Bellamy dropped, mumbling incoherently. Vesper shoved Cedar out of the way and tried to catch Bel before she hit the ground. The guard holding Bellamy had let go, had backed up to the door, watching in stoic silence with his buddy. Vesper wanted to kill them both, to kill Cedar, to not let a single person leave this building alive.
Bellamy’s eyes were black, blood dripping from the corners and staining her perfect cheeks.
This could not be happening. Cedar’s blade was laced with magicked poison. Bellamy was going to die in Vesper’s arms, and there was nothing she could do about it. Bellamy sacrificed her own life to save Vesper’s, after fucking everything they’d been through. After all this time. Bel had still chosen Vesper.
Vesper swallowed the lump in her throat. Tears pricked the edges of her vision.Come back to me, Bel.But it was no use. She couldn’t save her.
“I have the antidote.” Cedar’s voice pulled Vesper away, back to the present. Cedar was kneeling on the ground next to them, her words barely audible, but Vesper latched on to them in an instant.
“Give it to me,” Vesper demanded, her own voice foreign in her ears, dead and hopeless, devoid of emotion. Was this shock? She turned to her. “Give me the antidote, Cedar.”
A cruel smile spread across Cedar’s face, and Vesper wondered how she had ever been attracted to her. She’d ignored all Bel’s warnings. Bellamy had known what Cedar was the whole time, hadn’t she?
“Join me, and the antidote is yours.”
“Okay,” Vesper whispered, defeat plain in her tone. She’d say anything—doanything—if it meant Bellamy lived—she knew that. A part of her had always known that.
“Good choice.” Cedar’s smile broadened as she handed the bottle to Vesper. She snatched it up and popped the cork.
Vesper brought the vial to Bellamy’s lips and tipped it back. Bellamy was drawing in shallow breaths. Black veins of poison were crawling up her neck. She didn’t have long now. If this didn’t work…
Vesper counted each of her slowing heartbeats until the poison started to recede and Bellamy took a large, gasping breath. Vesper wiped the stupid tears away from her own eyes and swallowed, a relieved laugh bubbling up. It would be fine. They’d be fine.
“Time to go, V,” Cedar ordered, squeezing Vesper’s shoulder gently.
“I can’t leave her like this.”
Cedar’s nails dug into Vesper. “I said,” she gritted through her clenched teeth, “it’s time to go.”
“What do you think is gonna happen now, Cedar?” Vesper asked quietly, wiping the blood from Bellamy’s face.
The discarded dagger sat beside her knee. It practically screamed at her to take her vengeance. She itched for it, anoverwhelming desire to stab the blade through flesh. To make Cedar know the pain she’d caused. But Vesper needed information before acting. Bellamy was safe for now. Vesper was safe—for now.
She needed to know what happened next. It wasn’t like Cedar could force Vesper to leave against her will.
Cedar sighed heavily. “I’ll explain everything when we’re clear. Let’s go.” She pulled at Vesper, trying to get her on her feet. But Bellamy hadn’t woken yet, and Vesper wasn’t going anywhere.
Cedar gave a grunt of frustration then her slender hand was replaced by a much larger, rougher one, and Vesper was forcefully hauled to her feet. The guards she’d forgotten about shoved her from the room while Cedar clutched Vesper’s hand in a death grip.
“Who are you?” she asked Cedar, planting her feet and looking at the guard holding her, flanked by the other two that had brought Bellamy into the room.
“I never lied about who I was,” Cedar snapped, trying to drag Vesper to no avail.
“He’s the illusionist?” Vesper asked, taking a wild guess and nodding to the guy behind her—he was the one she’d definitely killed back in that room earlier. But he was now very much alive.
“I don’t see why that matters.”
“Is this an illusion, then, too?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, V,” Cedar grumbled. “This is real, she’s alive, you’re coming with me. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
It had to be him. Vesper didn’t know a ton about illusion magic, but she assumed that, in order to pull off what they had, the illusionist would need to be in the room with them. She yanked her arm out of his unprepared grip and spun quickly, stabbing him in the neck with her magic before anyone could react.
The two guards beside him froze as he dropped, blood spraying across Vesper’s face. That was real. That had felt better,less suspicious. Behind her, Cedar groaned, irritated rather than upset at the loss of her companion.
“No need to be dramatic,” Cedar snapped. “But yes, that was the illusionist. Do you feel better now?”
“Is he really dead this time?” Vesper asked, toeing his fallen body, and Cedar rolled her eyes but nodded. She did feel a little better, but she wouldn’t feel good until she and Bel were far the fuck away from this place, preferably beating their employers back to their home.
