“Lilith! Bloody hell, snap out of it,” a voice with an English accent shouted from inside my fucking head.
It sounded almost familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint why.
Confusion muddled every fucking thought. I couldn’t concentrate enough to think about anything.
Corbin’s fist flew into my face, crunching my nose as pain spread through my sinus cavity.
“Ah!” I cupped my nose and stumbled back. Blood gushed out of my nostrils and into my hands, bright red blood seeping through my fingers.
It was his bony-as-hell fingers that really hurt.
Another punch came—this time to my mouth. My head jerked back, and a familiar copper tang poured into my mouth.
“Fucking snap out of it, Poppy!” another voice screamed desperately.
Who the fuck is that?
My eyes rolled back as I fell back into the wall, sliding down it. Pain erupted from everywhere, and my breaths were labored. “Why are you doing this? You’re my boyfriend. I don’t…” A cough interrupted me as I spat blood onto the floor.
“Lilith, it’s me! It’s Kai. Please snap out of it!” a voice cried. “We need you. Focus right now or it’s going to tear you apart.”
My blood ran cold. What the hell was he talking about?
Kai.
Kai.
Why couldn’t I remember a Kai?
“I’m not your boyfriend. You left me for those vampires. Don’t you remember?” Corbin’s smile was sharp, jagged, and not fucking human. “I died for someone insignificant. I died for you!”
Vampires.
Draven clan.
Thaddeus.
Blaise.
Kai.
The Order of the Void.
The fucking trials.
My memory surged back, filling my head with the truth.
“I’m under a fucking spell. The red-eyed abandoned. You’re not real.”
His head twisted. The skin of Corbin disintegrated to reveal black reptile-like skin that seeped black smoke. Red eyes were now staring back at me.
“Okay, I can recommend a skincare routine to help get rid of that scaly skin of yours.” I cringed the longer I looked at it.
“Or you could succumb to me,” it hissed.
“No thanks.” I stood back up. The pain I’d felt before was gone after I’d realized what was happening.
A deep growl broke from my chest, and I smirked. The creature let out a growl as well and lunged. Everything went in slow motion. I stepped to the side and threw my palm into the black cracks in his skin, where the smoke leaked out.
