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Because yeah. That was the problem with my shift. I was shit at controlling the animal instinct to rip apart whatever creature threatened us, and there were countless animals in this labyrinth whose blood alone could kill a wolf.
Vampires were mostly immune to that sort of poison, and I knew it wasn’t an accident Merden had dropped me down in this particular part of the labyrinth.
The breeze shifted as the creature moved back into a shadowy cave up ahead, and something in my memory clicked. Iknewthat scent, even though I’d only smelled it once before.
Grabbing Kingston’s arm, I yanked him backward around the corner, Blaise like a shadow on my ass as she watched me with narrowed eyes.
“Gobbelin,” I whispered to them, the word pounding in my mind like a nightmare come to life.
CHAPTER TEN
KANA
The leather-leaved pothos was a poor substitute for animal hide, but I’d more or less figured out a way to wrap our legs enough to wade through the meadow by the time my two worthless teammates woke up the next morning.
“That settles it. Beauty sleep is a myth,” I said to Jillian as she smoothed her dress.
She flashed her fangs at me and turned away, but a moment later, I was hit with an icy bolt of mindspeak.
I reeled with the image of Acadian, strapped to a stone table and bleeding out while Merden watched in glee. Janus stood nearby, turning to speak to me... no. To Jillian, as if I were her.
“What is that?” I hissed, lunging for her.
Had she shown me an actual memory? My hands locked around her throat, but she’d already pressed a knife to my ribs, wheezing out a giggle as I choked the breath from her lungs.
“Come now, children,” Darnell drawled, obviously annoyed. The knife pressed harder against my vest, but I simply twisted away, kneeing her in the back and arching her over my leg.
“I could snap your neck,” I snarled down at her, hoping for a flash of fear. But her eyes just danced with the tease of the Trial rules.
I could do it, but we both knew I wouldn’t risk it.
Letting her go, I shoved her several feet forward, and she rolled just in time to miss a bed of braided snapdragons. Their little petals sparked at the disturbance, and Jillian quickly dusted the tiny fires off her skirt before they could catch.
“Just so you know, when I’m Queen, I’ll never kill you. It will be too, too much fun to torture you endlessly. I’ve perfected so many techniques on the blood slaves, after all. I’m dearly looking forward to showing you all I’ve learned. Jantzen was merely an inspiration - a stepping-stone, if you will,” she added, flouncing ahead as I struggled to clamp down on the anxiety that single name still brought up.
Jantzen... the Ringmaster who had kept me prisoner for fuckingyearson Earth, while Merden had her way with Saori Sang. And Jillian was over here acting like he was the star of her favorite serial killer documentary.
