Blood Vow: Blood Wisp, #3

By Sarina Langer

There are different kinds of strength, her Shadow whispered. Such as the strength it takes to walk away from something good.

 

Yua has become one of the Seven, she has reached a truce with her Shadow, and nine Blood Wisps owe her their lives. But now she—and all of Midoka—has a new problem:

 

As Yua explores the Mists with the help of her Shadow, the Dark One learns of their connection... and He sees it as the opportunity He's been waiting for to invade Midoka.

 

Empress Nara is grateful for the coven's help, but she has yet other plans for Yua: the Blood Wisps will need help being accepted into wider society, and a Blood Wisp on the throne, married to her son, would go a long way towards lasting peace.

 

Yua has never wanted to rule or fight in a war, but now it seems she can't escape either... and the price is high as Blood Wisps choose sides, her potential future opens a chasm between her and Aza... and the Dark One stops at nothing to prove His power.

 

Blood will flow before a new era can begin—

 

But whose?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarina Langer
• Release date: Feb 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215548394

Book preview

A cloud of smoke Description automatically generated with low confidence

Yua’s room had seemed so big to her before, when it was a place to eat and sleep and she and an unwilling attendant had been the only people in here. Now that she and nine other Blood Wisps were all crowded in here together, for a meeting, the space didn’t just feel small, it felt inadequate.

At least that will make it harder for them to sneak out and run away, her Shadow whispered.

Yua suppressed a frown so the Blood Wisps wouldn’t think it was meant for them. She hated that she suspected so many of them could be capable of stabbing her in the back and leaving her to bleed out alone.

A week had passed since she’d brought the last Blood Wisps to the coven. Since Yua had turned Kenshin into one of them, forming a bond between her and him that no one understood.

Since they had lost Kenshin. Again. Probably to the Dark One this time.

And everyone expected her to have answers. Or it felt that way, anyway. How had she fallen into any of this? Not that long ago, she had felt like a prisoner at this coven. She had been bitter and spiteful, but her days had been a lot simpler, too.

Still, Yua wouldn’t trade what she had now for anything. It wasn’t easy and she felt terribly out of her depth, but at least she had control over a few things. At least she could help people who needed it. She much preferred being proactive to slowly wasting away in her room.

Over the last week, the new Blood Wisps had begun to settle in, and Yua had got a feel for who they were beyond their awkward first impressions. Not all of them were as open as Enki, but he had needed time to confide in her, too. Yet Yua sensed something beyond the need for more time from some of the Blood Wisps. There was a lot of uncertainty, which she understood. There was also too much animosity, which worried her.

Kei had wanted her to hold this meeting mere hours after the Blood Wisps had arrived, but Yua had argued for giving them a week to themselves. Kenshin and his experiments had put them through a lot; they’d deserved a break before Yua introduced them to the next challenge they faced.

So yes, her room was too small for this meeting—let alone a space where she was meant to relax—but there was nowhere else they could have done it. Kei had suggested the meeting room the Seven normally used, but Yua didn’t trust that no one would try to listen in on them. She feared what one wrong word from one of the Wisps might do if a novice overheard them. Aza had suggested the chamber under the library’s archives, but Yua didn’t trust all the Wisps with the knowledge down there. Too many of the tomes were dangerous. She couldn’t be sure that none of them wouldn’t take a book they weren’t supposed to, even if they’d only be passing through. It would have been a private setting since the other novices didn’t have access, but it was too risky.

Beyond those options, Yua could have taken them into the forest. It would have been private, but it would also have been harder to stop the Blood Wisps from simply walking out on her. She wouldn’t stand in their way if any wanted to leave—in truth, she couldn’t—but she hoped that having this conversation in the coven would stop them from trying. At least for now. Yua needed to know where they all stood before she could feel at ease… or prepare to stop them, if necessary.

This was the first time they had all come together as one group. Hopefully, they’d unify and work together.

Of course, there was nothing stopping any of them from just stepping between shadows and leaving the room that way. Yua hadn’t shown them how to do that, but what if some had figured it out without her? She tried not to dwell on it. It would be harder to base their relationship on trust if she kept expecting them to move against her.

‘Thank you all for coming,’ Yua said. ‘I know this isn’t ideal, but it’ll have to do until we can sort a new space for ourselves.’

The cold truth, however, was that she didn’t know where they’d go. It was hard to imagine Blood Wisps being welcome anywhere, but Yua didn’t see the coven as their permanent home, either. There was too much mistrust between the novices and the Blood Wisps. Besides, the coven was meant to be a school, not an emergency refuge. They had coped well so far out of necessity, but as more Blood Wisps arrived, Yua had started to see them as visitors, not residents. They needed their own place. They deserved one.

