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“She doesn’t want to go?” He asked.
“It’s her sister, Carla. Salenia’s keeping her as a close servant.”
He puffed out his cheeks, then hissed a breath between his teeth. “She’s really not going to want to go anywhere, then. Carla’s a vampire, Salenia turned her this morning. Carla came to see me. I think she got attached after we fucked a few times. Mortals, right?”
I swallowed thickly, my chest tightening as I thought about telling Elizabeth. “Right.”
“Although, I thought I sensed something else in Carla.”
“Like what?”
His brows drew closer. “When she was, uh, releasing,” he said, then smirked. “I could have sworn I felt magic.”
I arched a brow. “You think she’s a sorceress?”
“Was. But if she was, she hid it well. Maybe I just imagined it.”
Adrian was rarely wrong about such things. “Perhaps,” I said, thinking about Elizabeth. I had felt no power from her at all, and I’d been close to her countless times. Vampires and sorcerers both shared the blood of gods, but in different ways. They were descendants, and we were cursed by one. We could pick up on the connection, normally, Although, I hadn’t picked up on much with Salenia and she was a goddess. Maybe that was why I had felt such a draw to her. She had a way about her that lured people in. Except Vangard. I was certain his rejection of her only made her want him more. Then Seraphina probably had something to do with her forced friendship on him. Or that he had a soulmate. It wasn’t just Vener and Anastasia, she wanted to keep all soulmates apart.
Talk about scorned.
FIFTEEN
Niall
Myfacecontortedintoa scowl as the door creaked open and I spotted Elizabeth perched on my bed. I told her not to leave her room under any circumstances.
“What are you—”
My eyes widened as I took in the sight of her tear-streaked face illuminated softly by the soft glow of the candle on my nightstand and the powdery moonlight behind the window. From somewhere below us, the unmistakable screams of mortals filled the air as the aniccipere engaged in their nighttime ritual, their fierce growls accompanying the mortal's desperate cries, until all that remained was a haunting silence.
Her lower lip quivered as her fingers nervously slid along the blade of her dagger. She slowly raised her bloodshot gaze to meet mine, and I closed the door. “You promised to protect her!”
Fuck.
“How did you—”
“Carla came to see me this evening. Except, she was sporting a new pair of fangs.” She rose from the bed, her cheeks flushed red. “You told me who wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.”
As I stepped closer to her, I noticed the intensity in her gaze, like an animal ready to pounce. I paused. “I didn’t know that was going to happen,” I drawled.
“Bullshit!” She marched towards me, her fingers clenched tightly around the hilt of a silver-handled dagger. Her hot breath hit my face as she tiptoed, stopping a couple of inches away. “You knew she was enslaved by Salenia, and you advised me to do nothing. You said that you would handle it and I trusted you.” The cold metal of the dagger's blade pressed against my skin, her fingers trembling as she tightened her grip and raised it higher up my arm.
I let out a long exhale, trying to be patient. She was emotional, I understood, but I was worried about what she would attempt to do while like this. Not against me so much, but Salenia. She wouldn’t last more than a few seconds before the goddess. “It’s not smart to threaten a vampire, especially one who is protecting you.”
She clenched her jaw and with a swift but steady motion, she slid the blade of the knife across my arm, leaving behind a thin trail of blood that trickled down my biceps. “I didn't want to be protected. Carla was all the family I had left. I wanted you to protecther.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as I struggled with what to say. I tried to think of something, but I hated the way she was looking at me—as if I was a villain. She shook her head, lowering the dagger. “I kissed you. I let you feed on me even. I let you in and all I asked was that you help her. That you wouldn’t let her die.”
“She’s not dead,” I blurted, but knew that wasn’t helpful. The cut on my arm didn’t heal quickly, which was expected with the magic now infused into the blade. Blood trickled down to my elbow, the pain not bothering me. But then, it never did. “She’s still your sister.”
“She didn’t act like herself, at all.” She flicked her hair back, exposing her neck. “That was all she kept staring at.” She pointed at her throat, and I noticed two new puncture wounds.
“Elizabeth,” I started, but words failed me.
“She fed on me,” she sobbed, her fingers gently kneading the swollen purple skin around the puncture wounds. Her usually vibrant brown hair was matted, and tears streamed down her face as she pulled the strands over the bite, concealing the bruises left behind. “I tried to stop her, but she was like a different person. She apologized after, and I couldn’t be mad at her. I didn’t want her to feel guilty, but what the fuck am I supposed to do now? She can’t even control her urges around me.”
I shifted my position, torn between needing to tell her about Salenia's plans, but not wanting to give her anymore bad news. I wanted to go to her, to embrace her, and let her know she was not alone. But before I could take a step forward, I saw the guarded expression in her eyes, a warning for me to remain where I was standing. I never thought it possible that I would care what happened to any mortal, let alone offer one comfort, but here I was, struggling with the decision to move or stay. “I’m not good at this,” I admitted. “Being comforting.”
“I don’t need comforting!” She shouted. “I want payback.”
