She’d held her own pretty well for a while against the guard, but by the end Bradan had been truly afraid for her. He tried to focus on his adversary. Bradan had managed to draw blood twice, but his sword was made of Quickening, not silver, and the guard’s wounds closed almost immediately. Bradan’s only chance was to behead him, but it was easier said than done when the man wore a neck shield to protect himself against that very thing. Not all vampires did; Aedan certainly never did, as far as Bradan knew. There didn’t seem to be such a thing as standard armor where guards were concerned. As the four of them continued to circle each other and fight, Bradan found himself back to back with Aedan. “How bad?” Aedan asked. Bradan didn’t reply. He was trying very hard not to think about his arm, and how warm his blood felt running down all the way from his bicep to his hand. “Didn’t you say they’d retreat when she was out of reach?” he asked instead, slightly out of breath; it had been a long time since he had channeled continuously for more than a few minutes, and the blood loss wasn’t helping.
