I didn’t understand how we were going to win this war. The Warden had to die if things were going to come to an end. If we couldn’t kill him, eventually he’d find a way to kill us.
If I wasn’t dead already.
“Let’s not waste our time talking about the Warden.” Danielle ran a finger down my face, then across my neck. “Your blood smells so good. Everyone else’s blood is like water. Yours is like the finest wine harvested from the best vines of Napa Valley. I want a taste.”
“Danielle, don’t—” I warned, but it was already too late.
Danielle tossed her hair to the side, draping it over my shoulder as she pressed her sharp fangs to my neck. Pain sliced through my skin, and I felt my blood leaking out of me as she fed. I let out a hiss, because it was incredibly painful. I struggled away from her, but there was nothing I could do as long as I was shackled to this chair.
Something brushed up against my bond just then. I couldn’thearAva the way we usually communicated, but past the inferichite cuffs, I could tell that she was close.
And she wasfucking furious.
Danielle pulled her mouth away from my neck, and I felt warm blood gush out from the incision wounds there. She rasped, “It tastes so good. I can’t wait to feed on you all night.”
I was already lightheaded from being fed on, and I felt my head lolling. But I still managed to force out, “Thank you, Danielle. You’ve provided me with some very crucial insights. Unfortunately, I believe it’s time for me to depart.”
“What do you?—?”
Danielle didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence before a high-pitched cry pierced the air from outside the room. Something blasted through the wall, though it couldn’t be very big. It was like a bullet had been shot. I heard a body hit the ground outside the door.
That’s when the chaos erupted.
Screams filled the air, and I heard the clang of knives clicking together. Something heavy landed against the wall outside, shaking the whole room. Mad Dog’s deep voice echoed throughout the manor as he yelled obscenities at his attackers. Naya shouted, and Deuce’s cry cut off mid-yell as another blow shook the house.
“Give me back my husband!” Ava screeched.
Joy flooded through me at the sound of her voice. She’d found me!
“No!” Danielle screamed, leaping out of her chair. “No, she can’t be here!”
She scrambled for something on the table, and I heard liquid sloshing in a glass. Before I knew what was happening, Danielle was behind me, yanking my head back by my hair.
“If I can’t have you, no one can,” she sneered.
Danielle shoved a glass between my lips and tipped it back. Wine filled my mouth. I refused to swallow. The wine gurgled out my mouth, spilling down my front as I choked on the liquid. She was going to drown me.
“Drink, goddamn it!” Danielle screamed. She tossed the wine glass aside, and it shattered against the wall. She grabbed the whole fucking bottle and shoved it so far down my throat I gagged. Wine slid down the back of my throat. My energy instantly drained, as if the wine itself was made of inferichite.
The door burst open, and Danielle cackled. “You’re too late!”
“Get your hands off my man, you vile bitch!” Ava cried. Oberi’s hooves smacked against the marble floor as she entered, and the Fire from her horn elevated the temperature in the room to an uncomfortable rate. I knew Oberi had carried Ava in here, and both of them were dead set on taking revenge.
My head lolled as I felt more blood trickle down my neck. It was obvious what Danielle had been doing in here, and it sent Ava into a mad rage.
Oberi let out a terrifying bray, and Fire shot out of her horn as she galloped forward. Danielle dodged out of the way, but that didn’t stop Ava. I heard the blade of a knife slide across the table as Ava snatched it up, then Oberi went charging her way.
A harsh wind blew by as Ava launched herself off Oberi’s back. Danielle grunted as Ava landed on top of her. The sickly sound of a knife tearing through flesh filled the room. Danielle screamed. She had super strength and speed, but Ava’s assault had slowed her down.
Ava didn’t stop. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she stabbed Danielle in the heart over and over again, until I was certain there was no heart left. Oberi commanded the flames from the hearth to spray onto Danielle’s body, and the vampire ignited. Danielle wailed in suffering as the flames consumed her, but Ava remained on top and kept going, sinking the knife into the flesh long after Danielle’s cries of pain ended.
I heard Kallie and Marcus rush in from the other end of the room. Kallie ripped Ava off of Danielle’s charred corpse, snapping, “Ava, cut it out! She’s dead already.”
Ava didn’t listen. She crawled back to Danielle’s corpse and continued stabbing with a gurgle of insane laughter.
“Screw it. Charlie, we’ve got to work together,” Kallie demanded. “We need to use simultension to overload the cuffs and break them.”
“Okay,” I choked out. I was still feeling queasy.
