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I swallowed hard. His presence seemed to take up the entire space. His smooth, velvety voice and something about him made me want to submit to him.
I raised my chin higher. “My job is to either bring in or kill Asmodeus. I prefer the latter. That has been our duty since he took over the human world. I can’t do it alone. My partner, who is also a Seraphim, is imprisoned by Asmodeus. If I can free him, he can help us. We’re all stronger together.”
“Hurry, we’re running out of time.” Kara kneeled next to Nadira and stroked her hair, her voice desperate.
Nadira’s veins grew thicker and wiggled faster.
“Fine.” Victus clenched his jaw. “Under one condition. Once you bring down Asmodeus, you must return and help Nina find a cure for vabies.”
“Vabies?”
“The name for the disease. Like wild animals with rabies,” Nina interjected and lowered her head.
Victus glared, not pleased she had shared. “We don’t know what’s causing it, but only you seemed to be able to cure it.”
“You mean Seraphim’s blood,” I corrected. “I cured one and killed Thomas.”
“I will take the odds. Seraphim are difficult to capture. And you happened to waltz right into my lair. You’re my prisoner until I let you go. Do we have a deal?”
I could argue until Nadira ended up having a seizure, but then if she died my chance would be gone. Regardless, I would have saved her.
Vampire or no, she was a child. I had to do what I thought was right. But be his prisoner after I kill Asmodeus? I think not. He would die by my hands before then.
I would make a false deal. One I did not intend to keep. But no … I had to come back for Snow, assuming she was here. So I had no choice. If I asked for another price, like freeing Snow, he might not take me to Asmodeus.
“We have a deal,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t see through my lie. “Now step aside if you want Nadira to live.”
Victus stood by the bars while I kneeled next to Nadira. Nina dropped next to me and took out a syringe from her dress pocket, the same kind I had in mine. But before she could draw my blood, fingers coiled around my arms and yanked me down with a jerk.
Razor sharp teeth sank into my neck, the exact spot Victus had brushed his tongue. Nadira had come out of her unconsciousness and knew exactly what she needed. I yelped from the pain, then my limbs began to tingle.
Peace filled my soul, and I floated in an endless sea of clouds as numbness swept over me. Was this how victims felt when vampires drank their blood?
A hazy vision of Victus trying to pry Nadira’s fingers off my shoulder, while Nina and Kara looked horrified, seemed far away and muddy. My eyes rolled back as I blinked.
The brick walls faded, replaced by a dimly rocky surface. Victus, Abacus, Markane, and so many people and children were inside a dark cave looking terrified and backing away, covering their eyes as a bright light burst like a newborn star. They didn’t look like vampires but human instead. Was I seeing Nadira’s past?
“That’s enough!” A male’s voice echoed inside my head as I collapsed to the hard ground.
Just before Nadira and I lost connection, I could have sworn I saw Zander with a team of angels.
Impossible. Not possible. Zander had led other teams before we joined together, and so had I. If I had seen parts of Nadira’s past, had she seen mine?
Nina assisted me off the ground while Victus helped Nadira up. Nadira gasped for air and stared at me, blinking. No more veins throbbing under her skin.
She looked healthy, but she swayed. No, not her. Me. The blurry walls and the bars of the prison spun, and I fell like a sack of potatoes.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Evangeline
Victus
A wave of panic surged through Victus’s chest as Nadira’s small fangs sank deep into Evangeline's neck. He should intervene, but Nadira needed enough blood to heal from the vabies disease. And he would let her suck Eva dry if that was what it took to cure her.
He had promised the woman he once loved, who was dead, he would look after their little girl. Only Kara knew his secret. In order to keep Nadira safe, she had to keep up the pretense, even with his own daughter, that Victus was her guardian and not her father.
The black veins throbbing on Nadira’s face began to disappear. He supposed that was a good sign. But was it possible to drink too much from the angel? Would Nadira die like Peter? She better not or he would kill the feather being himself.
