Page 78

My whole life has been a lie. Every damn moment.

I look at the faces around me, Cora, Raya, Kian, Hunter, the true family I didn’t know I had.

We’re not standing in the middle of a war.

It seems like the only thing stopping Theo from ripping Velistra’s throat out is my hand on his. The strength of her power emanates off her. She’d probably kill him before he is close enough to strike.

I swallow, my chest feeling heavy with betrayal, everything I felt and feared about being at this place has been confirmed. I’m sick to my stomach over it all, but have no time to process any of it.

My eyes move between Cora and Raya. My supposed sisters. I can’t quite wrap my head around it, even though standing here right now, it’s so obvious. Our similarities are undeniable.

With his jaw tight, Theo moves forward, just enough to put himself between me and Velistra again. His shoulders are tense as his hands curl into fists at his sides.

‘You think we’re just pawns in your war?’ he spits. ‘You think you can poison us, use her like bait, and still walk out of this alive?’

‘You were never meant to die here, Theo,’ she says smoothly. ‘You were meant to lead them here. And you did.’

Rage sparks inside us both, ebbing through the connection between us. I should’ve seen this coming. Of course it was all mapped out, stage by stage, according to someone else’s plan.

Velistra tilts her head, the corners of her mouth curling upward, just enough to show a sliver of teeth. It’s not a smile of joy, or even satisfaction. It’s the kind of smile of someone who already knows the ending of the story.

Theo’s last bit of patience and self-control snaps, and he lunges forward. He’s across the space between us in a flash of movement. His fist slams into the protective ward just inches from her chest, and a pulse of energy bursts out, throwing sparks into the air. It appears to burn him, but he isn’t deterred. I wince as his knuckles split open, blood spattering the grass around him, but the magical ward of protection around her doesn’t faze him one bit; it only spurs him on.

The witches flinch. One of them starts murmuring a spell, but Theo snarls and shoves forward again, fangs bared.

‘Tara,’ Velistra says, voice dripping with condescension. ‘Tell your dog to stand down.’

The second my name leaves her lips, Theo loses whatever grip he still had. He slams his shoulder into the ward again, harder this time, and it fractures, a spiderweb of light splitting through the space between them. Behind me, I hear the others moving.

Kian is there, fangs flashing, slamming into one of the younger witches like a force of nature. Cora moves with him, faster than human sight, her rage barely restrained. Raya and Hunter follow, not holding back on their attacks either. I teeter behind them, still unsure what to do or what to think.

Part of me still doesn’t believe Velistra’s harsh truth. Becoming a vampire is so new to me, I feel like a stranger in my own body and don’t know how to even move forward in a scenario like this.

It’s chaos. Screams and grunts as body parts connect, magic cracking through the air like thunder. The ward collapses completely, finally exposing the witches to us. Theo is on Velistra again in seconds, pinning her back with one hand as the other closes around her throat.

A searing, blinding light blasts through him, but his fingers stay locked around Velistra’s throat, fangs bared. She shouldn’t be able to smile with his hand crushing her windpipe, but somehow, she does.

That same awful, cold smile stretches across her face, slow and elegant, like she’s been waiting for this exact moment.

‘You poor, pretty little monster,’ she whispers, voice hoarse but steady. ‘Did you think you could touch me and walk away?’

Her hands come up fast and then her palms slam into his chest, a surge of raw magic punching straight through Theo, and through our bond I feel part of it myself, like it’s a physical blow. It’s something beyond pain that radiates through me. A crushing, burning force explodes through my ribcage, flinging me backward like I weigh nothing. I scramble to my feet as Theo crashes through one of the stone pillars edging the property with a sickening crack, stone shattering around him as he hits the ground hard. Bones in his back snap on impact.

Theo gasps, winded, wincing as he realises that his spine is completely disfigured. He attempts to move but fire laces down his spine, anchoring him to the ground like he’s been nailed there. I feel it strongly, as if it’s happening to me. I shake my head, fighting to control my body and differentiate myself from him.

Velistra steps through the chaos like she’s walking across a ballroom floor, her hair whipping around her in the storm of energy she’s unleashed. Witches behind her begin to chant again, their voices rising, and despite the fights going on around her, she’s in her own bubble and nothing can touch her.

‘Tara!’ Theo tries to call out, but it’s barely more than a rasp.

My vision swims. I blink through it, searching around me.

I see Cora tackling a witch to the ground, snarling, blood around her mouth. Kian’s holding his own, plowing through the witches. Raya, Hunter and Cas are blurs, impossibly fast as they move through the bodies, but my eyes scan endlessly for Theo as I seem to lose him among the mayhem.

Movement catches my eye as a body streaks fast and recklessly in front of Velistra. His white-blond hair is striking. His arms go wide, body between Velistra and the rest of us like some kind of shield.

Velistra slows, her eyes narrowing. Cas doesn’t back down.

‘Theo?’ I call out.