Page 165 of Blue Moon Mistress

Aphrodite’s vampire glares at me from beneath his stringy hair, but his eyes go wide a moment later when two wolves lunge at him.

They drop him to the ground and while they can’t kill him, they’ll hurt him. And they’ll definitely slow him down.

As the other two join in, I have to leave them to it. Hecan’thurt them. His only hope is to get away. It’s just a matter of how long it takes him to figure that out.

Slowing as I near the plot, I see Aphrodite standing over my grandmother’s grave, her palms turned up to the dark sky overhead, her eyes closed. As she works the spell, her words coalescing in dark swirls, I scan the surrounding area. She didn’t bring the guys with her.

Good.

The farther away from here they are, the better.

My first and only option is to break that spell. To stop her from finishing the exhumation. Right now, that means I have to get to her.

Her eyes are still closed when I rush from behind the tree. She doesn’t move as I weave through the entrance to the plot.

The calm around her makes my skin crawl.

Her eyes snap open a moment before I can tackle her and the ground explodes outward, sending me flying backward. I land in the thicket of belladonna as the last of the dirt falls around me.

When I open my eyes, she’s still standing where she was, smiling down at me like I’m a foolish child.

“You’re too late.”

My grandmother’s coffin sits at a skewed angle half in and half out of the grave. It’s bound by heavy chains, but the spell Aphrodite used has broken the lock.

Exhumed, I canfeelmy grandmother. Something strange and dark like desire emanates from that box, and I know Aphrodite has no clue.

I can’t let her open it.

“You can’t stop me now, Scarlette. Everyone thought you were so clever. And then you left and they whispered. But I knew.” She takes a step closer to the grave, completely at ease.“I knew the illusion of your power was just that… a in illusion. You’re a fake.”

“Funny, I don’t have to bleed people to do what I need to do.”

Rage flares in her eyes.

“It’s not my fault you and the rest of them are too scared and too weak to use this magic.” Her smile is sharp when she points at the casket. “Your grandmother wasn’t.”

“I know. I’ve read her grimoires. How didyouknow?”

“Your family thinks they’re so special, soclever.” Rolling her eyes, she glares at me. “They think they’re above everything. But I knew you weren’t. All it took was listening to the right conversations. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.”

“I know what she was buried with. And once I have it…”

“Whatever it is, it’s not worth removing those chains.”

Each moment since the earth blew open, I’ve felt that darkness grow deeper, stronger.

I don’t see Aphrodite reach into her pocket until it is too late. Don’t see her flick the small red knife at me until it’s too late to do anything but roll to the side and hope.

But hope does nothing for me. The blade slices past my leg and the burning sharpness of it immediately dies away… Along with everything else.

My leg is numb from the hip down.

If I get up, I’ll fall over.

“You can’t do this. She was buried here for a reason.” I start to crawl toward her, the soft ground making it harder to get to her than it should be.

But she doesn’t stop, despite my warnings. I can’t reach her before she drops into the grave and throws free the chains.

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