The sound of clattering metal wrenched Piper from a deep slumber, and she surged to her feet, the blanket falling from her shoulders. Without thinking, she curled up her tail to attack, searching for a target. But all she saw was one of the healer’s sons picking up what looked like surgeon’s tools from the floor.

  She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Her dreams last night had been plagued with visions of Ransford engulfed in flames and the faces of the men she’d killed. A shudder passed through her body as she remembered what she’d done.

  “Good morning,” Ethel whispered, interrupting her thoughts. “Did you sleep well?”

  Piper raised her brow as she turned to see Ethel sitting up in bed. All traces of the injuries on her neck had disappeared, and she had a steaming bowl with a spoon sticking out of it on her lap. The woman looked completely healed.

  She hurriedly turned her gaze to the others. While Ophelia was still sleeping, most of her color had returned. Even Alfred appeared to have recovered from his grievous spear wound. Had she actually done it? Had she saved them all?

  Without a word, she hurried over and flung her arms around Ethel’s neck. She squeezed tightly, feeling her heart swell with joy. Everything would be all right now. She was sure of it.

  “Careful,” Ethel chuckled, grabbing hold of the bowl as it tipped slightly in her lap. “You’re going to spill the pottage.”

  “Sorry,” Piper replied, as she released Ethel. She stood there beaming, her dark thoughts momentarily forgotten.

  “Now,” Ethel said, her expression turning serious. “Tell me everything that happened. I know my sister was keeping something from me.” When Piper looked around the room for Beatrice, Ethel continued. “She left to get some sleep a short while ago.”

  “I… can’t tell you everything,” Piper said, glancing meaningfully over at one of the healer’s sons.

  “I see…” Ethel furrowed her brow. “How bad is it?”

  “Bad. Really bad.”

  “Do we need to leave?”

  Piper nodded.

  Ethel exhaled before placing the bowl aside and throwing her blankets off. Her normally impeccable dress was stained with blood, but the woman barely seemed to notice. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and tottered to her feet.

  “Oh my,” she said, holding onto the wall. “I still feel quite weak.”

  Piper moved to help Ethel, but the older woman waved her off. She watched as Ethel crept across the room at a glacial pace, first checking on Ophelia, and then Alfred.

  The blond-haired woman pulled back the covers from her husband, her gaze lingering on his spear wound. A range of emotions flickered across her face before disappearing. Lowering the blanket, she shuffled back over to Piper.

  “What happened to the farm?” Ethel asked. “Is there anything to go back to?”

  Piper shook her head.

  Ethel sighed before nodding wearily. “I need you to tell me everything. Immediately.” She reached out and took Piper’s hand and guided her outside.

  The sun had barely crested the horizon, and a layer of frost clung to the ground in a shimmering layer. Only a few people stirred in the village, and in the distance, a rooster crowed, while a horse whinnied. Nearby, a lone bird warbled from the rooftops.

  Ethel dragged Piper behind her until they reached the spot where the oxen had been hitched. While the wagon still remained, someone had taken the oxen. She hoped that Eadred, the healer, or one of his sons had taken the animals to a stable. With everything that had happened last night, she’d totally forgotten about them.

  Another memory made her rush toward the wagon. She reached the side and hurriedly moved things around in a panic until she found her bow hidden underneath a piece of linen. How could she have forgotten about her bow and the oxen? She mentally kicked herself for being so careless. If she had lost her legendary weapon, she never would have forgiven herself.

  “Is everything all right?” Ethel asked.

  Piper blushed as she turned back toward Ethel. “I completely forgot some important stuff last night. I can’t believe how stupid I was.”

  “You had other things on your mind,” Ethel said softly. “Now, tell me what happened.”

  Piper launched into the tale of seeing the smoke, returning to the farm, and witnessing what Ransford and his men had done. She told Ethel about Alfred fighting the men before falling to a spear thrust. But when it came to her part in the battle, she fell silent.

  After a long pause, she finally said, “I… don’t want to talk about the rest.”

  “Tell me everything that you feel comfortable with.” Ethel reached out and took Piper’s hand, squeezing it encouragingly. “Whenever you’re ready.”

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  “Ransford was injured and ran away,” she said, skipping over her fight with the men. “And I’m worried that he’s going to come back for me again. What if I give myself up to the vampires? Maybe he’ll leave you alone then?”

  “I’m not having my daughter give herself up to be drained by a monster.”

  “But I’m not your daughter…”

  “You are my daughter,” Ethel said fiercely. “And I won’t allow anything to happen to you. Do you understand?”

  “Everyone is in danger because of me,” Piper protested. “At the very least, I have to leave. Maybe if I head somewhere else, Ransford will follow me.”

  “Do you think he will forget Alfred’s part in defying him?” Ethel raised her eyebrow. “Also, we’re all a threat to him. If Duke Albrecht learns of what he’s done, he may face execution or worse.”

  Piper frowned. What could be worse than execution for a vampire?

  Ethel lifted her skirts and headed back toward the front door of the healer’s hut. “We need to wake the others and come up with a plan.”

  Trailing after the blond-haired woman, a feeling of guilt gnawing at her soul. No matter what Ethel said, she was putting them in danger. She should leave to give them a chance at a normal life. With the coins she’d received for the aetherstone, at least they’d have enough money to rebuild their lives.

  Ophelia had once told her that she’d never even seen a single silver coin. A gold coin must be worth a king’s ransom.

