Page 14 of Marked for Redemption

Then it dawned on me.

“You were messing with my head. All so that you could find out about Damon? Was it worth it?” I reached for her, grabbed her by the throat, and squeezed. “You betrayed me. Fucking lied to me. You didn’t have to do this. You chose it.”

I pushed my weight into lunging at her as much as I could to get on top of her. “Filthy fucking whore!” I continued squeezing when I went to bite her so that I could tear her apart, but something stopped me. Her scent. It was bolder and sweeter, but something else hid underneath. “Would you really stoop so low?”

I didn’t stop squeezing. Not even as the fog rolled in. If I died, she’d go with me.

* * *

I heard howling off in the distance. Slowly, I gained an awareness of my surroundings. There were the rushing sounds of water near and the air fresher than what I’d been inhaling. Home. Or maybe this was another clusterfuck that Zendaya had placed inside my mind.

Testing my limbs, they ached and burned as I expected them to after being tied up for however long. Completely clothed, there still wasn’t any place I could get to in the shape that I was in. If this was how Zendaya thought she was going to fix the injustice she’d created, she was mistaken. I searched my pockets, looking for anything that she could use to track me back to camp, but the only thing that I’d found was a flask.

Opening it, my stomach rumbled. It was blood, but if there were any animal parts inside, I was already dead. Deadly to vampires, I hated that I had to chance it. Because instinct made me tip it to my lips, drinking it down so quickly, I barely tasted it.

But I felt it.

When I drank the last sip, life refreshed inside. I stood up with no issues. My arms and shoulders felt relaxed and my vision was clearer. I knew exactly where I was and I could scent Zendaya all around me. She was on the clothes that I wore. My skin. Inside my mind. Even on the flask.

There wasn’t enough guilt in the world that would make me feel better about what she’d done. Giving me my freedom didn’t fix the wrong she’d done. She’d betrayed me, her clan, and possibly herself. That didn’t warrant forgiveness. It only angered me even more. Now, I needed to kill her so that she could understand what she’d done. Female or not, she needed to pay for the way she’d fucked with me.

There was also one other thing I could detect in the air. She wasn’t too far away.

ZENDAYA

Using my walking stick to navigate the terrain, I took my time getting back. I knew there was a lot to work through when I got there. I felt broken without Colton and we’d only been separated for a few hours.

Deep in thought, I almost didn’t hear someone moving about in the tall grass just in front of the clearing that I walked through. There wasn’t a place for me to hide, and if they were vampires, it was pointless anyway.

“What do you want?” I yelled for them to hear.

“Your head.”

I knew that voice. It was Amaya.

“I knew not to trust you.” She exited through the tall blades and continued toward me. “You’ve betrayed us all.”

It was true. Colton was of the Clan Shaye. Crossbreeding was prohibited, and I’d enjoyed every moment. He was Shaye, and I was Disaris. My punishment was death.

“Are you here to right the scales again?” I inquired. Amaya didn’t like me for reasons she’s never admitted. When she came to me that night in the bar, her distaste was obvious. She’d had it out for me from the beginning.

“If you mean kill you, yes. That’s exactly why I’m here. Letting anybody else do it is wrong. You need to die by my hand. I smelled the sex on you the other day when I saw you. I hoped it to be a misstep. One where he came on you by accident while you beat him senseless. Though, deep down, I knew better. Coward, you fucked the enemy. How long are you willing to go? Not that it matters.”

“Why?” I asked, watching her closely. She stood a few hundred paces away, but it was ground easily covered by a vampire.

“I don’t trust you. Nobody should. First, you disappear when Kiara needs you most, and now you’re sleeping with our enemies. Why should we think anything else of you? Did you even get the information that you were supposed to retrieve before you let him go? Another infraction in your favor of untrustworthiness.”

She was right, and that’s how I knew I wouldn’t live. But I wasn’t going out without a fight, though.

“Kiara has always been my queen,” I stated. “Even though I was only another weapon for her, I regarded her interests first and foremost.” I paused, hoping that she’d see the truth even if for just a moment. “I have the information she needs. Making mistakes was just part of the process. I’d never wish her dead. I know I can’t have everything that I want, but that doesn’t mean that you get to make me out to be some monster that I’m not. For Kiara, I’d kill. For my people, the Disaris, I’d lay down my life. No matter what happens, this is my truth.”

“Then you’ll die to prove your worth.” Amaya pulled a blade from her boot and came toward me. “Your blood will pave the way to something great.”

“I hope it does.” I lifted my cane, withdrew the sword from its base, and armed myself. “Let’s dance, Amaya.”

She charged at me, aiming her blade at my heart. I knocked it away and returned with a swift kick to her stomach.

“Hmm…” she groaned before righting herself.

---