel. The longer you ignore them, the harder they will scream. The link will find ways to get you together, one way or another. The more you resist, the more damage you will do to both yourselves and others around you." My heart turned cold. A dooming dread slipped its way inside of me. Was this real? "It's not something you can ignore, Kate. Haven't you felt anything for her?"

"Stop with this nonsense!" She whisper-shouted. "I don't feel any kind of attraction towards the Hunter. She is my enemy! An enemy that my father finds is a bigger threat than these killings." Someone sighed. "She can't be anything to me," another silence. "Because he sent the Royal Squad behind her. She will be dead by the end of the week."

My nails dug deep, and pain heated up the top of my fingers.

"You better protect her then." The more I got to know the young witch, the more respect I had for her. She didn't let herself get intimidated by the princess, even though Kate was clearly trying to be. "If one of you dies, the other's heart will never heal. A part of your soul will forever be destroyed. You will never recover from it, I can promise you that. Don't be your stubborn self, Kate. I'm only trying to help."

"Why? I thought you were angry with me." She scoffed. "I haven't heard from you in weeks." My heart broke at the covered-up crack in Kate's voice.

A broken exhale followed. 

"I'm loyal to my wolf."

A sigh. 

"Then protect your family and keep him here. I'll get this done, I'm the wanderer, remember?" Kate sounded a lot softer than before, it made the rasp in her voice smoother.

"What do you want me to do about the Hunter?" Heather asked, an uncertainty echoed in her words. "You said she kills vampires like they're untrained children. If the Royal Squad is hunting her-" 

The princess laughed, it sounded muffled. 

"The Royal Squad are not untrained children. They're the best of the best fighters in the Kingdom. She doesn't stand a chance." 

Wait, what? Why was Kate okay with this?

"Again, what do you want me to do about it? If they're coming here for her, the wolves won't protect her. They won't start a war for her. My cloaking spell only works temporarily. If you want to protect her, then protect her!" 

Kate groaned. "I can't, Heather. I'm here to focus on the mystery of the creatures. Not on her."
"That will be a first, you not focussing on a stray." 

"She's not a stray, she's my enemy! She is someone that I'm forbidden to be around. Sky is not just like anyone else." 

"I know, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Since when has it stopped you?" 

"Damnit Heather, stay out of this. I promised Alex I wouldn't get myself in even more trouble. I already ran away from home - again-, even though I was clearly forbidden from leaving the castle. If I don't figure this out and stop the threat of these creatures - something I feel in my bones is bigger than we can even imagine - I will not only lose my title but my family as well. Do whatever you need to do with Sky, I have my own problems to solve. I'm just warning you of the danger heading your way."

The featherlight footsteps strode down the hall, where a door opened and closed. Silence fell once again over the house. Through the open window, I heard Kate cross the open place and disappear into the dark forest.

Heather groaned, loudly - not at all trying to cover up her frustrations. The soft grating sound of bare feet on the tile floor shook me awake from my frozen position. A bit too roughly, I pulled my door open. Heather whirled, her eyes and hands glowing a soft green. My hands lifted up in the air, the knife still firmly grasped in my left hand.

"W-what?" 

"Are you certain?" I asked.

Heather looked confused for a second. Then the glow intensified, bathing the hall in a majestical green. Warm waves crashed against my skin. It disappeared, leaving Heather panting and doubled over. Her hands were rubbing her temples again.

"Yes," she croaked, the high pitch in her voice gone.

With bare feet, I ran over to her. My hand hovered over her shoulder, but never touched.

"You said if one of us dies, the other won't ever recover. Is that true?"

Heather looked up with a frown. She stared at me before she nodded. Her young, untouched face had dark shadows now. She looked as tired as Jason had.

"Tell me everything I need to know about this link and Tech Duinn."

"You'll follow her?" Heather asked, surprised.

"There is no other option, right? Kate is as stubborn as a mule, and this link won't disappear by itself. Am I correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. She made her choice, by walking away from me. She did her duty. Her father can't hold it against her if I'm the one stalking her."

"Why are you willing to do this?" Heather stood straighter now, but her frown was still very much present.

"You asked her if she felt anything."

Heather's eyes widened. "Did you?"

"I don't know, but I have her blood in me, and the last couple of weeks, I have felt many weird .... changes. Right now, I'm at a place where I'm not sure about anything anymore. Except for one thing, and that is that I don't want to bring all of you in danger. If the Royal Squad is indeed hunting me, the best thing is for me to keep moving, not wait here like a sitting duck."

Heather shook her head and groaned again. "You two definitely belong together alright." Somehow that warmed my heart. "But you are right. The safest place for you to be is by her side, where you can protect each other. There is a connection between you two that goes beyond normal. If she dies, part of you will die too. Same goes for Kate. She is stubborn, but you have to convince her, or you will both lose so much more than just part of your soul."

With a new found goal in life, I nodded eagerly. My body buzzed with energy. The revelation that the Vampire King had sent his elite soldiers after me didn't even dempen my excitement.

"I'll leave in the morning, but first you need to catch me up on a few things."