I moved in front of him, and he leaned in, burying his face in my chest. "They're lovely, Blaise. I see where you get your looks from, but I don't get where the cocky attitude comes from."
He let out a muffled chuckle. "It comes from me. One of a kind, Poppy."
"Ready to go home?"
He nodded, and I forced the black flames to teleport us.
The flames dissipated, and we were in the room. We climbed to our feet, and the guys surrounded us.
"Where were you?" Kai asked.
"You let her teleport?" Thaddeus stepped closer, a growl reverberating from his chest.
"Why didn't you tell us you were going somewhere?" Aziel huffed, crossing his arms.
"She took me to—"
"Ah!" A blinding pain crunched from the base of my skull to my temple, and I fell to my knees.
"Lilith!" My name was urgent as they each called it repeatedly, but another intense pain seared through my skull, and everything fell away.
TWELVE
Another fucking warehouse.
The heels of my boots clicked on the concrete, bouncing off the walls as I strode through the aisles. The leather of my outfit stuck to my body as sweat beaded on my skin from the humidity. I ran my fingers through the damp locks of hair and pulled it up in a ponytail as I walked.
Empty cages sat along the shelves with dried blood decorating the bars, but the blood didn’t smell fresh. I couldn’t hear anything except myself, and goosebumps pebbled my arms even though it was hot.
A cool breeze skimmed over the heated skin on my arm and brought my attention toward a blue metal door. I stepped closer to it as my heart slammed in my chest. My fingers wrapped around the handle and tugged it open, the hinges creaking as it swung ajar.
The room was empty, and the air was coming from a shattered window with glass littering the floor, glittering like diamonds in the moonlight that streamed through. A sigh escaped me, but as I went to step in, a blur flew past me into the room.
My surroundings seemed to kick in slow motion. It was like I was walking in a dream world; a harrowing, nightmarish dream world.
An incorporeal form of Thaddeus fought against an incorporeal form of Viktor. Both of them were translucent to me, and my mind kicked back into gear mid-fight.
This must be Viktor’s doing. It must be one of his new powers.
Viktor’s black, beady eyes stared at Thaddeus, almost like he knew each blow that was coming. He dodged Thaddeus’s strike, and he unhinged his jaw as he jumped for Thaddeus’s neck.
Thaddeus didn’t see him, and fear gripped my heart.
“Thaddeus!” His name tore from my throat as I rushed forward, phasing right through them both as Viktor’s teeth ripped his neck open, and his claws plunged into Thaddeus’s long black locks and into his skull, yanking his head from his body with a sickening pop.
“No!”
Numbness trickled into my limbs, and my breath stalled. My knees crashed into the concrete as my hands covered my mouth in horror.
Hot, angry tears sprung to my eyes as Viktor held Thaddeus’s head up above him and slurped up the black blood oozing down.
Vomit burned my throat, and I spewed bile all over the floor before the room spun and Viktor was gone.
There’s no blood or sign of Thaddeus anywhere.
I stumbled to my feet and burst out of the door, sprinting down the hall.
“Thaddeus!” I screamed, and his name echoed back from the walls. My feet came to an abrupt stop as I saw Kai walking past a room with a yellow door. My body sagged in immediate relief.
