I start to back away, feeling I’ve made a massive mistake.
“That makes one of us,” Anastasia says from behind me, arms crossed barring the way. I could chip a couple of ice cubes off her face if I needed a cold drink.
“Y- you can’t touch me here. They’ll know. I’m engaged to the prince.” My words seem infantile to my own ears. Suddenly I’m that twelve-year-old trying to convince two vampires that they are sisters, friends even.
They did an excellent job of clearing up that notion back then.
“Why do they think that?” Anastasia asks, cocking her head to the side. “Is it because you dress like one of us, pig?” With that, she grabs the necklace at my throat and yanks.
My hands fly to the jewels that choke me instead of breaking.
“These should bemyjewels,” Anastasia says through gritted teeth. “This should bemydress. And he should bemyfiancé.”
“They dressed up the piggie,” Drusilla says with a gleeful little clap. She was always the truly sadistic one. “Like a yummy bloody present to open.” She grabs my sleeve and rips it away. It flutters to the ground which seems to send Drusilla into a frenzy. She grabs the other sleeve and rips that off too.
I can’t stop her because I’m too busy trying to keep Anastasia from choking me, even as black dots appear in my vision.
Nails scratch at me. Someone pulls at my hair.
“Stop,” I gasp.
“Aww, little piggie wants us to stop, Dru,” Anastasia mocks. She shakes the necklace like a collar, and it cuts my throat. Fear flares like a supernova as I feel my blood slide down my neck.
Dru gasps in delight. “Let me bite the piggie.”
“Not yet—” Anastasia says, but she never held any real sway over her younger sister.
Drusilla jumps on me. The necklace breaks against my throat sending Anastasia stumbling backward.
I slam to the ground, the breath knocked out of me so hard I lose my bearing for several seconds. A cold, thick tongue swipes up my throat as greedy fingers grip my hair to keep me in place.
“I forgot how good you tasted, piggie,” Drusilla pants in my face.
Fear turns me ice cold. I know what happens next.
I’m desperate to disconnect from my body, to be anywhere but here. Just like I used to, I want to send myself elsewhere to colors and shapes in my mind where it’s safe, so I feel no pain. But I’ve spent so much time being inside my body, letting Kai into it. I'm too grounded to let go.
Oh fuck, oh fae lords, I’m going to have to feel it all. Be agonizingly present while she tears into me. Tears slide out of the corners of my eyes and trickle into my ears.
If I were going to manifest those powers latent in my body, now would be a great time. I could use a fireball, the power to fly away, anything to save me.
Reearrrr!A pissed off feline yowl fills the hallway.
“Gah, get it off!” Drusilla jerks away from me.
A darting figure of black fur clambers over her. I scramble back, not wasting any time.
“Ana, get this beast off me,” Dru screams as her sister flails uselessly at the offending creature.
Lucifer. Lucifer is attacking my stepsisters.
Between them and the cat, I’d bet on devil kitty any day. So I turn and fucking run. I slip at first but regain my bearing, determined to get as far away as fucking possible.
I don’t get far before I slam into something solid. Two hands grip my shoulders, holding me still despite my struggle.
“Cinder. Cinder, it’s me.”
I look up and find Kaison, fully dressed to the nines. I sag in relief as he holds me up. Fuck, I hate how much I need his strength, but I’m seconds from bursting into some very messy tears.
