Page 53 of The Curse of Blood and Silenc

A soft click was my answer.

I ripped open the door, the handle crushing under my grip. Serenity stood there, trembling slightly, a white bandage wrapped around her arm. The metallic scent of her blood filled my nostrils, making the predator in me stretch awake, snarling. But there was something else—something strange about the smell. Something that made my instincts scream.

“What happened?” I forced the words out through clenched teeth, fighting to maintain control.

“Nothing. I cut myself, that’s all.” She tried to move past me, her blue eyes avoiding mine, but I blocked her path with my body. The large marble bathroom suddenly felt suffocating, despite my lack of need for breath.

“You’re lying.” I clasped her wrist firmly but gently, my pale fingers cold and stark contrast against her warm skin. “Don’t ever lie to me,cara mia. Not you.” I softened my voice, though the rage still simmered beneath the surface. “Whatever this is, whoever did this—they won’t see tomorrow’s sunset. But I need to know the truth.”

The overhead lights flickered, casting shadows across her tear-stained face. She looked up at me then, fear and something else—was it shame?—swimming in her eyes. “Angelo, please... Some things are better left in the dark.”

“Nothing stays in the dark from me, sweet Nephilim. I’ve lived in shadows for four hundred years.” I brushed a thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear. “Now tell me who hurt you, so I can paint these walls with their blood.”

She lowered her head. “I can’t tell you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why not?”

She stood there, crying quietly, still refusing to answer. I could use compulsion on her, but that was a very last resort.

“Enzo.”

Serenity looked up at me wildly as Enzo approached, like a trapped doe sensing the wolves closing in.

“Hold her,” I told him simply.

“N-no. Please, don’t.” She shook her head vehemently and pulled on her arm, but I held it in an iron grip, forged from centuries of existence.

“Sorry, princess,” Dimitri drawled from the doorway, his signature smirk playing at his lips. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my far too eventful life, it’s that secrets have a way of getting everyone killed.” He moved with preternatural grace to block Elena, who was trying to push past him. “Not this time, Elena. Some things require a... heavier hand.”

Enzo clasped Serenity’s arms, his grip firm but not cruel.

Serenity stared up, her big blue eyes filled with tears and fear. Each drop that fell from her lashes was like acid on my skin. “Angelo, don’t do this.”

“Mon Dieu, what’s going on?” Elena cried behind me, struggling against Dimitri’s restraining arm.

“What’s going on,” Dimitri answered, ice-blue eyes hardening, “is that someone decided to play with what belongs to a very old, very powerful vampire. And unlike my brother Valentin, I’m completely on board with the bloody aftermath that’s about to unfold.” He turned to Elena, his voice dropping to that dangerous velvet tone he reserved for serious moments. “Stay out of this one, Elena. Your heart of gold isn’t needed here.”

Gianna burst into the room, power crackling around her like static electricity. “Don’t talk to her like that,” she snapped. “Elena’s the only one who makes this place feel like a home instead of a fortress. We need her kindness, especially now.”

I barely registered their exchange. My focus remained laser-sharp on Serenity’s bandaged arm. Not even Elena’shumanitarian protests could stop me. I was going to find out what Serenity was hiding, even if I had to tear apart every secret in this city.

“Last chance,tesoro,” I murmured, reaching for the bandage. “Tell me willingly, or I take what I want to know.”

“Dio mio,” Enzo breathed, gaping at something behind me.

I turned, following his gaze to the king-sized bed visible through the connecting door. The word “SOON” was already written across the white Egyptian cotton sheets in dark, crusted blood. Fresh crimson droplets were bleeding up through the fabric like macabre raindrops in reverse, forming new letters beside the original message.

“Balthazar,” I growled, centuries of power thrumming through my veins. The demon who dared to think he could challenge the vampire king.

“No!” Serenity suddenly thrashed in Enzo’s grip, her eyes wild and desperate. “Please, you don’t understand. He’ll kill you! That’s the whole idea—he wants you to come after him!” Tears streamed down her face. “He said... He said he’d make me watch while he tore out your heart.”

The world went red. My fangs descended as rage exploded through me, a fury so ancient and primal it made the windows rattle in their frames. The demon dared to threaten my mate with my death? Would make her watch? I could feel my power rolling off me in waves, turning the air arctic. Even Enzo took a step back, though his grip on Serenity never loosened.

“He threatened to make you watch?” The words came out in a deadly whisper, each syllable dripping with centuries of violence. My hands curled into fists. Balthazar had crossed every line—taking her friends, marking her for his sick game, threatening to break her with my death. The demon thought he knew what a monster was? I’d show him what a real monsterlooked like. I’d show him what happens when he threatens what is mine.

“Yes.” She sniffed, her eyes glistening with tears.

Demons versus vampires were never pretty. “That’s why you’re not going to the battle.”

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