Page 75 of Bite of Vengeance

“Don’t fight it,” Keeva said softly as she came into view to stand next to Rowan. “It’s not your fault. Your namesake doesn’t have to be who you are.”

“Namesake?” I muttered, shooting a glare at her.

“Tell her,” Rowan ordered Keeva as he released my jaw and stood back up. “Maybe it’ll help her understand.”

“My name has meaning, just like yours. Keeva means peace. Goodness. Light.” She frowned. “But Kali…you are destruction. Evil power. Born in darkness.”

I stared at her, my stomach twisting painfully as my mother’s note flashed in my mind. Rowan was watching me carefully, but I paid him no attention as I looked at my twin.

“We are the dark and the light,” Keeva murmured, reciting the words I knew from memory. “One cannot survive without the other. You’re bathed in darkness, but I can help you.”

“I don’t need your help,” I choked out, struggling against the restraints. “I’m not on the wrong side of this. You are.”

Her eyes gleamed with growing anger. “That’s what he wants you to believe. What the vampires want.”

She backed up, and Rowan watched her with a smug grin on his face as she stepped to the side. My heart stilled when she grabbed Zan’s hair, yanking his head back. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t utter a sound even when fresh black blood dribbled down his chest from beneath the collar.

“Don’t—”

“What is he, Kali?” she cut me off sharply. “A Kane. A bloodthirsty creature who has spent his life at his father’s side planning to overthrow humans. How many people do you think he’s killed? How many lives ruined because of him and his family? His father is the reason the war started all those years ago.”

“He’s not with his father,” I screamed hoarsely when she pulled a small knife from under her shirt. “He’s changed.”

“No, he changed you,” she hissed. “And for that, he’ll pay.”

Keeping a hand tangled in his hair, she reached down and sliced his chest so deep that blood immediately began spilling down his skin. I jerked in the chair, swallowing my threat when she did it again. Rowan was watching, waiting for my reaction.Zan’s body went rigid in the chains, but he stayed quiet, not moving a muscle when she made a third cut.

“Even what we’ve done to him in the last ten days doesn’t touch on what he should get for just existing.” Her voice nearly shook with revulsion as she stared at Zan. “He doesn’t deserve to live.”

Zan let out a pained laugh. “Your threats mean nothing. You haven’t killed me yet because you can’t. You still don’t know the future. You kill Amaros Kane’s son, we all know he’ll come for blood.”

Rowan’s vile grin only widened. “Maybe. But I’m curious how he feels about you after you chose her and her Shadows over your own father. Right now, I’m keeping you alive to make sure Kali behaves until she makes the right choice.”

A shiver shot down my spine at his threat. If Keeva was working with Rowan, then he knew that Zan and I were bonded. Her previous conversation ran through my mind, and I froze. Would you do anything for him? Is he someone you can’t live without? She wasn’t asking me as a sister who was curious. She’d been gaining as much information as she could—to use against me.

Hot fury raced through my veins, and I struggled in the restraints. The pain barely phased me, but I wasn’t strong enough. Whatever my body had been through for the last ten days, along with barely drinking any blood, was keeping me weak.

“It’s not your fault.” Keeva looked at me with pity. “This was how we were born. But we can help you, Kali. You allowed yourself to be swallowed by darkness. I can pull you out. But first, you need to accept that he is the reason you’re fighting this so hard.”

“No,” I shrieked when she suddenly stabbed the knife into Zan’s chest right where his heart was. This time, he couldn’t staysilent, and he grunted in pain as he sagged forward as much as the chains allowed. The blade was metal, and even if it wasn’t fatal, I couldn’t imagine how much that hurt.

Leaving the knife in his chest, she stood up and crossed the small space, stopping in front of me. Her hands landed gently on top of my bound arms as she leaned down to meet my eyes.

“His father murdered our mother,” she breathed out. “His family is the reason you were an orphan. Amaros and his three sons have caused havoc in this world. They ruined it. And now they want to finish what they started. How can you think you’re on the right side of this, Kali?”

I pressed my lips together, not saying a word. She was trying to get in my head, and I refused to let it happen.

“Do you know where we are?” She tilted her head. “In the human city you grew up in.”

“Keeva,” Rowan interjected sharply. “She doesn’t need to know where we are.”

“Project Hope was your home,” she continued, ignoring Rowan. “And you joined the Clovers? Why?”

My heart stuttered in my chest, her words stirring feelings I hadn’t thought about in months.

“You dedicated your life to a group who wanted to rid this world of vampires. You hated them.” She searched my eyes. “Don’t you remember why? Because they destroyed the lives humans had. They’re killers. Monsters. Just because you fell in love with one doesn’t change the facts.”

“I’m a Shadow,” I bit out. “So are you. We’re not human.”

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