Enki smiled at her in encouragement. He was the one Blood Wisp Yua was counting on to support her. He was also the first other Blood Wisp she had met, after he’d escaped Kenshin alone and made his own way to the coven. Some time had passed before locating the others, before they’d realised there were more at all, so Yua had time to get to know him. She trusted him.

That left her with eight Blood Wisps she barely knew anything about.

Eight Blood Wisps, and Kenshin. He had devised the ritual that turned people into Blood Wisps and ruined their lives. He was the reason Yua hadn’t grown up with loving parents—although, from what she’d learned, her whole family was as much to blame for that, so it didn’t all fall on Kenshin. But he had also tortured the other nine and made their lives misery, all to create an army for Midoka that could defeat any enemy.

And when Yua could have killed him for it, she had made him into one of them instead. Not out of pity or some misguided love for her maker, but because she hadn’t wanted her first decision as Blood Wisp and Seven to be murder. She wanted to be fair and just, and she’d thought that sentencing him to the same life he had forced on them was just that. But Kenshin had run the first chance the coven had given him, and they couldn’t be sure where he’d gone. That he had disappeared out of a guarded and magically warded room made her suspect that he was in the Mists, the birthplace of their power—and of much darker things.

Yua had wanted to include Kenshin in this meeting, before he’d run. She had wanted to form strong bonds that would see them into a better future where they could count on one another. Instead, she wasn’t sure how she could tell the others what she had done or what had happened to Kenshin since. None of them had fond memories of him, so this meeting would always have been difficult, but she had a feeling it would be much harder now she’d lost him. She feared it would get even harder still when she told the others that the Dark One—the infernal ruler of the Mists—had personally asked her to rule by His side and enslave everyone in Midoka and beyond its shores.

And if Kenshin really was with Him, it was possible that the Dark One now had a willing host.

Yua cleared her throat. ‘Before we begin, I want you to know that I value your honesty. Whatever your feelings on what I’m about to say may be, I want to know what you think. There’s no need to coddle me.’

Not that she thought either Hanae or Ryo would go easy on her just because she had freed them from their cages. Both had come to the coven and neither had caused any problems since they’d got here, but their initial reactions had been aggressive. Yua couldn’t blame them after what Kenshin had done—she might have reacted the same way—but she worried that their tendencies for violence went beyond self-preservation. She couldn’t imagine anything more dangerous than a hot-tempered Blood Wisp on the loose, except two working together. Fortunately, she found it even harder to imagine Hanae and Ryo working together for long. They struck her as too independent to form an alliance.

‘A week ago,’ Yua said with shaking hands, ‘I tracked down the man who put all of us through the ritual. I found him in a basement like those he kept you in. He was alone.’ She paused, trying to find the right words. She wasn’t convinced they existed.

‘And?’ Hanae demanded. ‘Did you kill him?’

Yua wished Aza were in the room with her, but her girlfriend was guarding the door in case anyone came to interrupt them. Aza was her strength. Yua could have done with some of that.

‘I decided to sentence him to the same existence he has forced on us,’ Yua said. ‘My Shadow taught me how to turn him into a Blood Wisp.’

Ryo balled his hands into fists, like he was this close to strangling her. ‘You did what?’

Hanae sneered at Yua. ‘You should have killed him. Now I’ll have to when I see him.’

Yua’s blood ran cold, but it was Sachiko who spoke first. She leaned over from where she leaned against Yua’s bed to give Ryo and Hanae incredulous looks. ‘He’s a monster, but he still deserves a trial. Everyone does.’

Next to her, Nori nodded along. Yua had found them in separate cages in the same basement. Even then, Sachiko had put herself before her little brother. Yua suspected it was both to protect Nori and simply because she was surer of herself. Sachiko’s face was an unreadable mask most of the time, which Nori looked to for answers and unshakable trust. Both siblings wanted peace above all else, just like Yua.

‘He tortured us!’ Ryo said. ‘He doesn’t deserve a trial!’

Mai sneered at him and Hanae. ‘And you killed people, you told us so yourself. If he doesn’t deserve a fair trial, neither do you.’

Mai and Miho were twins, but neither of them seemed to rely on the other like Nori relied on Sachiko. They were perfectly in sync, like they had always moved as one. Yua found their mischievous smiles endearing, and they had been openly grateful for Yua’s and the coven’s help.

Ryo flew at Mai, who didn’t even flinch at his outburst. Hanae put a hand on his arm to coax him back and glared at him. Slowly, as if every step was a painful admission that he’d overreacted, Ryo moved back.

