Confusion invaded my mind and I tried to find my power that I hadn’t summoned yet. I hadn’t been ready to let her die, but I wanted answers before I hurt her. I had been building up to it… as ridiculous as that sounded in my head now.
She had been poised to execute me and I was still trying to find a reason to stop her.
What was wrong with me?
The truth was that I had trusted her once upon a time… or as close to trust as I could get. And she had betrayed me. She said she had taken orders, but from whom? Who wanted me dead?
Who would send a Fury to kill me?
She fell to her knees, straddling my legs awkwardly. A large manicured hand pushed her head to the side and she toppled over, seizing violently on the cobblestone ground.
I pulled my legs free and crawled backwards, away from her. Sea water mixed with foam and blood. My heart ached as I watched her begin to die.
“Give me your hand,” a voice demanded.
Without thinking, I put my palm in his outstretched one and let him haul me to my feet.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
If I hadn’t already felt queasy, the sound of Nix’s satisfied baritone voice would have done the job just fine. I did a double take at his smug face before I tried to run away again.
His hand clamped down over mine, squeezing until tears pricked at my eyes and I could have sworn he was seconds from ripping it off my body.
“Finish the job, Meg,” Nix commanded.
A hot blue blade whistled through the air, swishing against the wind until it met malleable flesh and crunching bone. I screamed out as I watched Meg behead her sister. Blood sprayed in long streaks across the ground and the bottom of my gown, it mixed with the sticky saltwater that turned the fabric translucent.
I stared at my dress as the blood mingled with the water, turning a deep shade of purple. I stared until my vision blurred and hot tears streaked down my cheeks. I stared because I couldn’t look at Eryn on the ground or the sister that had betrayed her.
The Fates had predicted this would happen… the Fates told of this exact moment.
I should have been prepared for it.
I should have figured out a way to stop it.
“I’ll meet you on the island.” I heard Nix speak to Meg. I still didn’t know which sister she was because I couldn’t bring myself to look at her face. Maybe it didn’t matter… Maybe they were both working with him. “We’ll only be a second longer.”
“Can you move with her?” the deep female voice asked in a businesslike tone. She didn’t really care except that it might get in the way of her getaway.
“Obviously,” he snarled. “Now go!”
I lifted my head just in time to see her leap into the air and keep going.She can fly, I thought idly. She disappeared into the cloud cover overhead, the only evidence that she was still there was the occasional glimpse of her glowing blue sword.
I pulled against Nix’s hold, suddenly realizing what he intended to do with me. I had no doubt that the island they talked about was notmyisland.
“Let go of me,” I screamed.
His grip tightened until I had to bend down to ease the pain. His black eyes found mine and whispered a thousand evil things. “It’s too late, Ivy. You’re finally mine.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I’ll never be yours,” I winced. I continued to struggle even while I couldn’t move, even while he held me so tightly I knew my bones would start breaking in the next few minutes.
And he wouldn’t care.
Maybe he was trying to break them.
Maybe it was just the beginning of how he was going to break me.
