“Don’t!”I yell.
A blast of heat knocks into me as a white tarp bursts into flames. “Let my friends go!” says Salma, aiming the weapon between the vampires.
There’s a thudding sound as Trevor’s body hits the floor, and he cries out in pain like he’s been injured.
“SHOOT!” I shout at Salma, but Cisco is too fast.
Before she can pull the trigger, the vampire has plucked the flamethrower from her hands. And it’s in this instant I know I fucked up.
I should’ve given my consent for William to turn her as soon as she asked. Salma’s right that I always think I know what’s best for her, and it’s whatever will keep her safe and by my side. I’m too afraid to let her go.
This is all my fault.
Cisco’s hand closes around Salma’s neck, and Tiffany screams, “DON’T!”
“Please!” I cry out. “STOP! I’ll do anything!”
Salma kicks at Cisco and tries to pry his fingers off, but the vampire is unmovable.“You don’t matter,”he says to my best friend.
My sister.
My world.
Then he places his other hand on her head. “NO!”I scream with every molecule of my being—
A crack resounds through the room as Salma’s neck twists.
And
time
stops.
CHAPTER 55william
The first thing William registers is Nate holding Lorena by her curls while a small fire burns out.
His body is drained and near collapse, yet he gathers every last vestige of strength he has left to attack—
Only something is wrong.
They are both looking at the floor. A girl with long black hair and dark lipstick has fallen, her head facing the wrong direction.
They killed Salma.
William lifts his gaze back to Nate and Lorena, who are now staring at him. The first thing he wants to do is carry his beloved to safety. Then he wants to kill Nate and Cisco.
Nate is saying something to William, but the latter isn’t listening. It feels like the world’s sound has shut off, and all he is aware of are Lorena’s eyes, their sunniness eclipsed by shadows, like the aftermath of a cataclysmic event.
He has never seen anything more thoroughly demolished.
So, instead of following his own heart, he heeds hers.
“Now?” he asks, and he realizes by the way the room grows quieter that Nate had still been speaking.
“Now,” she whispers back.
Cisco watches William’s approach in awe, like he is seeing a ghost. Hetakes a small step back, but William stops shy of him and drops to Salma’s side. He gently lifts her upper body, bringing her neck to his mouth.
