Page 185 of Dance of Deception

It punches into her, stopping her breath. Her eyes widen, her lips part in shock.

“Now—RUN!” I roar.

The sheer volume shocks her into action.

Lyra spins and bolts for the stairs just as Arkadi whirls. I watch confusion turn to rage on his face. Instantly, he drops Vera’s inert body to ground in a heap, and his eyes lock on Lyra as she scrambles up the steps.

Suddenly, he’s lunging after her.

I move before I can think.

Still bound to the chair, I force myself up, every muscle on fire.

With a snarl, I hurl myself into Arkadi, slamming into his side and smashing us both against the wall. The impact knocks thewind out of us and sends us both crashing to the ground. The chair splinters beneath me, the legs snapping.

I barely hear it.

All I can hear is Lyra’s fading footsteps.

Run, little dancer.

Arkadi snarls, twisting beneath me. As he shoves me off, his lip curls savagely.

“I know what you are,” he hisses as I grapple with him, trying to yank my arms free of the rope still wrapped around the broken pieces of chair. “I'veseenwhat you are.” He barks a cold laugh as he rams his elbow into my mouth, bringing a gush of blood to my tongue. “You want to sit here calling me monster for the things I’ve done? Best to make sure the glass walls are nice and clean in that house of yours that you and your friends from the Black Court sit in.”

My whole body stiffens.

Arkadi laughs darkly and grins maniacally at me, even as I yank a hand free and slam my fist into his face.

“I was a guard at a few of thosestage showsyou and your little friends put on, with the masks…the women…the blood.” He leers at me, barely looking away when I punch him again. “I saweverything, Don Barone,” he growls.

“I already had motivation enough bury you in a shallow fucking grave,” I snarl back, ramming my forearm against his nose and making blood spurt across his face. “But I’m going to enjoy it even more now when?—”

Words fail me as a flash of silver glints.

As sudden, searing pain jabs into my side.

Shit.

I groan, my body locking up as the blade sinks deep. White-hot agony explodes through my ribs.

Arkadi lets out a low, satisfied chuckle, twisting the blade, laughing as I hiss in agony. He shoves me off him, sending me toppling to the floor in a heap with the blade still buried in my side.

“You’re a monster just like me, Don Barone,” he murmurs, getting to his feet and walking calmly over to where I’m writhing on the floor. “And you’ve made the same mistake I made once.”

He leans in, his lips brushing my ear.

“You've pretended that you can be normal.”

The words cut more than I want them to.

“You and I… We are not normal men. We are not sheep, like the rest of the world. We arewolves. And try as he might, a wolf can never live amongst the lambs. If he attempts to do so, it’s only a matter of time before his true nature is revealed.”

He flicks the hilt of the knife with a finger, chuckling to himself as I choke in pain.

“It’s deep. But you have some time. Time enough for me to bring back what is mine. What was always meant to be mine.”

My vision flickers, darkening at the edges, and my teeth grit as he leans closer.

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