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Inside the car, Estrella quickly explained her theory about how their brother, now a Sceleri, was able to still keep vampires in line even when he wasn't present. "He's been extremely cunning with these little scraps. They're easily overlooked because the dominant scent you'll get from it is the vampire's blood. But that blood isn't just for show," she said tensely. "I have a feeling all these vampires have been tortured, and that blood is to remind them of what they'll suffer if they dare disobey him."
"And Fina's blood?" Aluin demanded. "If you say it's not there because she betrayed us, then why—-"
"It's a basic reminder of who not to kill," Estrella answered.
Alessandro had been quietly digesting the information his younger sister was feeding him, and at her last words, everything finally became clear. Fuck. He glanced up and saw the same fears in Estrella's gaze. "You're saying Fina's cover's blown."
"Y-Yes." Estrella could feel herself paling even as she forced herself to nod. "And worse - I think they've been on to her from the start, and Ivy was just bait to lure Lysander to their trap."
Chapter Twenty-Three
The beast inside Lysander was pacing and prowling in agitation as his solders slowly advanced up the hill. Everything about the place smelled wrong, more so to the beast inside him, and it wanted Lysander to back down.
Trap.
The beast snarled the word out.
TRAP.
Growled it.
TRAP!
Lysander's teeth gnashed. Fuck this. The beast knew what it was doing, and what it sensed was the same thing he had sensed from the very start. He lifted his hand in the air, and his soldiers immediately halted at his gesture.
Fina saw the look on the prince's face and knew that he had sensed the same thing as well. Everything about this place...it didn't smell right. It reminded her of all those places she had been spying on and inadvertently become a silent witness to murder and mayhem.
That was how this whole place smelled. It reeked of treachery, danger, and death—-
But when Fina saw the prince's lips starting to move.
She just couldn't do it.
If she let the prince call out a halt to their mission, it would mean admitting that this whole thing was a trap, would mean admitting that Fina herself had been played for a fool.
And she just couldn't do it.
"Our prince says charge!"
Her scream was the point of no return. In a flash, Fae soldiers charged up the hill, driven by a command that was nothing but a lie. And the moment they made it to the top—-
"NO!"
But it was too late. Each and every one of his soldiers had disappeared.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
The whole damn place was a portal, and three quarters of his men had fallen into it. He looked at Fina, and the spymaster's pallor told him she already knew what he was thinking of.
"Your Highness, no." Fina was still shaking in horror, aghast at seeing the soldiers disappear into the enemy's lair. Alain was right, she thought sickly. There had been so many red flags sticking out about the whole operation, but she had ignored them all in her bid to steal the prince from Estrella.
And now, the prince was going to pay for her selfishness.
She turned to Lysander, intending to offer to rescue them even if it meant that she'd die trying, but the prince didn't even let her speak.
"Get the rest of my men to safety. Ask for backup from L'Alliance—-"
"But Your Highness..." Fina's voice was weak. "If we ask for their help, they might—-"
"I don't give a fuck what they think, Fina. Can't you see how many lives are at stake?" Violet eyes blazed at her. "So can you fucking do this or not?"
"Y-Yes, Your Highness."
"Don't fail me again."
And then Lysander was charging up alone...and in the next moment, he, too, was gone.
LYSANDER SHIFTED INTO a beast as he crossed the portal, and he wasted no time digging his claws into the soil the moment he landed.
The only reason he had agreed to fighting an uphill battle was because of his ability to reshape the land. His powers were meant to even the battlefield and take away whatever terrestial advantages the vampires had working for them.
Or at least that was the plan...until he realized that nothing was happening.
Fuck.
He yanked his claws out and dug them back deeper. Come on, come on. But nothing happened, and when the beast inside him started howling -
FUCK.
They were all fucked.
Lysander managed to rip his claws out before the poison could completely infiltrate his system, but not fast enough to escape unscathed. The poison had found its way to his inner beast, flaying it alive, and what it felt, Lysander felt, too. The pain was excruciating, and it drove him to his knees as he struggled to keep his senses intact. He cast a wild look about him and swore under his breath when he saw his men vastly outnumbered. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
