Page 124 of The Evernight Court

“I’m going to fucking?—”

“Stop! You’re not going to kill anyone, okay?” I cut him off. “Especially since I might have already killed Tristian.”

The image of him deformed like that was right in front of my eyes, and it made me sick to my stomach.

But at least Grey got curious enough to want to know more. “You did?”

I nodded. “I kind of…kind oftwistedhis body completely in the wrong way,” I whispered. “I don’t know how to explain it, but while he was dragging me to his tower, I just let my magic go and it made his arms twist to his back and he doubled over, and then the doors and the walls and the floor were doing strange things, too. Falling to pieces. Justrearrangingthemselves—the handle was on the damn wall.”

To say it out loud felt so different, though. I realized how fuckinginsaneit sounded.Unreal.

Was it possible that I’d imagined the whole thing? Did I really kill Tristian Evernight?

Because every person on the Isles was going to want my head if I did.

Shit.

“Did it happen again?” Grey asked.

“No, I…” My voice trailed off as the memory caught up with me. “Yes, actually. Here. When Storm first threw me in the woods, some of those beasts, smaller ones, came for me. Not sure if it did the same thing to them as well because I didn’t wait to see, but I think it did. Itfeltthe same way, that magic.”

Grey thought about it for a moment. “Good,” he then said. “That’s good. We’ll explore it more when we get home.”

I sighed. “Or not. I only wanted the magic to protect myself from the Evernights.” But if Grey was there with me, I never had to use it again. I never had to make someone’s body twist like that.

“And I’m glad you did it, baby,” Grey whispered. “I’m so fucking thankful for you.” He kissed the breath out of me for a moment, until I felt exactly how thankful he was. When he let go, I was dizzy again. “But I need to know how much of your blood you gave to Genevieve. And why did she ask for blood?”

“Just a little. About ten drops or so. It barely filled her tiny bottle.” I shook my head at myself. “She didn’t tell me why, though, but it was pretty strange. Why would a bride need blood?”

“She didn’t need blood—she neededyourblood,” Grey said through gritted teeth.

I looked up at him. “But why?”

“For Valentine.”

My brows narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Of course,” he whispered, shaking his head at himself. “She figured out that if we feed on the blood of someone we love…” His voice trailed off. “Valentine drank something from a small bottle when he came here.”

Every inch of my skin rose in goose bumps. “What kind of a small bottle?”

“Green, with a silver lid.” My heart fell all the way to my heels. “Your blood, wasn’t it.” And that wasn’t even a question. I only nodded. “She wanted your blood for Valentine.”

“Except Valentine doesn’tloveme. Trust me, he doesn’t want me like that.” H cared about me; I knew he did. But he’d admitted it himself when we shared that kiss in the mirror room—it most definitely wasn’tit.

“There are many kinds of love,” Greysaid, touching my cheek with the backs of his fingers. “So I’m told, anyway. I think Valentine does love you in his own, fucked up way.”

I shook my head. “But he tried to kill me. Before, he…he tried to kill me.” By taking me to Faeries’ Aerie. By telling me that I could be free.

“Like I said—fucked upway,” Grey said. “It would explain why he had the power to break the last layer of the curse so that he was no longer bound to the Whispering Woods. This place sucked most of my magic out within the hour when I first got here. I tried with every ounce left to break the barrier, and I couldn’t, but Valentine…” He smiled and he wasn’t amused. “He did it right away as soon as he drank from that little bottle.”

Bile rose up my throat. “My God, Grey…” What the hell had I done?

“It’s her. She’s behind all of it. My brothers could never really see her true face,” Grey said, shaking his head. “Genevieve is behind this.”

“She’s planning something,” I whispered. “Mama Si warned me about her, Grey. She sent me a letter and she warned me about her.” That alone had been enough to freak me out.

Grey closed his eyes and made a visible effort to calm himself down. It worked—his fangs retreated into his jaw right away. “We’ll figure it out,” he said, kissing my forehead. “All of it. Let’s just get home first.”

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