Page 45 of Shadow Witch

Paige tossed back the covers and leapt from the bed, keeping it between them. “Get out of here. Devon will not be happy if you kill me.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“I doubt it. He loves me. I’m wearing his grandmother’s ring.” Paige showcased the blood-red ruby on her ring finger.

“So what? I’ll enjoy ripping it off your finger and sliding it onto mine as I claim him.”

“Why not just let the game continue and beat me that way? Then Devon won’t have a thing to say about it. He’ll be forced to marry you no matter what.”

“Because you may win. I’d rather the sure bet. You’ve already won one round, and I am not taking the chance that you win another.”

“You could. And then just kill me. At least it’ll look like you tried to win Devon’s hand.”

“What part of this aren’t you understanding, you dimwitted fool? I want to be a princess. I am not willing to allow you to steal that opportunity from me. So, I will have to kill you now.”

Paige shot her a nervous grin as she waved her hands in front of her. “Now, just a second. I’m sure if we put our heads together, we can come up with another solution to this that avoids all this messiness.”

“Messiness?” Ivy asked as she sliced the blade through the air and took another step closer to Paige.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re going to slash me up. There’s going to be blood everywhere. You’ll probably get it all over that lovely dress. Who wants that? Maybe…I could leave a note and the ring and quietly slink away, breaking Devon’s heart. And then he’ll turn to you to console himself and you’re in. You win.”

“The problem is what if he searches you out. I’d rather kill you. And have you forgotten that I am a vampire? It sounds like a rather delicious meal to me.” She shrugged before she licked her lips.

Paige wrinkled her nose. “Ew, that’s disgusting.”

“Well, then consider me saving you by killing you.”

“How do you figure that?” Paige asked, scrunching her features.

“If you live and win, you’ll marry Devon, and he will turn you. If you find blood disgusting, that’s not a great fit, is it? I’m saving you.”

“I’d prefer to cross that bridge when I come to it. So…”

“So, nothing,” Ivy said with a sneer. “Enough talking. Time for action.”

She dove across the bed, knife poking forward. Paige danced backward, barely avoiding her as she dropped to the floor. In an army crawl, she pulled herself under the bed, desperately trying to slide to the other side and make a run for the door.

A hand wrapped around her ankle and tugged her backward.

“Get off,” Paige screamed as she kicked at Ivy, trying to free herself.

“I don’t think so.” The blonde slashed the knife again, cutting her leg through her pajamas.

Paige shrieked in pain before she managed to land a kick to the woman’s gut. Ivy released her grip on Paige, stumbling back a few steps into the wall.

Paige quickly continued her crawl forward and emerged on the other side of the bed. As she rose, Ivy pummeled her. They rolled across the floor in a tangle of limbs. The knife clattered to the hardwood, sliding across the room.

When they came to a stop, Ivy straddled Paige. “All right. I’ll do this the old-fashioned way.”

She grasped Paige’s neck and squeezed.

Paige tugged at the fingers around her throat as she struggled to breathe. “Get off,” her raspy voice choked out.

“What’s the matter, Paige? Can’t breathe?”

Ivy wrinkled her nose as she squeezed tighter.

Paige gave up on trying to pull Ivy’s hands away and worked to free herself any way she could. A knock at the door as she wiggled underneath the woman startled them both.

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