I want to tell him exactly what I think about his orders, but I glare at the redhead instead.
Her eyes are wide with shock, and she holds her now free hands in front of her in surrender. “It’s not me!”
Just as the words leave her mouth, strange sigils coil to life along the walls, glowing a familiar red. Pink mist starts to flood the room, carrying the scent of decaying roses.
“Run, kitten!” Sin exclaims, just as he falls to his knees.
Chapter 48
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule forty-eight:Pay closer attention to fairytales.
“Like fucking hell am I leaving you,” I hiss at Sin.
Red coils slither around his wrists, binding him to the stones. Instantly, my combined energies crackle to life, surging through my veins and ready to obliterate the entire city.
A voice behind us stops me. “Calling on your power will only land you in the same position as him.”
I don’t need to turn around to recognize who it is.
The old shifter woman steps into the room. Only now, she walks with ease. Her posture is ramrod straight, and her tone doesn’t waver.
Sonofa–
The redhead we followed here reaches for something around her neck, and the old woman laughs, “That goes for you, too. Rune magic will not help you.”
The redhead’s hand stills, and my eyes lock on her necklace. Instead of pendants, it holds a handful of ivory-colored rings.
They’re exact matches to the one I shoved inside Sin’s pocket before we entered the club.
I don’t get a chance to piece together what the hell is going on before the older woman interrupts my thoughts.
“It’s funny how young creatures think they are all-powerful,” she muses, pacing around the room.
I barely manage to contain my disbelief.
Young? She does know Sin is well over two thousand years old, right?
She pauses at one of the red sigils, running her fingers along the symbol. “A simple, but amplified containment spell can do wonders, especially when it harnesses the creatures’ very power.”
“Kitten, you need to fucking run,” Sin urges.
The old woman narrows her eyes at him, and I step between them, cutting off her line of sight. My power burns beneath my flesh, an electric current that’s begging to be released. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
She cackles, her dark green eyes sharp and calculating. “Actually, business is booming. I don’t want a thing from you.”
Fuck.
“You’re a Harvester,” I accuse in a flat tone.
She gives me a Cheshire smile. “No, little girl. I amtheHarvester. Every one of them works for me.”
Her eyes snap back to the redhead, who is slowly reaching for something in her boot. “Pulling that blade will be the last thing you do.”
She freezes, and I resist the urge to reach for my own blades. This woman has Sin trapped, and the thought of spilling her blood sends shivers of anticipation prickling over my flesh.
The old woman turns back to me and continues as though nothing just happened. “But, as it so happens, my buyer would like a word with you. And since you’ve so kindly fallen into the trap I put out for the rat,” her eyes dart to the redhead, “I may as well take you with me and collect the bounty. So long as you come quietly and without the Destroyer, I won’t be forced to hurt him.” Her tone is measured, like we’re discussing business, and not kidnapping.
