Radiance (Brotherhood of the Blade Trilogy #3) Read Free Page A

the hell, Corbin? Were you trying to commit suicide by vampire because Ambra didn’t want you to turn her?”
    “ No! Delilah grabbed me when I was the werewolf and tried to choke the life out of me.”
    “ How did she get close to you?”
    “ She was fast! I knew she was pursuing us, and I tried to run away with my wolf pack, but she seized me and held me up in the air by my neck.”
    “ In front of the whole pack? Pretty damn bold.”
    “ She was! She was about to asphyxiate me when the moon set and I transformed back into a man. She didn’t know , Rand. She thought I was a wolf. She was going to bite me and suck my blood. Saliva was dripping from her mouth.”
    “ Eww.”
    “ You should have seen her face when I changed into a man!”
    “ She really had no clue?”
    “ I’m betting she had never seen a werewolf or even knew we existed. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with me, though her grip on my throat did not let up.”
    “ Then what?”
    “ She held me tight as I struggled and she was trying to make some sort of decision about whether to drink my blood or not. Then you came and fought her and killed her.”
    “ You helped me.”
    “ It all happened very fast,” he said. “I’m pretty sure that you did most of the fighting.”
    Suddenly, the enormity of what I’d done started to hit me. “Oh, my God, Corbin. I killed the vampire who said she had Kristin. Maybe the only vampire who knows where Kristin is hidden is now dead.”
    “That could have been a lie,” Corbin said, “to stop you from killing her. Vampires do lie, right?”
    “ Sure they do. But if it wasn’t a lie…Corbin, what have I done ?”
    “ You killed one of the ancients who killed your kin. Isn’t that the official mission of the Brotherhood of the Blade?”
    “ Yes, and unofficially, as you know, we do have our revenge missions, as well as other vampire-hunting assignments.” I took a deep shuddering breath and let it out. “You heard what she said…I will need to remember it and write it all down.”
    “ There were clues, to be sure. I heard every word. My werewolf hearing is acute, much more so when I am the werewolf than when I am the human, but it’s still better than yours…any day.”
    I nodded. “The fact remains that I might have killed the one person…if you can call her that…who could have led me to my daughter.” I paused, hearing my pulse roar in my ears. “What if Kristen’s locked up somewhere and can’t get out? What if she’s all alone, waiting for her vampire jailer to give her water, or food, or even air?”
    “Don’t go there in your head, Rand. I…I want to help find your little girl,” Corbin said. “We’ve got to get her away from these unholy creatures.”
    A sob escaped me and Corbin squeezed my shoulder. “I can’t possibly know the depths of your anguish, but I do know that my werewolf ears and nose could help find Kristin. Just get me in the proximity of her and I will find her for you. And when I am healed from tonight’s various debacles, I’ll guard your back like the loyal werewolf I am.”
    “Is this your way of apologizing to me for almost turning Ambra into a werewolf?”
    “ No, though I owe you my profound regret for my actions last night. This is how I thank you for saving my life. And more.”
    “ What’s the more?”
    “ Until now, I could not even fathom the evilness of vampires. But when one is about to have you for dinner, and you struggle helplessly in her claw-like hands—and she looks at you with the most ravenous, diabolical gaze—only then do you know the fear that you will die within seconds and that you are about to meet your Maker.”
    “ Damn, Corbin, you have a way with words.”
    “ I read a lot of books. You should try it sometime.” He shook the snow from his russet hair. “I just don’t want them to exist in the world anymore. At all.”
    “ Except Samantha Moon,” I said.
    “ Yes, except Samantha. She has a profound sense of