‘That’s different,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t control myself. I’m this way because of what he did to me.’ Every word sounded strained. Yua guessed he wasn’t used to holding back. She feared how his Shadow might affect him, how readily Ryo might succumb to the whispered promises of blood and power.

‘He did this to all of us,’ Hanae said with a pointed glare at Ryo. ‘And we both know you enjoyed killing the people Kenshin threw into your cage. What did you say to me? We are above them. They should serve us.’

Yua’s gut twisted. This was too close to her fears.

Ryo turned on Hanae just as fast. ‘Which is why he doesn’t deserve to be one of us!’

Yua crossed her arms, partly to look stronger and partly to comfort herself. ‘We were all human not that long ago. Let’s not forget that.’

She felt strange saying it, like she was admitting that her humanity was well and truly gone forever. But was she really that different? She was faster and stronger and had a different diet, but lots of people ran faster or were able to carry more weight. Everyone had their own favourite foods. The only thing that was really different was the Mist demon living inside her, but did that make her inhuman? She felt love and worry like any human did. Ryo did lean towards violence, but she imagined he’d always had a cruel streak, same for Hanae. Yua couldn’t bring herself to believe that their personalities had changed completely. It made more sense to her that their Mist demons, this whole ordeal, had merely brought out the same traits they’d always had.

Hanae shot her a glare. ‘At least you’re acknowledging that we’re not human anymore.’ She scoffed. ‘You think you’re so much better than us, but we were all made the same way.’

Yua blinked. ‘I don’t believe I’m better than you.’

Ryo huffed. ‘Oh, please. Would you just look at yourself over there, standing before us and telling us what to do rather than standing with us and feeling our pain?’

She hesitated. Ryo wasn’t in the mood to be corrected—but then, it seemed he never was. And while she did feel and understand their pain, she also stood before them for this meeting. To discuss their options rather than telling them, but she doubted he’d see the difference while he was so angry.

‘I’m sorry,’ Yua said. ‘I thought it would be easier to address everyone like this, but I’m happy to stand between you.’ She swallowed. She shouldn’t have put herself into a position where she had to explain this. ‘Of course I am sorry. The last thing I want is to tell any of you what to do. There are only so many of us, and I’m afraid of what the Dark One might be planning. I just want to know that we’re all in this together.’

Hanae shook her head and walked up to her. ‘We’re not. We want different things, Honoured Seven.’ She spat the title with a vicious fire in her eyes that scared Yua more than anything the Dark One might have done. At least the Dark One was a realm away, blissfully unaware of this argument.

Of course, Yua doubted He would have cared. If anything, it would probably have delighted Him to see their infighting. It wasn’t like ten Blood Wisps could really stand against the concentrated forces of the Mists, could they? If the whole of Sanciond hadn’t been enough, Yua doubted she and her small group could make a difference.

Yua straightened up to Hanae. ‘But I—’

Hanae brushed past her and left the room. Ryo followed her.

Yua sighed, her heart racing. This had not gone as she’d hoped.

‘Don’t worry about them,’ Nori said. ‘You still have us.’

Sachiko nodded. ‘What are they going to do? It’s eight against two.’

Yua smiled, but for all the warmth she felt from them, she didn’t feel much better. Two rogue Blood Wisps could do a lot—especially a lot of damage—but she appreciated the sentiment. At least they didn’t know how to enter the Mists. She took some comfort in that.

‘I understand why they’re angry,’ Yua said. ‘If any of you would rather not get involved, I’ll understand that, too. I can’t promise your safety, but I can promise that I’ll try.’

‘Yua just wants to help,’ Enki said, addressing the others. ‘She’s the first Blood Wisp Kenshin’s research created, so she feels responsible.’

Yua blushed. It was true, but she didn’t want to make a fuss over it.

‘She is one of the Seven,’ Enki continued. ‘She has more influence, which puts her into a stronger position to help us.’

‘And we appreciate the help,’ Casmir said. His Tramuran accent was still heavy, but he’d been picking up Midokan fast enough. It hadn’t been bad to begin with—he had fled Tramura and its brutal rules against the gifted, and had learned the language in secret for months before he’d been brave enough to leave. That didn’t explain what he’d been doing in the forest when Yua and Enki had first met him, before Kenshin had kidnapped him, but Yua had added that to her long list of things to ask one day. ‘We want to help, too.’

Kristen nodded. ‘It’s only difficult because we don’t really know what’s coming.’ Kristen was Rifarnee. She and Casmir had formed a sort of control group in Kenshin’s experiments. Her parents had sent her to Midoka to learn more about magic after Queen Rachael had come to power. Yua wasn’t sure if Kei had told her parents that Kristen was dead, or the truth. She was only grateful that Kei had handled it.

