Quick as lightning, her claws lashed out. I screamed, thinking she had sliced into me again. The sound of paper ripping made my blood chill.
“I had meant to destroy that letter,” she said smugly. “Thank you for reminding me. It’s a shame Judas never got to send it.”
Oh no… In my haste to escape, I had dropped my father’s letter.
It now lay in tattered pieces on the floor.
Rage boiled within me, and my fingers curled into fists. I wanted to kill her. I wanted todestroyher.
My vision blurred, and I swayed on my feet. The wound in my arm burned as if someone had branded me with a hot iron.
Calista drew nearer. If she had seen the letter, then she knew I had to be close.
Move!I thought.You have to keep moving!
Something hot and liquid dripped down my arm. Numbly, I glanced at it, only to find a bloody gash just below my shoulder. Bubbling green liquid formed around the exposed wound.
Shit, shit,shit.
She had cut me.
She had my blood.
But I didn’t have time to clean it off. If I lingered, she would kill me.
I had to risk it.
“Ah…” Calista inhaled deeply, a slow, cruel smile spreading on her face. “You’re bleeding.” Her eyes fixed on the droplets of my blood staining the floor, which led to precisely where I was standing.
In a flash, her hand darted out, clawed fingers wrapping around my arm.
“I’ve got you, foul brat,” she hissed, drawing me closer. I wriggled in her grip, but her fingers clutched me more firmly. Blood continued to gush from my wound, making me see stars.
Shivering bones, if I didn’t get out of here now, I would faint from blood loss. And then she would have her way with me.
I had to fight. I had tosurvive.
With a grunt, I elbowed her in the ribs, then stomped on her feet. She snarled, her grip on me loosening.
It was just enough for me to duck down low, where she wouldn’t expect to find me. On all fours, I wriggled toward the opposite side of the room, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get past her to the door.
Fine. If she blocked that path, I would take another.
Calista let out a roar of fury as I crawled toward the balcony doors. When I reached them, I staggered to my feet and threw them open.
“Help me!” I screamed into the chilled night air. My voice echoed around me.
Calista chuckled, drawing closer. “No one is out there to save you, child. You’re mine now.”
In the distance came the whooshing of heavy wing beats.
I faced Calista and dropped my invisibility, then gave her a savage smile. “Think again.”
Her face slackened in surprise, and I tumbled over the balcony wall. She let out another deafening roar that pierced the night. I was careening, tumbling to my death, the icy wind burning against my skin. My stomach hollowed, and my scream was drowned out by the frigid wind.
A blur of midnight blue appeared, and I landed hard on a patch of firm scales. Gasping, my eyes moist with tears, I righted myself on Azure’s back and let out a trembling sigh of relief. Sybelle’s dragon arced around the castle, a low grumble quivering through her body.
I interpreted that as admonishment. She didn’t like being summoned like some pack mule.
