Page 62 of Inevitably Yves

She swings around, and I gasp at the sight of her bloodied face. She smiles, revealing gums where her teeth should be. As I study her, I realize she’s clawing her own skin and her fangs are at her feet.

“What the fuck happened to you?”

“I can’t get it out of me, Yves,” Lucinda says. Her voice is oddly clear in contrast to her appearance. “It’s in my head. So loud.”

Her nails tear at her flesh, and though I want to rush forward and help her, something keeps my feet in place.

“Last night,” she says, “my lover…” She twitches violently, moaning as her eyelids flutter. A strange smile flickers on her lips. “Come outside, Yves,” she purrs.

Her sudden shift is startling, making it clear she’s fighting off something inside her. Lucinda growls, stabbing her wrist with her nail.

“My lover poisoned me,” she grits out. As she falls to her knees, she writhes as if something is manipulating her. “Aren’t you going to invite me in, Yves? Help a fellow vampire in need.”

“What were you given, Lucinda?” I ask, stepping slightly closer but feeling repelled by something dark and evil.

“Don’t come close,” she whispers, twitching again and gripping her throat. It’s as if there are two people inside her, taking turns talking. “It’s inside me. I don’t know, but it wants to hurt you, Yves. It wants to hurt you.”

My brothers push past me. Thorn and Syn try to lift Lucinda, but she explodes with anger, shoving them off of her.

“Don’t touch me,” she growls. Blood drips from her mouth and her eyes turn cloudy. “You are the spawn of a traitor,” she continues. Then her demeanor shifts again. “Come here to me, Yves. Let me show you something.”

“This is awful,” I murmur.

“Kill me,” Lucinda says next, her voice pleading. “Please, Yves. Give me the dagger to do it myself.”

“I cannot, Lucinda.”

She flinches, moaning in pain as she digs her nails into the concrete. Then, suddenly, she lunges forward. Damiano pulls me back, and as Lucinda crosses the threshold, her skin begins to bubble. She smiles as if death is a relief, but she manages to grasp the hem of my slacks.

“He’s turning all of us against you, Yves. Don’t trust…”

“Lucinda.”

“It’s okay. I’m old anyway.”

She shrivels right before our eyes, her body smoking and gurgling just like Vivienne said it would. Viper sobs as Vivienne holds her. Damiano has his arm around my waist.

“Fucking hell,” Midnight murmurs over the smoking remains. “That was difficult to see.”

The magnitude of Lucinda’s warning snakes through my chest, filling me with an anger so vibrant I can taste it on my lips.

“You heard her. We can’t trust anyone outside of this circle.” Straightening my shoulders, I shift my gaze to Thorn. “Find the Admiral. We need to know how far this goes.”

“On it,” Thorn says before taking off. Kyson is right beside him, and it only takes another few seconds for Midnight and Tru to join them.

“Are they gonna be safe?” Vivienne asks, her voice trembling.

“Yes,” I say, though I can’t be sure. The stress I feel leaves me shaken until Damiano’s hand on my back grounds me. I’m a leader—their leader. I can do this. “They’ll return safely. Let’s take what’s left of Lucinda and put her with Cane.”

“Got it,” Hale says.

I press my forehead to Damiano’s shoulder. “I knew this would happen, but it’s still so hard. She died because of me.”

“No, Yves, she died because of Hadrian. Her loyalty to you brought her here. Your honor is worth her sacrifice. She chose that.”

I nod, desperate to absorb his words and believe them. “Right. He did this to her.”

“He won’t get to us,” Eros says. “We’re too strong, too aware. And we’re protected.”

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