24. Montana

Iwas so angry with Julius and Magnar that I couldn’t bear to look at them as I stormed back into the museum. Callie’s shouts carried after me as she tried to talk them out of this fight, but their minds were clearly made up.

I wasn’t going to give in though. I’d find a way to reach Erik and stop this from happening. I wasn’t going to see him or the slayers die. I refused to let either of those fates come to pass. And no matter how furious I was at all of them for forcing Callie and me into the middle of all this, it didn’t stop me from panicking about the outcome. The thought of Erik turned to ash kept playing in my mind and my pulse thrashed with terror.

As I moved through the dusty room, I searched for what I needed. Crossing the river with my feeble swimming skills was impossible. But maybe I didn’t need to swim the whole way. I just needed something to keep me afloat.

I moved to one of the wooden shelves on the wall, sweeping the contents off of it to the floor and taking Nightmare from my hip. Jamming the blade between the wall and the bracket holding it up, I wrenched it sideways and the shelf came loose. With a thrill dancing in my chest, I yanked the other bracket free and took the wooden plank in my grip. All I had to do was lay it on the water and kick my legs. I could make it to shore. I had to. Because there was no way I was going to let Erik come here and risk his life or kill either of the slayers.

I wouldn’t get far with the others watching me, so I headed to the broken window and used the plank to clear the shattered glass from the sill. Tossing the shelf first, I took hold of the window ledge and launched myself over it. I hit the ground and stumbled, managing not to fall as I picked up the plank and tucked it under my arm.

I circled the statue away from the slayers, spying the city in the distance. With a surge of adrenaline, I started jogging, then running flat out toward the river, knowing I was screwed if they realised I was missing.

I ran into the shallow waves, placing the plank down and making sure it floated. I watched as it bobbed on the surface, digging deep for my courage. The city suddenly seemed a hell of a lot further away than I’d banked on, but I could make it that far if it gave me a chance to stop tonight’s bloodbath.

I lowered myself into the icy water, holding onto the wood and kicking out my legs. I started moving further into the river and a smile gripped my features as I managed to gain some speed. I was fighting against the current, but a strength was growing inside me, helping me to battle it.

I can do this. Just keep going. Don’t give up.

A splash sounded behind me and I glanced back, my heart lurching as I spotted Julius powering toward me.

“No!” I shouted at him, kicking harder, willing my legs to get me away from him. But he was closing the distance fast, and it became clear I couldn’t outpace him.

His arms seized me, and rage swallowed me up. I started hitting him, losing my grip on the shelf as he dragged me against his body.

“Stop,” he groaned, but I couldn’t. I was so angry. So hurt that he was willing to put us through this.

He cupped my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “Stop, just stop, Montana.”

I fell into a pit of despair as tears sailed down my cheeks. “Don’t take him from me,” I begged, clinging to his shoulders as the plank sailed away down the river and I had no choice but to hold on to him.

He started swimming us back to shore and I fell limp in his arms as he sealed my fate. I’d have to watch them fight. I’d either have to see them kill Erik or be killed by him. And neither option was bearable.

My feet met the shallows and I stood upright in the icy water, pushing away from Julius but he caught my hand. I couldn’t look at him as he tried to turn me toward him. I didn’t want to face whatever he was going to say. I didn’t want to hear it.

“Listen to me,” he said gently, and I finally found it in me to lift my eyes to meet his. Water trickled steadily down his furrowed brow, his expression torn. “This fight between the slayers and the vampires is nothing to do with you and Callie. We’ve clashed a hundred times; we’re made to kill each other. This battle was always going to happen, whether Erik knew you or not.”

I ground my teeth, struggling to accept his words.

He went on, “I don’t want to hurt you, Montana, but this is going to happen. If it wasn’t today, it would be tomorrow, or next week, or next year. It’s already been put off too long. So today is as good a day as any to see it done.”

I tugged my hand free of his, sensing a wall building between us. But I could see that there was no way around this, and I accepted it while despising it at once. I was stuck here and the slayers were going to fight Erik and his brother whether I liked it or not. And when the sun rose again tomorrow, my heart would be shattered one way or the other.

“I care about you,” I whispered. “I don’t want you to think Erik’s the only one I’m trying to save here. But if he dies, there’ll be no place in my heart for you anymore.”

A heavy weight seemed to hang over him at my words. “I wish things could be different.”

“Me too,” I said stiffly, setting my eyes on the statue as I headed back onto dry land. The cold was nothing. I was too numb to feel it.

The sun was already arcing through the sky toward the horizon. Time was slipping away too fast as if the day was anxious to give way to dusk. And the moment it did, the moon’s eye would rise to watch our fates be written in blood.