Free will?No, that’s not what this is. It can’t be. “Nate.” My voice cracks, desperate for him to look at me. I wipe my wet eyes with the back of my hand. “I would never abandon you. We thought you were…dead. You have to believe me. I’m your sister.”
His eyes cut toward me, sharp with cruelty. “I no longer have a sister.”
I shrink back. My hands lift to my mouth, trying to stifle a sob. “But you do! I’m right here. I’m so sorry I failed you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Please, Nate!”
He looks away, his expression flat as if I mean nothing. As if he’s already erased me. My hands go cold when I take a step back.Hold it together, Frankie!This isn’t him.My fingers curl around the hilt of my sword while I focus on Jess. She’s what matters right now.
“What a monumental moment this is!” Dante exclaims. “My prodigy choosing me over his own flesh and blood. This calls for a celebration.” He shoves Jess into Nate’s arms, but keeps his eyes trained on me. “Turn her.”
“No!” I pull my sword free, but Zarreth pulls me back. “I have an idea. Just trust me and keep him talking.” And then he’s gone—wings beating, fire pulling away when he disappears into the sky.
Dante’s eyes flick past me when he chuckles. “Whatever little tricks you have planned won’t save you.”
Okay, keep them talking. “Why are you doing this, Nate? It’s Jess, she’s practically your sister.”
He doesn’t answer, just lifts her higher without so much as a flinch, eyes boring into mine. “Please,” I choke out. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Hope flickers for a moment as his thumb rolls slowly across the pads of his fingers. He’s always done that, for as long as I can remember. It’s a nervous tick he has.He’s still there.
And then it’s gone. His hand goes still, that tiny habit dropping away like it never existed.
Dante claps his hands together, delighted. “Yesss, that’s it, Nathaniel! Do this for me and you will earn your place…second-in-command. Prove it here, with her blood. Sire her to me, and everything I have will be yours.”
He bares his fangs, jaw stretching wide, while he pulls Jess close. No!
Right when the worst possible thing could happen, his mouth snaps shut. Oh my God! He stopped! I knew he would stop. Somehow, I just knew it.
Dante leans in, whispering something to Nate, when a sword forces him to duck. Zarreth and Macen close in, driving him back as his body twists into his half-beast form. Their battle rages on, but my focus is on Nate, on the sister he holds in his arms.
“Nate!” I cry, feeling every ounce of hope shatter as his features harden again, his face no longer belonging to my brother. “Fight it! You don’t have to do this!”
Jess struggles in his grip, tears streaking her face as she begs. “Nate, please! This isn’t you!”
He hesitates. I swear he’s about to stop…but then he snarls, sinking his fangs into her throat. No!
Jess screams, her body jerking in his arms as blood streaks down her neck. “No!” My voice rips out of me while I lunge forward. He bites her again, tearing into her with a violence that isn’t human.
I won’t lose them both. I raise my sword, and let it sink into his neck. Blood rains down on me. His blood…ourblood.
He drops her, pulling away before the blade slices all the way through. Everything stills while he holds his head in place, blood gurgling from his lips. He looks at me with the same expression he wore when he’d hide me from our stepfather. Then he traces away.
I gather Jess in my arms. “No. No, no, no. Stay with me!” I scream. “You can’t fucking die, do you hear me?” Her head falls back against my forearm while I search for the wound. There’s so much blood. There shouldn’t be this much.
This isn’t right! What do I do?
Oh my God, what do I do?
I tilt her head, checking the other side of her neck, but she’s so limp. She shouldn’t be this limp! This can’t be happening. Please don’t be dead! I start screaming again, my vision closing in.
Okay, keep it together! She needs me. I can’t let her die.
Dammit, why is it taking so long to find the fucking…wait, there it is. Thank you, God! I cry as my fingers finally find the gaping hole. My hand shakes while I clamp it around her neck, trying to ignore the sticky crimson covering her skin, but there’s so much.
“Come on! Stay with me!” My fingers ache, but I don’t let up, pressing hard to stop the bleeding. I try summoning even the smallest trickle of healing magic, but it doesn’t come.Fuck!I need to calm down if I want my light to come, but I can’t. My best fucking friend is dying in my arms!
My chest heats, the stone at my neck thrumming with my emotions. No! Not now. It’s completely black. Not swirls of gray, like it’s done before—black, like death is staring straight at me.
Shadows are dancing along my skin now, darkness flowing through my veins. Stop it! I plead, desperate to keep it down. I can’t release it, not yet, but the shadows tear out of me anyway, lashing out and pulling at my back, trying to split my whole body apart. Screams echo as demons and shifters crumple, blood pouring from their mouths.
