Eliza reached for the boards and eased them back with nary a sound.Impressive.
She led me inside, where darkness enveloped us.I shot Eliza a glance.She nodded, silently answering my unspoken question—we could both see in the pitch black.
Together, we moved forward.The mine entrance was narrow, and the wooden supports were still standing, but the workers had long since cleared out the equipment.
We inched onward, careful of the uneven floor, and followed the path deeper into the main area.Eventually, we reached a larger chamber, dimly lit by flickering candles placed haphazardly around the room.The vampire stood at the far end, her back still to us.She was rummaging through a bag, muttering to herself.Eliza and I exchanged a glance, silently communicating our plan.I tightened my grip on Inferno’s Kiss, ready for the confrontation.
Eliza raised her crossbow, aiming it at the vampire’s back.I stepped forward, my blade poised for a strike.But then, our target turned.
And my heart stopped dead in my chest.
I knew this vampire.
ChapterFive
Of all thebloodsuckers in the universe, it had to be her.
Deidre.
The ex-best friend who’d stabbed me in the back so fast, it’d been a miracle she hadn’t dislocated something in the process.
Her crimson eyes locked with mine, and for one single moment, the world stood still.Then, without so much as a word, she lunged.I barely had time to brace myself before she slammed into me, her momentum driving me backward until I hit the nearest wall.The impact shook loose a shower of dust and debris from the ceiling, coating us both in a fine layer.
Damn, she was fast.Faster than I remembered.Or maybe I just wasn’t used to fighting hellspawn anymore.
Eliza positioned herself to the side, crossbow raised, her finger moving toward the trigger.I couldn’t let her take the shot, though.Not yet.I had too many questions that needed answering first, and I’d never get them if we killed her now.
I took control of the fight and slammed my elbow into Deidre’s ribs, pushing her away from the wall.The satisfying crunch of bones breaking spurred me on, and I drove her backward, my fists pummelling every square inch of her—and deservedly so.
Rage and hatred, festering for years from her betrayal, boiled over.I kicked her into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the stone, then dashed forward and pressed Inferno’s Kiss—already vibrating from the heat of my fury—against her throat.
If I applied enough pressure, I could cleave her head from her body, and the panic in her eyes told me she knew it.She froze, as though weighing her options, before growling and driving her knee into my gut.I absorbed the hit with a slight hiss of pain, then seized her by the throat, pulled her away from the wall, and slammed her back into it.Her skull ricocheted off the rock, hard enough to rattle the ceiling.
Her hands flew to my wrists, nails digging deep as she twisted and clawed, trying to free herself.
“What are you waiting for?”Eliza called out, her voice echoing in the tunnel.“Kill her already!”
Oh, I wanted to.I owed her so much pain.My muscles burned with the desire to end her.I wanted nothing more than to push Inferno’s Kiss through her throat until the blade bit into the rock wall behind her.Her death would be justified, but I forced the urge down and leaned in, my face inches from hers.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Deidre?”I demanded, my voice venomous.
Eliza’s footsteps paused behind me.“Wait—you know this vampire?”
“Unfortunately,” I grumbled, my eyes never leaving Deidre’s face.
Deidre, ever the actress, smiled sweetly.“Lily, what a…pleasant surprise.”Her voice oozed false sincerity, her lips twisting into an insufferable smirk that only stoked my rage.
It took every ounce of restraint not to cut her head off right here and now.In all of existence, no one deserved a more violent and brutal end than her.Well, maybe Lucifer himself, but Deidre was a close second.
“Okay, well, regardless of how you two know each other, we need to kill her,” Eliza continued.“So get on with it.”
“Give me a second,” I bit out, my voice steady despite the tempest of emotions tearing through me.
“No, kill her now,” Eliza said, exasperated.“Vamps are slippery bastards—give her an inch, and she’ll rip your throat out.”
She wasn’t wrong.I’d fought enough hellspawn vampires to know their tricks.Earthbound vampires were dangerous, sure, but they were puppies compared to the monsters my father forged.
“I’ve got this,” I said, my gaze locked on Deidre.“Just give me a sec to talk to her first, okay?”
