Page 21 of The Curse of Blood and Silenc

His laugh filled the space between us, head tipped back in genuine amusement. “To some, yes. I’ve encountered him once or twice over the centuries.” His gaze raked over my features. “You look just like him. That golden hair, those green eyes—the minute I saw you, I knew exactly whose daughter you were.”

My fingers trembled as they nervously went to a strand of my hair. All my life, I’d wondered about that. My mother had been a brunette with brown eyes. Every time I looked in a mirror, I’d been seeing pieces of him without even knowing it. “Is he demonic?”

Balthazar’s smile curved slow and dangerous. “Like I said, to some he is. But trust me, sweetheart, there are others that are worse. Far, far worse.” He prowled closer. “Present company included. Now, if you want to save your favorite vampire, I have a proposition for you.”

My mind spun as it raced through impossible choices. Balthazar was offering me everything—knowledge of my father, power, maybe even a way back to Angelo. But at what cost? The way his power reached for me, tried to wrap around whatever celestial essence flowed in my veins, made my skin crawl. Angelo might have bought me for my Nephilim blood, but he’d never tried to twist me into something dark.

A small voice whispered that perhaps I should play along, let Balthazar think he had won me over until I found a way back to Angelo. But there was something so seductive about Balthazar’s darkness that called to parts of me I didn’t understand. If I gave in—even just pretended to—would I be able to pull back? Or would I become something even Angelo couldn’t control?

Yet Balthazar’s words about my father were like a siren song that sang to my blood, even as my instincts screamed to run.Angelo had never offered me these answers, this knowledge of who—and what—I really was.

“You will become powerful.” He ticked off each point on his fingers as if he was offering me a particularly good deal. “You will be in control. And—” His smile turned wicked. “You will be mine.”

“What?” The word came out as a strangled yelp.

“Don’t look so scandalized, my dear.” He leaned against the window frame, completely at ease. “I don’t do anything by force. That’s too easy, too boring. I prefer…persuasion.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come, come, didn’t your precious Angelo teach you anything about supernatural creatures?” His voice dropped to a velvet purr. “We’re hunters by nature. And you, my forbidden little Nephilim, are the most tempting prey I’ve seen in centuries.” His eyes glittered. “Your power calls to mine. It’s only a matter of time before you will want to know more—about who you are, what you can do. What you could become.”

I shrank back against the headboard. The last thing I wanted was to turn into a demon. “I don’t want to become evil.”

He shrugged, that devastating smile still playing on his lips. “Never said you would. It all depends on you.” His words dripped with dark promise, each one designed to make me forget about Angelo, about myself, about everything except the answers he dangled before me like delicious bait.

Still… There had to be another way. One that didn’t entail me losing myself.

The door banged open, and I jumped. Gage stormed in with murder in his eyes, making the room feel suddenly smaller. My fear skyrocketed. Balthazar’s dangerous charm was infinitely preferable to Gage’s raw aggression.

“Did Balthazar tell you yet what you’re going to do?” Gage’s voice was a growl.

I glanced nervously at Balthazar, seeking the lesser evil. “You mean him training me?”

Gage slowly approached me. “You will do everything he asks.”

“Don’t touch her,” Balthazar warned, his demonic energy crackling in the air like static electricity before a storm.

Surprisingly, Gage obeyed, but his eyes flared like hot brass, pupils contracting to predatory slits. His lips curled, revealing fangs sharp enough to tear through flesh. “You will heal the Luparion Crystal.” His voice dropped to a guttural growl. He gestured toward Balthazar, power rolling off him in waves that made the air thick and heavy. “If you don’t, he’ll kill your precious vampire king…right after I tear out Angelo’s heart.”

My own heart thundered against my ribs, but I lifted my chin, channeling every ounce of defiance I could muster. “You’re not strong enough to take down Angelo. He’ll drain you dry.” Even saying his name made my voice waver—not from fear, but from the ache of wanting him here, needing him to burst through the doors and end this nightmare.

“Oh, but I am.” Gage stalked closer, his boots silent against the floor. The scent of pine and wilderness clung to him, with something metallic under it. Blood. “There’s more than one way to rip out a vampire’s heart.”

A deadly silence filled the room like a poisonous fog. My magic flickered weakly beneath my skin, exhausted from fighting. I tried to think of all the ways to kill a vampire, but none of them seemed lethal enough to kill Angelo. He was ancient, powerful—untouchable. Wasn’t he?

I clenched my fists until my nails bit crescents into my palms, using the pain to ground myself. “You’ll regret taking me. Angelo will find me?—”

“You still don’t get it.” Gage’s cruel laugh echoed off the walls as he leaned in close enough for me to see the madness dancingin his golden eyes. It punched me in the gut, knocking the breath out of me. “I want him to find us.” His voice dropped to a whisper that chilled me more than any shout could have. “I want him to watch you die, just like he made me watch when he killed my mate. That’s the precise moment when I’ll rip out his cold, dead heart.”

The pure anguish in his words made me take a step back. This wasn’t just about power or territory; it was about vengeance born from love twisted into hatred. And I was caught in the middle.

God, what had Angelo done? He’d created a monster. The realization settled in my stomach like lead. Every terrible possibility of how Angelo might have killed Gage’s mate flashed through my mind.

“In other news, Nephilim…” Gage’s lips twisted as he prowled closer, satisfaction rolling off him in waves. “I’m meeting with your precious vampire mafia king.” A dark chuckle rumbled from his chest. “My plan is beginning to come together. He thinks Trystan kidnapped you, and I’m going to lay breadcrumbs leading your dumb bat right to you.”

The casual way he spoke about manipulating Angelo made my blood run cold. Gage wasn’t just acting on blind rage—this was cool, calculated revenge, planned and perfected over who knew how long. And he was using me as bait in his twisted trap.

He laughed, the sound almost a howl as he left the room, echoing off the walls like a wolf’s victory cry.

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