I was trapped in a magic circle with a madman.
“Oh, you mean when you threw me into the pits because I wouldn’t slaughter civilians on your command?” Dante’s voice cracked sharp as a whip. “Yes, how very disloyal of me not to kill innocent males and their families. Their fuckingchildren.”
Another ripple of whispers, this time from the guards.
Dante ignored them. His sharpened gaze pinned his father down like knives. “You don’t get to rewrite the past because it is an inconvenient truth now. The original vow, sworn in my godsdamned blood, still stands. And the vow says she’smine.”
His gaze fell on me like a sword, and I clenched my hands. “You stop this right the fuck now. I’mnotsome…”
“You can’t claim her like property,” Gabriel’s snarl cut me off.
“Funny.” Dante’s mouth flattened out. “When that’s exactly what you were about to do when I walked in.Brother.”
Gabriel rammed his shoulder into the barrier, the collision sending a shockwave through the room and knocking me back a step. A cut opened up on his forehead, blood trickling down the side of his face. He pulled back and rammed the wall again, dust falling from the ceiling overhead, and this time, blood bloomed through his white shirt in big, blousy spots.
“Stop this,” I shouted, my voice ringing off the walls. “This is…” I stumbled over my words, caught between a storm of emotions I didn’t fully understand. “Just… stop before you get hurt,” I implored, looking straight at Gabriel. The son I was supposed to seduce, betray, and kill.
But now… my feelings for Gabriel were conflicted.
Maybe I even liked him.A little.
Dante, on the other hand…
I could stick a knife in his black heart and not lose a moment of sleep. If betrayal was my only avenue, I might as well pick the brother I despised and keep my personal regrets to a minimum.
“What do you want from me?” This time, my voice came out steadier, which was impressive, considering my entire world was crumbling to dust. “Why are you doing thisnow?” I demanded, storming toward him.
“Unless you have another wedding planned tonight, I think this is my best opportunity, don’t you,tesoro?” His grin creased his face, rainwater still dripping down his carved cheeks, those wild eyes glowing like a churned-up sea.
Up close, his damage was even more obvious—a faintscar across his right cheekbone, a jagged white line at the base of his throat that disappeared under his shirt, perhaps the cause of his rasping voice—the callouses on his fingers.
“As for what I want from you…” His gaze trailed slowly down my body, taking in the way my breasts pushed up over the top of the ridiculously tight bodice, how goosebumps stood up over every inch of exposed skin.
Looks were a weapon I was used to wielding, yet somehow, his assessing gaze didn’t feel lecherous. No, he looked at me like he might evaluate a worthy opponent, sussing out my weaknesses.
Suss all you want, stronzo. I’m more than your match.
“I want the blood vow honored so I can be free of the burden,” he explained. Which made sense. Blood vows were binding to death, and an unfulfilled one wore on you. Like a disease eating away your health, an unmet oath devoured your very soul.
“What else?” I met that blue-eyed stare with one that was equally determined. “Because I’m sure there’s something.”There always fucking is with vampires.
“Maybe it’s not what I want, but what I can offer you,tesoro.”He drifted a step closer, the circle of magic tightening around us, the priest whimpering beneath his breath. “What if I told you I’ll deliver your father’s killer to you, tied up with a pretty bow? Would that sweeten the deal enough for you to say yes?”
My heart racedat his offer, just like the assholeknew it would.
Outside the circle, Gabriel and Nico were arguing, Marcello still shouting, his face an unhealthy shade of red. I couldn’t hear them, but sooner or later, reinforcements would arrive, and while Dante was unbelievably powerful…he must have his limits.
“Think about this,” he showed me the flat of his palm, marked by a series of thin, pale scars. “I am the male your father promised you to, like it or not. We both want the same thing. Revenge.”
My heart stuttered. “My father would never give me away.”
“And yet, he did.” Dante smiled, a bitter humor curling his mouth. “Because that’s what powerful males do. They sacrifice us on the altars of their power and call it duty. Now you must decide.” He lifted his head as something slammed against the wards. “Play my brother’s meek, loyal wife and search for ways to undermine my family from within. Or join me and have your vengeance. Your choice.”
How did he know about my plan? How did I end up in this mess?
“This is madness,” I muttered, watching Gabriel pace around the circle, blood coating the side of his face, Nico staring daggers at me, arms crossed over his chest, like this was somehowmydoing. “There is no way I’m marryingyou. At least Gabriel is…” I stopped right there, head spinning.
What if the gods had thrown me a bone—not likely, but possible—and all I had to do was agree?
