Page 100 of Magic's Dawn

“No, you’re not real,” I whisper, trying to convince myself. “You’re just a figment of my imagination.”

Bryant smiles, displaying sharp fangs.

I attempt to move, to turn on the light and banish the image, but my body feels sluggish. Despite the terror flooding my system, the weight of sleep drags at me.

Bryant reaches out, his hand brushing my hair back, and my heart slams with new terror. “You’ve been a very bad little girl, but don’t worry, I’m going to fix everything. Soon, it will just be you and me, Rowe, a family at last, just like I promised your father.”

I fight against the heaviness, reaching for my wand on the nightstand.

Cold fingers wrap around my wrist, his touch chillingly real.

Panic sets in as I cry out for help, my weak voice drowned out by the distant music.

We struggle on the bed, but Bryant overpowers me, his strength crushing. Desperation floods through me as he leans in, his mouth opening over my throat.

Then agony shoots through me, burning and intense, and the room spins, darkness dragging me into a nightmare.

BRING THE SPARKLES

Agony courses through me as Bryant gnaws on my throat, my blood pumping out of my body.

I struggle to fight him off, to push him away, but my limbs feel like lead. My vision blurs, and I cry out for help, the feeble sound dying before it can reach Delilah and Ros downstairs.

My hand stretches toward the wand on my nightstand, just out of reach as darkness creeps over my eyes.

Bryant pulls back, blood staining his fangs, and strokes my hair with chilling tenderness. “Just one more bite, my dear Rowe, and we’ll be bonded forever.”

The very idea floods me with terror, and I desperately reach for the threads of magic within me, for the buzz at the top of my head, for the barrier that surrounds Hartford Cove. I did it once on instinct to defeat Ros’s father, but now, when it means saving myself, the elusive magic slips through my grasp.

Bryant strokes the throbbing bite on the side of my throat, sending pain blazing through me. “I know it hurts now, but you’ll heal. It’s unfortunate, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to use my venom on you. That’s not the kind of family we’ll be.”

Nausea twists inside me, my stomach rolling at how Bryant has twisted what I’ve shared with Ros into this horror. Terrified, I find the threads of the bonds I share, and I grasp onto them with desperation.

Help me. Anyone. Please help.

Light flares from outside the window, bright as daylight, flooding the room in stark relief.

A crash comes from downstairs, followed by Ambros’s urgent shout, while outside, the howls of wolves fill the air.

Bryant’s head jerks up before he smiles down at me, his fangs wet with my blood. “Always the clever girl. But I’ll keep my promise to your father, and we’ll be a family soon.”

The bedroom door bursts open, and Ros charges in. The air crackles as his gaze locks on Bryant, and he hisses, exposing his fangs.

Ros flies across the room, and Bryant meets him at the foot of the bed. The two men collide, grappling with each other.

With supernatural strength, Bryant throws Ros against the armoire, splintering the wooden doors. Pushing free, he wrenches one broken door free and swings it at Bryant.

Bryant ducks with a laugh. “You’re a decade too early to best me, boy. I’ve been doing this for years!”

Focus on them, I press a hand against the wound in my throat as I scramble across the bed, reaching for my wand.

My fingers brush the glitter-covered grip just as Bryant slams against it, the antique side table crumpling beneath his weight. I jerk back with a shriek, falling backward in my desperation to get away from him.

With a snarl, Ros pounces on him with a primal fury twisting his face. They roll across the bed in a dark blur, thudding to the ground on the other side.

Breaths ragged, I go for my wand again, desperate to help. I spot it halfway under the tall bed, and I fall onto the hardwood floor in a tangle of blankets.

Heavy thumps come from the other side and, as I reach for my wand, I meet Bryant’s eyes from under the bed. He grins at me, a crazy light in his eyes, before he heaves Ros off him.

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