How could this happen right under our noses?
Lee pushed himself up with ease and sent a punch straight to Adrian’s stomach, who just let out a crazed laugh.
“Don't do this to me,” he yelled. “Don't let them get in your head. You know why?—”
“I know you want to overthrow me,” Adrian cut him off and pushed him away.
That's when I saw it. General Lee was changing. The veins started spreading through his body, his eyes starting to glow. But not the red of a normal vampire. It was green. It was magic.
Magic that went straight into the new Castle king and sent him flying.
A move like that would have killed any other vampire, but not him. He got up and ran at the man, sending his fist flying to his face, backing him up right into a trap.
The Castle guards finally joined in and grabbed the general. Their strength was no match for his, but there were enough to push him down to his knees.
Adrian laughed.
“I'll spill everything!” the general yelled. “If you think this is sickening, the family has been doing much worse since the beginning of?—”
“Shut your mouth.”
Grabbing his head, Adrian placed a foot on Lee’s chest and pulled. The general let out an animalistic scream as the guards held him, some even falling to their knees to try and keep him in place.
“Such a fucking pity.”
This time, when he pulled, the general couldn’t fight him. It took an immense amount of strength, but he did it, just before he waved the head around, leaking magical blood, like it was a trophy.
How many lives were stolen for this magic? How many witches had their magic sucked out of them until their souls gave out? How many of them screamed to our gods for help, but no one answered?
It was scary to think about. But the most frightening part was how easily her brother killed him. Because it meant that he, too, had done something to change his body. A confirmation that the vampire we were dealing with was far from ordinary.
He turned to me, his smirk in full force, and threw me the head. I caught it by reflex, but as soon as I did, a sharp wave of nausea ran through me.
“I’m sure you two know a good drop-off place for that. The council or the covens, I don’t care. Make sure you send a message.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I forced out. I was going to throw up.
The head was plucked from me by Vesper, who held it to her other side and as far away from me as was allowed in this situation.
I had been so concerned with my own reaction to the magic that I hadn't realized what I had been feeding into the bond. I had been forcing them to live my disgust. It couldn't have been easy for them.
I definitely didn't want her holding that thing either.
“It's not safe. The magic?—”
“Let me handle this,” Vesper whispered.
I looked back at Aurelia’s brother, feeling my stomach drop.
Is there another reason he allowed me to stay by her side?
I sure hoped not.
Aurelia
Ilooked over the deep grooves in the body before me, my stomach twisting more and more the longer I looked at it.
One would think the general’s death going off without a hitch would please me, but I felt like we were toeing a line. Every moment felt like I was holding my breath, fearing one wrong move would send us all tumbling to the wrong side.