  Piper entered the hut to see Ophelia sitting up and looking around the room. At the sight of her, the young woman sprang out of bed and sprinted over to her side.

  Ophelia crashed into Piper and crushed her with a hug. Releasing her, the young woman stepped back with a silly grin on her face. “I knew you would save us from those bloodsuckers.”

  “It was mostly your dad,” she said, downplaying her part. “I barely did anything.”

  “Really?” Ophelia gave her a skeptical look. “I bet you’re just being modest. You were probably punching and kicking those jerks all over the place. And your tail…” Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in horror. “I mean, your bow. Definitely your bow was probably shooting them like grouse.”

  While she wanted to be annoyed with Ophelia for slipping up and mentioning her tail, she was too happy to care. Especially after worrying through the night that her friend might never recover. In fact, she was pretty sure she’d had a dream about that.

  “You two could wake the dead,” Alfred rumbled as he sat up in bed. The wooden frame creaked alarmingly as he moved. Clearly, the bed had been made for men smaller than mountain-sized.

  “Alfred,” Piper exclaimed, rushing over to his side. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a mammoth trampled me and then kicked me in the head for good measure.” He rubbed a hand through his wild hair. “Other than that, I feel fine.”

  Fighting down a grin, she patted the big man on his shoulder. While she knew all of their lives were still in great danger, at least they were together again. And for now, that was enough for her.

  Ethel stepped forward. “We need to talk,” she said tersely. “Right now.”

  “That’s probably not good news,” Alfred said as he tugged on his beard. “Is there time for some food first?” He looked longingly over at the bowl resting on Ethel’s bed. “It feels like I haven’t eaten in a month.”

  “No,” Ethel said stiffly. “This is important.”

  Alfred grunted but said nothing as he climbed out of bed. He poked a finger through the hole in his shirt and grumbled something under his breath. Then he followed the others outside, where they regrouped near the wagon.

  Piper took a minute to fill Alfred in on what had happened. While he had been present during the fight, she wasn’t sure what he would remember. He’d barely been conscious by the time they reached the village.

  Alfred nodded along as she talked, not correcting her when she skipped over her part in the fight for a second time. He asked a few questions about what had happened after he’d collapsed. And he whistled softly after she told him they had received two gold and six silver coins for the aetherstone. Finally, she finished with the fact that Ransford was probably coming for them.

  “I think I should turn myself in,” Piper said, finally coming to a decision. “Hopefully, they’ll just punish me and leave all of you alone. With the money I got for the gem, you can rebuild the farm and go back to your normal life. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “Did you get knocked on your head?” Alfred grumbled. “We’re not giving up a family member to someone who attacked us. I owe that bastard for what he did to my wife and daughter. If I’m giving him anything, it’s the head of my axe.”

  “I’m not really part of your family.”

  Ophelia punched Piper’s shoulder. “You might be a foul demon, but you’re practically my sister.”

  “Ophelia,” Alfred said. “Watch what you say to Piper.”

  “She knows that I’m kidding,” her friend protested. “Right? Tell him that you know.”

  Piper smiled sadly at the exchange. She was going to miss them. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m turning myself into Ransford when he arrives. I can claim that I bewitched you or whatever it’s called in this world. I’ll say that I forced you to let me live on the farm.”

  Alfred stroked his beard, looking thoughtful. “When it comes right down to it, I don’t like any of the options we’re faced with. However, I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself for our safety. What sort of man would I be if I allowed that to happen?”

  “As I see it, we have three options,” Ethel said as she smoothed down her dress. “The first is that we go to Duke Albrecht for help. But there’s no guarantee that he’ll take our side, even with the laws. The second is that we try to hide. However, they’ll likely find us before too long. The last is that we try to cross the mountains and seek sanctuary in the Arissian Empire. We wouldn’t be the first to try, though I can’t say what happened to those who attempted it before us.”

  Piper gasped at the mention of crossing the mountains. “You’ve always said the mountains are way too dangerous to enter.”

  “They are dangerous,” Ethel said firmly. “But we have a demoness and a woodsman to help us across.”

  Ophelia cleared her throat.

  “And the finest stick fighter around.” Ethel added.

  Alfred didn’t look happy. “I vote we try our luck with the duke. Monsters will be coming down with the spring melt. The duke is probably our best chance.”

  “You survived a battle with a Blood Lord, dear,” Ethel pointed out. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about with monsters.”

  “A Blood Lord in the daylight.” Alfred crossed his thick arms. “That’s a big difference. And you’ve never seen the monsters that dwell in the mountain passes. I’m not sure even a level 5 demon could stand against them.”

  Piper held up her hand. “I’m actually level 15 now in my race and level 10 in my class.”

  Alfred raised his eyebrow in surprise. “That was fast.”

  Piper shrugged.

  “What is that?” Alfred mumbled. “About 75 attribute points total?”

  She did some quick calculations. “Closer to 200.”

  “Huh,” Alfred said, clearly surprised. “That bow of yours. What level is it?”

  “It’s still level 1, but it has a powerful ability.”

  Alfred turned and gazed toward the distant mountains. After a minute, he nodded. “Maybe we have a shot after all.”

  Piper looked towards the snow-capped peaks. She didn’t like the idea of Alfred and his family risking their lives for her. But if there was a chance at all of them having a better life, she was willing to take it.