Hell, you don’t even know if he really paid.
“You’re mine now, sorceress,” Vincentius growls, and before you can brace yourself, he bites down.
You scream, but all that comes out is a strangled gasp as blinding pain explodes through you, sharp and hot and terrible.
It was supposed to feel good.
But not this way.
Not with him.
Nothing about this is how it was supposed to be, and you’re dimly aware of tears running down your face as he laughs, biting harder.
And then—just when you’re certain this must be the end—
When it hurts so bad you almostwantit to be the end, just so the pain will stop—
The door splinters open, smashing into the wall so hard, pieces rain down around you.
“Youbastard,” growls a low voice, though you can barely hear it over the roaring behind your ears.
Is that the sound of your blood being pulled from your body, the sound of being strangled?
Or is it the wind?
How strange—a wind inside a building, but you’re so far out of it, you can’t focus on anything but the blinding pain shooting through your entire body.
One moment Vincentius is biting you, hand clamped around your neck as he strangles you.
The next, he goes flying, slamming into the wall across the room so hard, the floor shakes. A stream of dark blood gushes down from the back of his head as he pushes off the wall, stumbling to his feet.
Before he can stand, a dark shadow you can’t quite blink into focus storms across the room, smashing him into the wall again.
And again.
What’s this?
Is this Malcolm’s security staff?
Have they discovered there’s a problem and come to save you?
Your eyes drift closed, a strange heaviness dragging you down.
Something about that bite…it wasn’t normal.
And now you can’t stay awake.
*
*
*
How much time has passed?
Seconds?
Minutes?
