I didn’t need to win. I just needed to survive long enough for Val to?—
A hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off the ground. The sword fell from my grasp, and my invisibility faltered as I clawed at Valentino’s fingers crushing my windpipe.
“Such a nuisance,” Valentino hissed, his face inches from mine. “I thought your kind knew better than to interfere in vampire business.”
Black spots danced across my vision. My lungs burned for air.
Across the room, Val threw the last guard into a wall, a painting overhead falling. He turned, eyes wild and unfocused, blood smeared across his face and hands.
When his gaze locked on his father holding me, something changed in him. The last vestiges of control vanished, and his lips pulled back in a feral snarl, exposing fangs that seemed longer and sharper than before.
“Let. Him. Go.” Each word dripped with menace.
Valentino’s grip loosened slightly, enough for me to drawa ragged breath. “Son, you need to calm yourself. The blood is affecting your judgment.”
Val stalked toward us, his movements predatory and fluid. His eyes had darkened to near-black, the pupils dilated until almost no iris remained.
“Son, you’re descending into blood?—”
Valentino never finished his sentence. Val moved in a blur of motion, too fast to see. One moment he stood ten feet away; the next, something sharp plunged through Valentino’s chest.
Valentino’s grip on my throat released completely. I stumbled to the side and collapsed to the floor, gasping and choking. Val’s face showed no emotion as he withdrew the sword, and his father turned to face him.
And then, to my horror, Val’s hand darted forward before withdrawing with his father’s heart clutched in his bloody fingers.
Valentino stared down at the gaping hole in his chest, his mouth working silently, eyes wide with disbelief.
“You always said I lacked conviction.” Val squeezed the still-pulsing organ until it burst between his fingers. “You were wrong.”
Valentino fell to the floor beside me, his body convulsing twice before going completely still. Blood pooled beneath him, seeping into my clothes.
The two guards that I hadn’t realized had arrived at the door turned and fled. The dining room fell silent except for my ragged breathing and the soft drip of blood from Val’s fingertips.
I sat frozen in Valentino’s blood, unable to process what had just happened. Val had killed his father. He’d ripped his heart out with bare hands.
Val stood motionless, staring down at his father’s corpse.The wildness in his eyes receded, awareness slowly returning.
He looked at his bloodied hands, then at me huddled on the floor. “Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, unable to find my voice. My throat throbbed where Valentino had gripped it.
Val knelt beside me, careful to keep a distance between us. “I need you to listen carefully. Guards will be coming. We don’t have much time.”
I nodded, still mute with shock.
Val gestured to Steve. “The dungeon keys should be on him. Get Nico and Amari out. I’ll...” He paused, seeming to search for words. “I’ll deal with this.”
Bile rose in my throat as I forced myself to move and search Steve. The keys were tucked into his pocket, attached to a chain on his belt.
Val watched me, his expression unreadable. “Go. Now.”
I clutched the keys to my chest and scrambled to the door, nearly slipping in blood where there was no carpet. The room tilted and swayed around me, and I grabbed onto the doorframe.
“Kage?” I looked over my shoulder at Val. “You did well.”
Did well? I’d done nothing but stand there while Val massacred his own father and three guards. I’d been useless and terrified.
But as I looked at Val—blood-soaked and dangerous—I realized he was right. I’d stayed. I hadn’t run. For Nico. For Sammy.
