Blood Moon Born

Chapter Ten

Loae burst into the library, the double doors slamming against the wall as she entered.

"I lost him," Loae said. "I fucking lost him. If another girl dies, it's going to be my fault."

They were all there—Askan, Roan and Isran—hovering over the stack of books Isran had brought from Hasim's store.

Roan rushed to her, "Hey, what happened? Did you get into the fight?"

Loae pointed at her oldest brother. "You've got to send out some hunters. The white-haired vampire we've been looking for—I found him. His name's Nash. He frequents a tavern in Night Port. Morning Glory. Post hunters around there looking for him." She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes. "And uh...there's a carriage. It's unmarked, no windows, but has a flame in a circle branded onto the back of the carriage. Last I saw it was in Breadgate. It's what he's been selling black market grimoires and other magic items out of."

"Alright, alright." Askan shot up. "I'll round up some hunters, set them in Main Eoibrun." He took off.

Roan put a hand on Loae's shoulder. "They'll keep an eye out. We'll find him, Loae. You did good."

"I didn't do good," Loae hissed, throwing his hand off of her. "If I'd caught him, we could've stopped this."

"You don't know the killer's him," Roan countered.

"And what if it is? What if it is? If another girl dies, it's my fucking fault. It's my fault," Loae growled. She stared down at her hands. "When I catch him, I'll...I'll tear his throat out with my bare hands."

"Hey..." Roan walked up to her again. "What did we say? About the anger? About controlling it?"

Loae looked up and locked eyes with Isran. She shot across the room, getting right in his face.

"Hit me," she said.

He blinked. "What?"

"Hit me," Loae ordered. "As hard as you can. It'll calm me down. Fight me."

"That is not what we talked about!" Roan cried, throwing his hands in the air.

She grabbed Isran's collar and shook it. "Please."

He stared back into her eyes. "I'm...I'm not going to hit you for no reason."

"Loae!"

She released Isran, spinning around. "What?"

And then she was quiet. In Roan's hands was the most beautiful instrument she'd ever seen. A violin, painted cobalt blue with a few runic accents along the base. He held it out to her with the bow.

"Here. Go...play in the corner and calm yourself down. After you heal yourself, because you look insane," Roan said, barking the order at her. She was surprised by his tone, but still burning with rage.

"I'm not going to sit here fiddling with that thing when our killer could be on the loose."

"You just asked Lord Kanai to hit you," Roan said, getting in her face. "With that nonsense, I doubt you'd be any help to the other hunters."

"Look—"

"No, you look," Roan interrupted. "You did a good job today, Loae. But you're stressed. And I bet you drained your magic too. You can get back out there as soon as you rest. So why don't you take a seat by the nice, warm hearth and play until you've calmed yourself down?"

Loae's heartbeat didn't slow down, but she didn't feel the hiss of anger as hot. She gritted her teeth and snatched the violin from Roan's hands. She stalked past the table where Isran sat, refusing to look at him, and dropped onto the carpet right in front of the lit fireplace. First, she tended to her wounds, using her shirtsleeve to wipe any blood and grime off of her. Then she dipped into uzhel's power to heal herself.