Page 35 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“Good.” I released my shadows toward him and snapped his neck before turning my attention to Palo as his dead body hit the stone floor. Palo’s eyes were losing focus as his blood poured from where his hands used to be attached to his body. I slapped him to wake his ass up.

“What is Luren planning with Thea this time?”

“I’m not telling you,” he groaned. “I’ll be dead soon anyway; do your worst.”

Hmm. He had a point. Maybe I should have left his hands attached to him. A moment later I saw his eyes widen as a glow filled the space. When I turned, Della stood next to me. Her eyes were staring at Palo.

“You will tell Cassius what Luren’s plan is now.” Her voice was darker than I had ever heard before.

Palo shook his head no. Della pushed me aside and grabbed the man by the uniform, getting in his face.

“I will force your soul to stay in your body until you tell him. Do you understand me? I will refuse to let you die. As the Goddess of Life, I will stand here and hold your soul inside of you until Cassius has you begging for death. I will keep you alive until you give him everything he is asking for. I will not let you die.”

Fuck.

I looked at Haden, who was staring at Della in awe. She was fucking terrifying when she was pissed. Palo didn’t answer her, so she grabbed the dagger I speared through his arm and ripped it out. He cried out, but she stabbed it right back into the same wound.

It shot blood out and onto her fancy dress, but she didn’t move.

“I suggest you start using your words, Palo, or I will break every bone in your body one at a time.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as I stared at Palo. Haden stepped toward Della as if he couldn’t help it. Della glanced at him, and he just stared into her pure white eyes. But Della hardly gave Haden the time of day as she focused on Palo.

“He…” Palo gasped for breath, and his eyes began rolling back.

“I don’t fucking think so.” Della raised her hand before shoving it into his chest, breaking through his skin and bones. The sound made me flinch. “You see that, Palo? You were supposed to die just now, and I’m not letting you,” she whispered.

Remind me not to get on Della’s bad side. For fuck’s sake, she and Thea could probably kill everyone in the realm with their power.

“Luren told Thea that she has to kill the Crimson bloodline to break her curse,” he wheezed out barely. “Then he will kill her. She will be useless to him, and he will make a spectacle of her death to instill fear in the fae so he will control all of Elloryon.”

My eyes narrowed on Palo.

“He thinks he can control the prophecy and force her to kill Crimson, Falgon, and Akecia.”

“Well, Luren’s a fucking moron,” Della sneered. Stars I don’t think I had ever seen her so fucking pissed. Haden was still watching her closely as I glanced at him, taking a small step closer to her.

“Jesper is trying to convince him to just hunt her down each year and kill her so she will never break her curse.”

That little fucking bastard.

“That’s it?” Della asked. “Why is he so confident that she will kill all the royalbloodlines and not him?”

Palo’s nostrils flared.

“The witches are helping him.”

My shoulders tensed. We had already killed the witches that tried to kill Thea in Exile, but we could not figure out where the others were hiding or what coven it was.

“Yerma from the Ravenstone Coven, now let me die,” he begged Della.

She looked at me for permission. I nodded, and she yanked his soul from his body violently. She was breathing heavily and angrily. Della was losing control.

“Ardella.” Haden’s voice made her shoulders tense, but she still refused to look at us. Her breathing was uneven. Haden looked at her back worriedly.

“Little viper,” I called out. Thea’s soul appeared in front of me in the form of Wisp, her face smiling within her dark green flames. “I need you to make sure Thea finds out about the Ravenstone Coven. Can you do that for me?”

She flashed purple and disappeared.

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