“Shit,” she muttered when only one landed a kill shot. Vesper had always had the better aim. Why the fuck didn’t she come out when Bellamy yelled for her? A hand came sailing to her temple, and she narrowly avoided it, slicing at the arm with her magic—she’d barely had enough time to form it into a solid, broken glass-like shard. A few drops of blood fell onto her pants—and that’s why she wears black.
Before she had time to recover, something slammed into her exposed tricep hard, and her vision blacked out just enough for her defenses to drop. The next hit sent her staggering back, and was caught by rough hands. The man she’d burnt wrapped her in a tight hold, squeezing her arms to her side and lifting her off the ground. She kicked at him uselessly, but her magic wasn’t coming to her anymore. Her body was weak.
Fuck. They’d hit her with an artificial dampener. Those fucking things should be outlawed. She opened her mouth to yell for Vesper again. She was stopped when the man she’d slashed managed to avoid her kicking legs and shove a ball of fabric in her mouth. She threw her head back and heard a sickening crunch from the one who held her. She hoped she’d broken his fucking nose.
“Keep fighting and they kill her,” the other man hissed angrily, venom in his eyes.
Don’t save her.
Was that this moment? Should Bellamy keep fighting? Was she supposed to? Fuck those cryptic fucking messages. Bellamy didn’t care, she’d do anything to keep Vesper alive. Bellamy froze, falling limp against the hold. Maybe he would drop her dead weight. She was getting more desperate to get into that room by the fucking second. This whole thing had been a setup.
Then, the door opened. At the other end of the room was Vesper, entirely unharmed, with Cedar’s grubby fingers clutching her arm. The gag was ripped from Bellamy’s mouth, and her feet found the floor, arms still clutched against her sides.
“You fucking bitch! Don’t—” The gag was shoved back into her mouth. Cedar glared at her. Vesper opened her mouth, looking like she might object to Bellamy’s treatment, but stopped herself when Cedar moved. An ache stung at the back of Bellamy’s throat. Why did Vesper trust Cedar so much?
“I’m going to give you a choice, Bellamy,” Cedar said. She smiled sweetly, making her way around the table toward Bellamy, letting her hand glide over Vesper’s back.Bellamy’s fists clenched at her sides. “I work for a competitor of your little organization. I was sent to disrupt this assignment so I could recruit one of you.”
Bellamy’s heart pounded in her chest. She swallowed, looking to Vesper, who was just fucking standing there. Watching. Her expression unreadable. Vesper wasn’t on Bellamy’s side. She wasn’t going to do anything—she wouldn’t help her. Had Cedar given her the same opportunity? What was this, some kind of fucked up test?
Cedar didn’t want Bellamy. She knew that. So, why the fuck was she giving Bellamy this chance? Unless Vesper hadn’t accepted her offer…
“It’s your decision, Bellamy.” Cedar was right in front of her, gaze pinning Bellamy in place. Cedar’s eyes narrowed despite her body staying relaxed. Vesper was no longer in Bellamy’s sights. The gag was ripped out of her mouth. She coughed then spat on Cedar, who looked like she wanted to stab her.
“Fu—” Bellamy started but her attention was pulled by a crinkling noise. She looked down. It was the note, identical to the one she’d burned from her assignment papers.
Bellamy swallowed thickly, glancing back up to see Cedar smiling at her. There was no need for false pleasantry though. Vesper couldn’t see Cedar’s face, so what did it matter?
“What’ll it be, Bellamy? Who gets my protection, and who takes the fall?” Cedar cocked her head to the side, holding Bellamy’s gaze, unbothered.
Bellamy struggled against her captor. Her magic was still out of reach, would be until she got that fucking dampener off theback of her arm. A flicker of movement over Cedar’s shoulder caught her attention. Vesper had started slowly, silently walking towards them. Bellamy opened then closed her mouth.
I’m sorry. I love you. I shouldn’t have let this happen. There were so many things she needed to say to Vesper. So many apologies. Bellamy couldn’t say any of that right now. All she could do was give Vesper the chance to get out and hope she understood what it meant. Hope she understood just how much Bellamy regretted everything.
“I’ll take the fall. Get her out,” Bellamy said to Cedar. Then, she lowered her voice and leaned in. “You better keep her safe or I will fucking kill you.”
“Bold of you to assume you’ll live long enough to leave this room,” Cedar hissed through clenched teeth.
Cedar crunched the paper in her balled fist, and her other hand came out of nowhere, slapping Bellamy hard. The stinging burned across Bellamy’s cheek. She struggled against the iron grip the man behind her had.
“Hey!” Vesper yelled. She was too far away. Cedar wasn’t going to give Vesper the chance to help, if that even was what she’d do. Bellamy wasn’t sure anymore.
A sharp pain slid into Bellamy’s side. Her arms dropped, and the man jerked back like Bellamy was the one with a weapon. She gasped, a small whimpered cry escaping her lips as she clutched her side. The dagger protruded from her ribs, and she yanked it out. The blood on the blade was already turning black against the poison now flooding her veins.
So, Cedar was who had been trying to kill her. The thought drifted numbly through her mind. That explained the attack the other day. That paper must have been more useful to her than Bellamy thought. Her vision swam. The poison worked much quicker this time. She scanned the room for Vesper—she needed to see her one more time, to know she’d be okay. That was it.
Her lungs ached, and her breaths came in short, choppy bursts. Tears burned in her eyes, falling hot down her face, and noamount of blinking would clear them away. A thousand regrets flashed through her mind. Bellamy should have killed Cedar the second she saw her in bed with Vesper all those years ago.
She never should have let Cedar sink her grubby little claws into Vesper, into Bellamy’s life. Never should have let Cedar rip everything apart. But her biggest regret would always be Vesper. She should have told her—should have told her and let them suffer the consequences together, fight together. She shouldn’t have pushed her away.
Bellamy’s legs buckled beneath her. There was a muffled commotion, but she was too far gone. Nothing made sense. She slowly drifted out of consciousness as she collapsed.
Bellamy had finally lost everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Vesper
Cedar stabbed her. Bellamy had chosen to save Vesper’s life, and Cedar had fucking stabbed her. Vesper saw the blade in Cedar’s hand a split second before she plunged into Bellamy’s gut. Everything happened all at one, simultaneously too fast and in slow motion.
