She huffs a laugh, squeezing my hand but not slowing down.
“Believe me, the thought crossed my mind, too. But we’re too close to falter now. That Goddess bitch owes us an explanation, and it better be a good one.”
I sigh and tug her into my arms, gripping her waist possessively just as the underground passage opens into a larger gallery.
“Fine, but once we’re back in Sangeries, I’m not letting you out of the bedroom for a week.”
She twists in my arms to face me, amusement shining in her amber eyes.
“I appreciate the stamina, Killian. And the wishful thinking.” She presses a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth and tries to disentangle herself from me.
I grip her harder, my fingers digging into her hips as I cast a wary glance at the vast space before us. The final trial.
“I love you, Aimee,” I breathe against her lips, my thumb caressing slowly the Ouroboros mark I gave her.
“I love you too, Killian,” she says, and my heart soars at the admission. I will never get enough of hearing those words. “Now stop stalling.”
We step into the chamber, and alarm bells go off in my head immediately. There are no ominous words scribbled on the dark stone. No disappearing entrance. Just an eerie silence that rings balefully in my ears, pressing against my skin with olden magic. The air tastes stale, too still, too quiet.
My hand searches for Aimee’s, needing her soothing touch, but I’m greeted by empty space. I turn to check on her, and she’s no longer next to me. She’s staring straight ahead, her hair covering her face, her posture rigid, fists clenching. The distance she put between us feels off.
“What’s wrong, little umbra?”
“I really hate it when you fucking call me that,” she says in an icy voice filled with scorn.
“Aimee, what’s happening?”
“Aimee,” she mocks me as she leaps toward me, drawing two blades from their sheaths. I stumble back in shock, her dagger missing my chest by an inch. I block her next blow with my arm and push her off me. She recovers quickly, eyes dark with cruelty, a snarl escaping her lips.
“What’s the meaning of this, love? It’s not funny.”
She circles me like a huntress out on the prowl, a malicious glint shining in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. Her jaw is tight as she hisses between clenched teeth.
“Pathetic vampire, so easy to fool with empty words and hollow vows.”
She lunges at me again, blades drawn, and I jump out of her way, refusing to fight her. She keeps coming at me, again and again, steel slicing the air between us with monstrous hunger.
This is not who she is; I know it deep in my bones. Not after everything that transpired between us earlier in that grotto. It wasn’t alie;it couldn’t have been.
“Fight it, Aimee, whatever compulsion this is. Must be the last trial.”
She cackles—a nerves grating, hellish sound.
“So presumptuous, you leech. Must be a compulsion because how could I possibly hate your fucking guts, right?”
She throws herself at me with all her might, nothing but raw violence seeping out of her pores.
I catch her wrist and twist, making her let go of one dagger, but she swings the other one in a wide arc, cleaving it between my ribs. I wince at the sudden pain as she twists it and pulls it out, licking the blade clean. That sight shouldn’t arouse me, not in our current predicament, but I’ve never pretended to be anything but a sick bastard. My cock strains against my leather pants, even as blood pours from my wound.
“At least your blood doesn’t taste half bad. Shame it will spill on the ground soon enough.”
I press my palm into the stinging gash, willing it to heal faster.
“Love, this is not you. Fight it for me.”
She spits at my feet, eyes blazing with hatred.
“My sister should’ve ended you when she had the chance. She would have done us all a favor.” She swings her blade again in the air, and I catch it in my palm, the steel embedding deep in my flesh. I wrench it free of her hands, throwing it as far away as possible, but she’s relentless. She lands a blow to my jaw, and I throw her off on instinct, her back hitting the granite wall with a loud thud.
