Page 140 of Fated In Blood

Far-off shouting filtered down to us, and outside the windows, flashlights cut through the gloom. “They’re coming. Bosch will be with them. Collum, too. We need a plan.”

“The plan is, don’t let Tyrell lay a finger on Evangeline.” Riordan’s eyes met mine, filled with the kind of cold, clear purpose I understood. “Get her out of here.”

I gripped her wrist, and she twisted away. “I’m not leaving.”

My heart sank when she looked at us both with that determined stubbornness, her eyes flicking between us. “The two of you can’t take on this many opponents. We need at leastthree to make this work.” She cut through the skirting of the dress, stepping out of the piled-up taffeta in that glittering top and a thin underskirt that she sliced off above her knees.

“Sorry about this. I know they cost a fortune,” she murmured, unclasping the necklace and tossing it on the couch beside Rohr, followed by the bracelet and ring.

“We need to split up.”

“No,” Riordan and I said together, the sound of pounding feet echoing down the hallway, slamming doors indicating they were searching the rooms in this hall, one by one.

You must know you can’t escape.Tyrell’s ghostly voice floated through the air, magnified to carry to every corner of the castle.But I do enjoy a good hunt after dinner. Run, little rabbits, run.

Evangeline didn’t so much as flinch. “We stay together, they scoop us all up in the next few minutes, and this is over. We split up and we have a chance.” She shrugged her shoulders then laid her hand on my arm.

“This isn’t what any of us wants,” she acknowledged quietly. “But if you want to save your kingdom, and I want to save my sister, we have to decide now.”

53

EVANGELINE

“Go,” Riordan snapped at Blake. “Take her with you. I’ll head them off.” His face was a mask of fury when he turned and roared. “Now.”

Blake yanked me against him and we were flying in a whirl of black shadows, cold lashing my arms and legs, tearing my braid free. By the time we landed on a cold, stone floor, I was dizzy and frozen and my hair was in my face.

Not a good start.

“We’re in the rear of the building, near the kitchens.” Blake didn’t waste a second, laying out the pertinent details as he stripped off his stained dinner jacket and tie, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. I pulled out my extra knife and offered him the hilt.

He took it, darkness curling around him like a second skin.

“Rohr will concentrate on picking off the guards along with Collum. Then he’ll go after Malachi.” He took the knife with a nod. “That leaves Bosch for us, along with whatever guards he brings with him.”

“How do you plan to draw him down here?”

Blake’s slow, evil smile sent a shiver down my spine.

This was new—us being on the same side—fighting against a common enemy instead of each other. I was liking the change.

“Stay here. If I know Bosch, he’s hiding behind about eight guards and sticking to the areas they’ve already secured.” He pointed to the ceiling. “The bastard should be right about there. Count to thirty and he’ll come down those stairs, running for his fucking life.” He winked, and everything fell away except the fight ahead of us. “Be ready, little slayer.”

Then Blake was gone, leaving me down in this room filled with what looked like…a horror movie. Fear clogged my throat so thoroughly I couldn’t scream. We’d landed in the morgue, where piles of mangled bodies were tossed upon rolling metal tables, pools of blood dried on the floor.

Fucking hell.

Or this could be a slaughterhouse, given the long, curved blades—too long to even be called knives—hanging on the far wall in perfect order.

I sheathed my knife, walked over, and pulled down one of the blades. “Well, somebody loves their fucking job,” I muttered, inspecting the edge. The wicked weapon was razor sharp and wickedly curved…I hefted the deadly thing in my palm.

Perfectly balanced.

Muffled shouting echoed faintly down the stairwell; a hard thud from right above me shook the lights in their fixtures. I moved back to the bottom of the steps, put my back against the wall, and waited. There was nothing but silence and then…there.

Racing footsteps thundered closer and closer as Bosch took the steps two at a time.

He flew past me, so focused on escaping the carnage upstairs he wasn’t paying a bit of attention when I angled the blade perfectly upward to sever his right arm below the shoulder. I stepped out in a circle, keeping my shoulders even and myeyes on Bosch, who was clutching his stump with blood-soaked fingers.

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