I’m screaming Dahlia’s name.But she’s already turning grey as she hits the floor.
I storm forward, no thought to my safety or what I plan to do to the hulking man.I’m just desperate to reach her.
A boot slams into the middle of my chest.I’m flung back and crash into the floor.He pins me, pressing his filthy boot into my chest.The hooded intruder.
Only his hood has been knocked off.
Finally, I see his face and my blood runs cold.
His dark hair, lank and limp.Eyes beady and hollow.Skin paler than I’ve ever seen, almost as if…
He snarls, and that’s when the truth slams into focus.Two incisors lengthened and blunted, as if someone shaved his fangs to useless stubs.
“Penelope,” he growls.
“R-Roman?You’re… you’re a va—” I gasp.
He pushes his boot harder into my chest, cutting my words off and making me cry out.I can’t breathe.There’s a crack and a splinter of pain so acute I see stars.
Octavia careens into Roman, smashing him to the ground.I gasp for air, clawing at my chest, trying not to panic as I struggle to get oxygen in deep enough.
Red skids to my side, kneeling and grabbing my face in her hands.“Look at me,” she barks.“Focus.Breathe slow.If you panic, you’re going to hyperventilate and knock yourself out.Breathe with me.In.Out.In.”
She’s demanding, but it works.My heart rate steadies, and I adjust to the searing throb with every intake.
“D-Dahlia,” I pant out.
Red pivots, spotting her lying motionless and dashes across the dance floor.She pulls the enormous blade from Dahlia’s chest and shreds the fabric of her top to examine the wound.Red’s expression is drawn, the lines of worry etching into her skin.And I can see why.Mottled veins plague Dahlia’s chest.Oh my gods, is she desiccating?
Red bites into her wrist, shredding the skin and presses the dripping flesh to Dahlia’s mouth.I struggle to my knees, about to go to her, but something heavy knocks into me.I’m sent flying and collapse on the floor several feet away.My ribs bloom again with an intense pulse of heat.Tears leak down my face.I’m screaming, but it sounds disjointed, far away.
Octavia and Roman are beating the shit out of each other.I’ve never seen a vampire move the way she does.Pure power.Blow after blow.You’d think she wouldn’t stand a chance against a man his size, but she’s hammering him.Pushing him back.One pace.Two.
I should be scared, but my attention is sucked away by something far more terrifying: Morrigan.
She appears, hovering over me, one hand open to help me up, the other brandishing two stakes.
“Are you ready to end this?”she says.
“Gods, yes.”
“Then let’s do it together.As sisters.”She grins at me as the atmosphere around her shivers as if she’s sucking power from the air itself.Her blue eyes burn like fire and flames.Threads of silvery magic peel from the palace walls, thick and fast.They swirl and swim around her, wrapping her arms and fists in power.
Fuck me, she’s magnificent.
I yelp as she tears threads off her body and wraps them around me too.Power surges through my skin, melting into my fractured ribs and easing the constant, searing pain to a dull ache.My body is alive; energy and heat course through me.My gods, if this is half of what Morrigan experiences, no wonder she’s obsessed with collecting magic.
We stalk towards Octavia and Roman.I risk a glance at Dahlia.Red is still feeding her as Quinn joins them, frantically unhooking a belt and pulling bottles and potions out.
But no matter what Quinn does, Dahlia’s skin remains grey, those purple veins staining her chest.I have to bite the inside of my lip to prevent myself from screaming.
Scarlett sprints into the fray, katanas drawn as she joins Octavia.The pair of them move in tandem—Octavia with fists and fangs and Scarlett with swords crashing against Roman’s weapons.
Scarlett takes a savage hit to the face and clatters to the floor.Octavia lashes back at Roman, her crimson eyes flaming.
The hits keep coming, reverberating around the throne room.
“Enough,” Morrigan says and flings her hands out, contorting and twisting her fingers.Remy appears, her hands forming knots at a rapid rate.Bella too.The pair of them throw silvery strings of magic that bend and join each other, creating a lattice-like cage imprisoning Roman.
