“Let her go,” Aurora commanded as she directed Gia’s power, pushing it further into the link between Gia and Franco.
Franco inhaled through his nose, gritting his teeth against the pain. “Fuck you.”
The smell of burning flesh met Gia’s nose, and she recoiled. Was her magic doing that? Was Aurora using the connection created by his command to burn him like she’d burned the binding?
Yes. That’s exactly what she was doing. Gia shook, nearly overwhelmed by her magic’s ferocity. “Let me go, Franco, or my magic will burn you alive.”
He snarled, his eyes flaring red. “Stop what you’re doing,” he commanded.
But Gia couldn’t stop because she wasn’t doing anything. Aurora was in charge, and Franco was giving her an easy path to destroying him by keeping her under his thrall.
“I said stop!” With an animalistic screech, Franco threw Gia to the side and lunged for Aurora, but her eyes were clamped shut to keep Franco’s hypnosis at bay.
A gunshot went off. Someone screamed. Gia whirled around in time to see Viv tackling the man nearest them, his handgun flying across the grass.
Franco grabbed Aurora, and they fell to the ground as he tried to pry her eyelids open. She thrashed beneath him, screaming, but didn’t release her hold on Gia’s magic.
“Stop, Franco!” Gia yelled.
Marc appeared at her side. “Father, listen to her! Please.”
Franco’s skin began to smoke. He pushed Aurora away, staggered to his feet, and lunged for Gia instead.
“Kill her!” he roared, his breaths growing short. “Stop her.”This time, the words were nothing more than a gasp, and everyone around them looked aghast at Franco’s fallibility.
The light in his eyes faded as Gia’s magic burned him from the inside out and he slumped to the ground, unmoving.
This was the only death Gia wouldn’t feel guilty about. She’d killed so many people for him, and even though she’d had no choice, she carried the pain of their deaths. She’d give anything to undo it. But this? This was earned. It was a fitting end for Franco Balzano and she was relieved it was over.
Salvator turned and ran, the others following without a backward glance.
“He’s dead, right?” Gia asked.
“We might need to toss him in the actual fire,” Aurora said in her ear, almost apologetic. When had she come so close? Her arm wrapped around Gia, and she gestured to the burning house. “I don’t know if magic can burn thoroughly enough to prevent him from regenerating. His body is still intact, after all.”
Viv appeared at their side. “Yeah, you’re gonna need that extra step if you don’t want him waking up.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” Aurora asked her.
“Someone snapped my neck, and it took a hot minute to heal.Sorry.” The last word dripped with sarcasm.
Aurora seemed mollified. “At least you’re okay.”
Viv shrugged and pointed at Franco. “What’s the verdict with this one?”
“Toss him on the fire,” Gia said, her voice oddly distant, even to herself.
Viv hummed agreeably. “Gotcha. Look away if you don’t want to watch.”
Gia didn’t bother. Out of all the horrible things she’d seen, she needed this. She had to know it was over, so she watched as Viv threw Franco’s body into the fire consuming the house.
The Thornfields seemed to have fled alongwith Franco’s men, except for the ones who’d been killed. Bodies littered the lawn, and fire burned in the distant trees. It was a hellscape. Only Marc remained, staring blankly at the burning building. At his father, Gia supposed.
Franco might not have been her birth father, but he had raised her, and now, he was gone. The price for what he’d done to Letti and Jeffrey was paid at last.
Exhaustion overwhelmed Gia. She was ready for the day to be done. To move on to something better.
TWENTY-FIVE
