Page 27

“I’m sorry,” I said. “This is too much, too fast.” I touched his muscular bicep. “I’m so glad you’re out of that ice.”

Ugh. Talk about being all over the place.

“A curse of true love?” His lips barely moved when he spoke.

I swallowed a lump of anxiety. “Y-yeah.”

No reaction. No sound. No movement.

Shit. I’d broken him. I mean, who wouldn’t be by such a wild revelation?

Glancing left, I clocked Marie clocking me. She’d stopped sobbing, standing beside Elio with anger creasing her forehead and narrowing her green eyes. A far cry from the friendly woman with the light-brown complexion and copper mer face scales. She’d helped me out, given me coin to get home, and…and she’d been crying, her eyes bloodshot.

Because of the dead guy? Because of what she’d done?

My guts twisted as a halo of murky brown light formed around her head. Not Elio’s, not mine, and not Silvanus’s.

A mark? Part of Aidan’s spell to single her out as the source amongst us other players?

Elio watched her intently, totally confused.

“You cursed me,” I said, peeling myself away from the vampire king. “You’re the one who made this possible.” I sat up on my knees, leaning over the back of the booth.

She swallowed, backing away toward the staff door next to the diner’s bar section. “I can’t be here. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

My skull throbbed with pain. If ever I needed a beer and a mistrock cig, it was now. “Why did you do this?”

Silvanus turned to face her, silent.

“Do what?” Elio questioned.

She pulled out her breaker gun—a weapon all civilians carried in case of frostbrood attacks.

Mine wasn’t on me.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” she spat, backing away further.

Elio’s hands were in the air. “Marie?” He tried drawing her attention. “I’m so confused. What is this?”

Her head snapped his way. “You’re confused? Why doesn’t that surprise me? Poor Elio, always so sweet and innocent and would never hurt anyone.” She laughed, the breaker shaking erratically in her hand. “Until he stabs you in the back.”

I kept my lips sealed, waiting for the coin to drop.

Outside, folk screamed and things went kaboom. We were on borrowed time here, needing to get out of the city before the full scale of the horrors came crashing down on our heads.

“Is this because I told you I didn’t love you anymore?” Elio asked.

Marie’s eyes glistened. “You left me for him.” She gestured at Silvanus. “Dumped me for a vampire. Gave yourself to him. Thrall!” She poured venom into that last part. “Dirty fucking thrall!”

What the hell?

Elio took several beats to respond. “I’m sorry. But we were over a long time ago.”

Marie’s eyes widened, her shaking even more noticeable. She was clearly on the edge of blowing every brain out of every skull in this diner if we weren’t careful.

“You don’t get to say that to me,” she countered.

“It’s the truth. Always has been.”