Page 71 of Fated In Blood

I didn’t know when, but he was dying.

The tops of his yellowed fangs showed when Laurent smiled, his leering grin as wide as the yawning hole in my chest as I stared down at Blake, searching for some sign he was alive.

The place in my chest that had burned so brightly earlier was empty and cold, as if someone had carved my heart right out of me.

“I was Made by Caine himself, child.” Tyrell’s soft voice was full of menace.

“I have seen the fall of a hundred empires, watched the rise of a thousand kingdoms. You are the latest in a blur of quicklyforgotten faces stretching back to the beginning of our kind. You’re not memorable enough to kill anyone, least of all me.”

31

RIORDAN

Tyrell waved a careless hand at my friend. “Now take him and go before he bleeds out all over my floor.”

I didn’t let Silver’s arm go, didn’t dare look down at Blake, didn’t glance away from Tyrell, not even for a second. He was old and cagey and fought dirty. Both Collum and Bosch were just waiting for me to make a mistake.

And right now, I had to make a choice.

Dematerializing with a badly injured Blake meant my friend would arrive at Crimson House on death’s door and the girl—who had yet to complete her transition—couldn’t be left alone here with Tyrell or I’d never see her alive again.

Another choice, another game, another fucking move in a centuries-long game I was going to lose to this prick.

I released the girl, rubbing my sweating palm on my pants, Tyrell watching in delight.

If he had any inkling either Blake or myself had any vested interest in the girl beyond fucking her or revenge against her family, he would become infinitely more interested in Evangeline Silverwood, and Tyrell’s interest would be her death sentence.

“Go through those doors and start walking.” I put my hand between her shoulder blades, the knobs of her spine sharp against my palm when I shoved her forward. “Laurent and I have private business to discuss.”

As bad as his injuries looked right now, Blake would survive, especially if he spent a few more minutes lying on the floor healing while I stalled Tyrell and gave the girl a head start. Maybe I wouldn't even kill him by carrying him back to Crimson House. But right now, getting Evangeline out of this castle and off Tyrell’s grounds was imperative.

I gave her the perfect opening, yet the girl hesitated, eyes darting between Laurent and me. She was too stubborn for her own good, and while I normally admired her grit, now was not the time for her to dig in her heels and prove she had a steel spine.

“I will compel you if I must. Or you can actually listen for once and start walking.” My words were cold, my tone dismissive. An order to an underling I cared little for, and Collum’s mouth parted in glee.

For once, she looked undecided, measuring me up before she turned toward Tyrell, her lip curling. “If you hurt my sister, I will fucking—” The threat ended in an explosion of air as I cut off her airway.

“She has some learning to do, as you can see, but the potential is there.” Her eyes flared, fingers clawing at her throat, leaving long scratches. I hated myself for what I was about to say but said it anyway. “I’m sure you remember how difficult training a human is. Exciting and tedious at the same time.”

Her rage shoved against my magic like waves surging onshore during a storm, but if she challenged Tyrell here, in his own home, in front of his underlings, he would kill her where she stood, no matter whose name she bore or how valuable she was.

Patriarchal males like Tyrell did not tolerate defiance, especially not from a newly turned female.

I wrapped my magic around her and pushed her toward that broken opening, toward the darkness waiting outside. She had one chance to make it off these grounds before Tyrell’s revenants caught her scent, and if I dropped the ward around her mind to warn her, Tyrell would kill us both.

I turned my voice to stone. “If you aren’t at Crimson House when I arrive with Blake, you’ll be punished again, but this time, I won’t hold back.”Please, fucking take the hint.

One slow blink of understanding and she stepped through the door, scanning the darkened grounds, shoulders tensed beneath that battered leather jacket I’d never seen before. ‘Freedom’ was emblazoned across the back with rhinestones.

The black coat fit her curves perfectly, faded around the edges like the garment had been worn every single day. She ran her fingers along the lapel, gently enough to catch my attention.

And Tyrell’s. Obvious tells like that would get you killed in this world, especially if noticed by the wrong person, and Laurent was definitely the wrong person.

“Get moving,” I called. “You’d best run fast so the monsters don’t eat you.”

“Asshole,” she muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Then she was gone, flying across the pitched, wide-open yard fast as a deer, feet blurring over the darkened ground, ponytail swinging in time to every step. She was fast. Once she fully made her transition, I doubted even I could keep up with her.

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