“Hemlock,” I continued on my lesson, letting a dark chuckle roll off my lips. “Slows your heart. Paralyzes you from the inside out while your nervous system begins to shut down. Sometimes, if you are lucky, this little beauty will plague its victim with hallucinations.”
Vincent always ensured the dose was a deadly one unless we wanted to play with our target for a little longer. Wanted to draw out their death for our own sick pleasure. There was only one time recently that I had the desire to use that method of torture. The images of what occurred in that house on the night of the Death Dealers’ massacre still clawed their way into my dreams.
Joshua had stopped struggling, his head lolling slightly. Blood leaked in long, slow trails from the corners of his mouth. I moved closer to the man.
“The thing is, she doesn’t bite me anymore,” I whispered, my smirk returning. “I’ve grown immune. My father made sure of it, said we all needed to know our poison of choice. Explained we should become it if we wanted to survive our world.”
In one swift motion, I seized forward and shoved the hemlock into the man’s throat. He choked, convulsed, but I made sure the plant went down—every vein in his neck standing out almost black as his skin lost color. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Nolan finally released him. We stood and watched as his body twitched for a few more moments before going still.
Joshua’s eyes stared blankly, glassy and vacant, up at the ceiling, all signs of life gone from him.
“She’s a nasty little thing.” I cracked a grin, tossing the empty vial back to Vincent. “Just how I like them.”
CHAPTER FIVE
acelynn
Dominic Virelli,the leader of the Iron Serpents, loomed over me with a sneer. “Well, you’re not the sweet girl I was hoping to speak to, but you’ll do just fine to send a message.”
I spat at his boots in defiance. “Do I look like a fucking mailman to you? Deliver the message yourself.”
He clicked his tongue, yanking my head back so hard I cried out. The sound died in my throat as he wrapped his hand around it, squeezing until my airway shriveled beneath the pressure. My nails clawed against his hold as dark spots began to dance across my vision.
Dominic leaned in, his hot breath against my ear, voice dipping into a venomous whisper only I could hear. “The massacre should’ve taken you out, little queen. But if you deliver this message for me, I’ll keep your identity our little secret until I want a favor from you. No one has to know who you really are behind that bad dye job and new eye color.”
I stared at him, eyes frantically trying to convey that I would agree to anything he wanted in this moment to not give myself away.
He must have gotten the message because he continued on, “Tell the Knights that our trade deal is off. We found a new Muze dealer that is willing to pay us double for our runs.”
Dominic dropped his hold on me, letting my limp body slam against the tile floor. I gulped in the air my lungs so desperately needed as he started out of the diner, boots crunching against the shattered glass.
“You good?” Astoria’s voice called out to me as she maneuvered herself out from under our booth.
I nodded a few times, still not sure if I could talk. The distant wails of sirens rang out in the night air as the cops began to make their way to the scene of this crime.
Panic rushed into me, sharp and sudden, as the adrenaline that once settled there wore off. My body ached in a thousand places, but I knew we couldn’t stay here for much longer.
“We need to move,” Astoria spoke my thoughts as she helped me to my feet. I winced as my muscles strained to just stand. She nodded toward the back, throwing one arm around me to help guide me toward the back of the diner. “This way. I know a shortcut through the kitchen. The cops won’t start back there.”
“Not a fan of them?” I asked, voice hoarse with each word. We slipped into an abandoned kitchen. Dirty dishes were still littered on the steel countertop, and a pot of burning goo was bubbling over onto a burner.
“Let’s just say…” She shot me a sly grin, releasing me from her hold and venturing further into the kitchen. “The law enforcement of Lovelen aren’t huge fans of my family either. What we do isn’t exactly…legal, per se.”
I hobbled after her. “I am guessing it has something to do with those Knight people that guy wants me to deliver a message to?”
Astoria stiffened but gave a short nod in acknowledgment. She reached into her back jeans pocket, pulling out her phone before tapping in a number with practiced speed. It rang only once before a man picked up on the other line.
“I need you to come get me.” She paused once, shooting me a look quickly before continuing. “And a friend.”
The voice on the other end was loud enough I could hear the irritation from here. Astoria rolled her eyes at them, voice snappy in response to their attitude. “Nolan, just shut up and get over here. Calvin went back on his deal with us, and the Serpents hit the diner. Cops are about to be crawling all over this place.”
She ended the call before he could argue more. Turning back to me with a sigh, “There is an old park behind the diner. He will bitch the whole way, but he’ll come.”
Nolan took less than ten minutes to get there. Astoria and I were sitting on a pair of rickety swings, both of them creaking quietly in the dark, when his truck screeched into the parking lot. The man was across the grassy area in front of Astoria, examining her for any injuries, before I could stand fully.
She swatted at his hands as they ran down her arms once more. “Quit fussing. I am fine.”
“Tori,” he said through gritted teeth, earning him a glare from the girl for the nickname. “I told you I should’ve stayed. But no, you had to be stubborn and think that you could take on the world on your own. Now look?—”