‘Not knowing what’s coming is difficult for me, too, believe me,’ Yua said. ‘I really am responsible for Kenshin’s actions from here on. I could have killed him, and I didn’t. If he kills anyone or creates any more Blood Wisps, it’ll be on me.’

And if he joined the Dark One, invaded Midoka, and destroyed everything she knew and loved, then that would be on her head, too.

‘Can you show us how to enter the Mists?’ Miho asked. ‘If he’s really there, we can help you look for him.’

Yua hesitated. The extra help would be useful, but what if Miho had only asked so she could run away and join the Dark One? What if Yua’s assumption that Kenshin was in the Mists was wrong? She couldn’t explain how else he would have escaped his guarded room, but that didn’t mean he’d stayed in the Mists. The truth was, he could be anywhere by now.

I thought you trusted them? her Shadow whispered.

He was right. She couldn’t let her fear get the better of her.

‘I can try,’ Yua said. ‘If your Shadows are happy to cooperate, it’ll be easy. But if we enter the Mists, the Dark One will know. None of us would be safe.’

As much as she worried about them joining Him, she was more scared that He’d hurt or kill them. If they joined Him, at least it would be their decision. If He killed them because Yua had taken them into the Mists, it would be another crime on her record.

‘I will ask Lena to find Kenshin after this meeting,’ Yua said. ‘If he’s not in the Mists after all, but anywhere else in the world, she’ll find him faster than we can.’ She bit her cheek. ‘We can’t rule out the possibility that he’s working with the Dark One, though.’

‘And if he is, we’ll be careful,’ Mai said. ‘We know you’re worried about the Dark One corrupting us, but we can look after ourselves as long as we’re not being ambushed by an evil fanatic. We won’t be completely defenceless in there.’

Yua smiled. She didn’t want to correct them when she was so grateful for their support—technically, the Dark One was an evil fanatic and very capable of ambushing them in the Mists. If Kenshin was with the Dark One, maybe He’d be preoccupied with Kenshin’s induction? She couldn’t be sure that His attention would turn to them as soon as they entered the Mists.

Yua wrung her hands. ‘Hanae and Ryo should be here for this discussion. I don’t want to give them any more reason to feel like I’m excluding them from anything important.’

Sachiko shook her head. ‘They’ve made their choice. If they don’t want to be included, I say let them leave.’

Yua bit her lip. Sachiko was right, but Yua didn’t like the thought of them running rampant across Midoka. And what if they left the country? Kei would deal with any diplomatic incident tracing back to the coven, but the Blood Wisps weren’t really part of the coven. They didn’t study here. As one of the Seven and the only true Mist Woman, as Willow had once pointed out, any problems they caused would be Yua’s responsibility.

You’re not responsible for their bad decisions, her Shadow whispered. Focus on what you can control.

‘Thank you,’ Yua said, to the Blood Wisps as well as to her Shadow. ‘Are you all happy with the novices? Are there any problems?’

The Blood Wisps smiled.

‘No issues at all,’ Kristen said. ‘Honestly, I’m surprised how easy this arrangement makes it. Kenshin made it sound like our only options were to hunt or to die. I never imagined I’d have a volunteer.’

Sachiko nodded. ‘He taunted Nori and me by only letting one of us drink at a time. I think he wanted to see how it affected the other.’

Yua shuddered. The smell of blood could be overwhelming. To have to watch another Blood Wisp drink when she was parched was cruel. Of course Kenshin would have wanted to test their responses.

Another reason why she should just have killed him.

‘It’s nice that we can drink at the same time here,’ Nori said.

Sachiko flashed him a smile. ‘Almost like normal mealtimes.’

‘He did the same with us,’ Miho said. ‘He gave up quickly, though.’

‘Weren’t you in separate rooms?’ Yua asked.

Mai grinned. ‘Not at first. We shared a cage. I think it was our second day there?’ Mai looked at Miho, who shrugged. ‘I was so thirsty that I threw myself against the cage. I nearly broke it, so Miho threw herself against the bars, too. We nearly had it.’

Miho smiled as if lost in a fond memory. ‘I think we scared him. He used magic to sedate us and separated us while we were out of it. He had to move quickly, though—Blood Wisps don’t stay unconscious for long.’

‘The people he…’ Yua tried to think of a respectful way to say the people he fed you, but she doubted there was one. ‘Who were they? Do you know how he chose them?’

Maybe they could at least inform the families, who had to be wondering where their partners and parents had disappeared to. There was nothing she or Kei could say that would make this better, but they deserved to know the truth.

Their bodies would be unrecognisable after so long,