A Shade of Kiev 3 by Bella Forrest

blazing.
    “You’re strong enough to get through this.” He spoke the words aggressively. “Do you trust me?”
    I stared at him, my lips still tingling from the force of his kiss.
    “Yes,” I said. And for perhaps the first time in my life, I truly meant it.

Chapter 22: Kiev
    W e all reappeared outside the castle in the courtyard where we’d first vanished with Isolde.
    We herded the humans up the castle steps and into the entrance hall. Then Isolde turned to me, since I was closest to her, and handed me another set of keys.
    “Take them down to the dungeon and make sure the cells are shut properly. We don’t want any more escapes.”
    I nodded and took the keys. She went in the opposite direction and my siblings and I led the humans toward the dungeon. I opened up the trapdoor and we bundled them inside. Anna was the last. I picked her up and walked down with her. I called up the trapdoor to my siblings, “I’ll take things from here. You two can go.”
    When they looked hesitant to leave me alone I shot them both glares and they did as I’d suggested.
    As soon as they had disappeared from sight, I picked up Anna again and, locking the trapdoor behind me, made a dash across the entrance hall up the stairs.
    “Where are you taking me?” she gasped, clutching my neck.
    “Shh.”
    I was worried I’d bump into someone in the corridors or the staircases so I moved as fast as I could. I heaved a sigh of relief as we reached my apartment. I swung the door open and slammed it shut behind me. I walked into my bedroom, placing Anna down on the soft bed.
    I ran around the apartment making sure all the windows and balcony doors were closed.
    I returned to the bedroom to see Anna huddle up into the corner of the bed, breathing heavily as she clutched her stomach.
    “Why are you doing this?” she croaked.
    I stopped still and stared at her.
    Why am I doing this?
    I wasn’t sure that I knew myself.
    I ignored her question and asked one of my own.
    “How old are you?” I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer.
    “I-I’ll be thirty-five soon.”
    Thirty-five.
    “How old were you when I last saw you?”
    “I was eighteen.”
    I swore.
    Seventeen years.
    “How is that possible?”
    She swallowed hard before replying, her voice still trembling. “I think time passes differently when you’re here in this realm… with these witches.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I overheard a couple of vampires talking, back in the dungeon. Time passes slower compared to on Earth.”
    I rubbed my head, trying to let this insane truth sink in. Several minutes passed in silence.
    “The Shade,” I muttered. “That still exists and… the Novaks still rule it?”
    She nodded.
    The Novaks. My own distant family. Another insanity I was still trying to wrap my head around.
    Noticing she was shivering, I snapped back to the reality I now faced. The challenges I had to overcome. I untucked the blanket from the bed and handed it to her. She wrapped it around her, still staring at me suspiciously.
    “Stay here,” I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I warn you—do not leave this room.”
    I flew out the door and rushed down the staircases toward the kitchen.
    I knew that we had proper food in this castle because I’d seen witches eat it. They drank blood but they also ate regular food.
    I hunted around the kitchen and found soup in one of the big cooking pots. There was bread on the counter too. I found a tray and, heating up the soup quickly, poured a portion into a bowl. I grabbed the whole loaf of bread, a water jug and a metal goblet, placing everything on the tray.
    I covered the tray with a towel I found hanging on a hook and hoped I wouldn’t bump into anyone on my way back up. I rushed back up to my room and slammed the door shut behind me. Anna hadn’t moved from where I’d left her.
    I placed the meal on the bed next to her and removed the towel.
    “Eat,” I muttered.
    She looked at the food doubtfully, but she