There was no emotion on Kace’s face, no pain or excitement. “I’m the monster who eats monsters.”
A second of hesitation.
She felt it in the grip on her neck, and on the slight release of Augustine’s fingers. It was enough for her to twist from his grasp, to strike out with her own fangs. She put everything in shredding and tearing, his blood a cascade down her lips that burned as hot as the flames that surrounded them.
Augustine screeched, and suddenly he was torn from her grip, the stake slicing into her stomach as it broke in two. Eva crashed to her knees, blood leaking from between her fingers as she pressed to stem the flow.
Kace moved in graceful strikes, Augustine stabbing out with the other half of the stake as he tried to defend himself against Kace’s sheer force. The movements were mesmerising, a vicious dance that radiated such intense fury that she couldn’t tear her attention away, not until black edged its way in to her peripheral.
The burning pain was nauseating as she slowly pulled the wood free, her hand shaking as she tried to grasp the sharp edge. The ache moved slowly, spreading across her body with every pump of her heart. It started in her stomach, radiating from her wound until every breath sent agony across every limb, her muscles rigid.
The wood slipped, sinking further inside.
Kace turned at her gasp, and Augustine used the opportunity to stab him with the other half of the stake. She had torn Augustine’s throat, his entire jaw and chest a bright red as he grinned.
“You’re not here for you, you’re here forher.” Augustine gripped his weapon, eyes flicking between Kace and Eva as he laughed. “Beautiful isn’t she, even covered in blood, dying.”
Eva concentrated on her breathing, not wanting to make a sound as she finally got a steady hold on the wood. It finally slipped free, no longer than her hand, and no thicker than a pencil. Releasing her grip on the weapon she fell forward, stopping her fall with the flats of her hands. With all her strength she looked up through her hair, Kace ripping his shirt to reveal a large hole in his left shoulder, slicing through his intricate tattoos.
He stretched his arm, expression revealing no pain. Instead he looked terrifying, an avenging angel surrounded by flames.
Augustine snarled. “She’s mine, I own her.”
“Enough,” Kace growled, stepping forward.
Augustine moved back, foot slipping slightly on a piece of debris. “You don’t want her, Red. She’s nothing, a pathetic fledgling who willingly dropped to her knees for me.”
Eva’s voice was weak. “Stop it.”
Kace growled, moving slowly closer.
“I must say, she sure knows how to suck a cock.” Eva sucked in a pained breath as Augustine grinned. “She moaned, begging for it. She’s nothing but a whore who spread her…”
Kace shot forward, and at the exact same time Augustine threw his weapon. Eva could do nothing as she watched the stake soar, aimed straight for her.
* * *
KACE
Kace let out an almighty roar, twisting at the last second to move in front of Eva. The stake caught him in his chest, skin and muscle ripping as he tore it from his body.
Breathe.
Lightening through his veins, the red mist that had teased the edges of his vision descending until he was at the cusp of the abyss.
Breathe.
He could hear Eva, her breaths coming in shallow, almost silent pants. He needed to remain calm as he faced Augustine, the vampire’s mouth gaping like a fish.
“She isn’t worth your life,” Augustine said, his bloody hand raising as if it would stop Kace from stalking closer. He stumbled back, the grace he had only movements before absent as terror stiffened his limbs. “She’s just a whore.”
Kace finally let a cruel smile spread across his face, the rage a ferocious vibration beneath his skin.
“We can get out of this, together.” Augustine’s foot caught the edge of the platform, a chunk of concrete falling below. “You and me and her.” His throat had almost entirely healed from Eva’s bite.
There was nowhere for him to go, so Kace waited with a predatory patience. He wanted to savour the moment, forever imprint Augustine’s fear in his memory. Augustine collided with him like a fucking train, the vampire trying to blur past.
Kace felt nothing as he knocked Augustine to the floor, the vampire slightly weakened from his blood loss. He was beyond words, almost beyond thought as he pressed closer, forcing Augustine to his knees.
