Page 8 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

She glared at me and held up her palm. “Don’t start on me, Enzo. I’m not leaving her unless I know that Elena is safe.”

There wasn’t time to argue. As Angelo’s enforcer, I had final say on operations, and I wasn’t about to let Dimitri’s hotheadedness compromise this one. I edged closer, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Keep your cool, Dimitri. If anything happens to Gianna due to your temper, you won’t have to worry about Angelo. You’ll have to deal with me first. We go through the side of the house near the garage.”

Dimitri’s eyes flashed with defiance, a cocky smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. For a moment, I thought he might challenge me—typical Dimitri, always pushing boundaries. Then the smirk faded, replaced by a reluctant nod. He might be reckless, but he wasn’t stupid enough to cross Angelo’s right hand.

“Fine,” he muttered, checking his weapon. “But when this goes south—and it will—don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Stop.” Gianna elbowed him in the ribs. “Go on, Enzo.”

“The guards are possessed—under either Balthazar’s or Petar’s control,” I warned. “We need to incapacitate without killing them. One wrong move, and we could lose both the possessed and the ones we’re trying to save. We get everyone out that hasn’t fallen under their power, but we have to be careful not to let them raise an alarm.”

“What if everyone has…” Gianna’s voice was softer than the wind blowing around us.

I met her sad gaze, trying to project a confidence I wasn’t entirely sure I felt. “Then we find Angelo and Serenity. They can break this spell.”

Dimitri frowned, bitterness reflecting in his eyes. “How do you know this? They couldn’t break away from Dracula and Balthazar at St. Christopher’s.”

“Because I believe in Angelo. If anyone can find a way to break their hold, it’s him. Maybe you need to find some faith.” The words came out sharper than I intended, born of frustration and fear for those trapped inside.

“Faith isn’t in my vocabulary,” Dimitri grumbled behind me, but there was something raw in his voice, something that hinted at too many betrayals.

“Maybe it should be,” Gianna said softly.

I pressed my back against the side wall and eyed the doorway, waiting for a possessed guard to come out and face me.Petar wouldn’t want to face me himself. He would rather send someone he felt was expendable in order to save his own skin. The gravel crunched softly under my feet as I crept toward the door.

A woman’s agonizing scream spurred me into action—shit, Elena.

I burst through the side door. Two possessed guards flanked Angelo’s secret room, their black eyes locking onto me. I grabbed the closest one and slammed his head into the wall. He crumpled. Beside me, Dimitri had the second guard in a headlock.

Gianna pounded on the door frantically. “Elena, Elena.”

Angelo had entrusted me with this secret, meant to be used only when absolutely necessary. Besides him, I was the only one who knew how to open this door. My fingers curled as the spell word surfaced in my mind. “Reserare.”

I swung open the door.

My heart shattered at the sight. Elena—my mother—strapped to a chair like an animal. Her beautiful face was swollen and bloody, her perfect hair a tangled mess. Blood stained her white shirt. Rage roared through me, my fangs descending as a snarl ripped from my throat. Every mark on her body was a promise of vengeance. The false king would pay for touching her. He would pay for breaking her.

“Petar,” I barreled toward him as he stood over her chair, his fingers twisted in her hair as he snapped her head back. “Stay away from her.”

“Guards,” Petar yelled as he stepped away from Elena. He ran over to the wall and grabbed a sword.

A guard stood between us and Elena, his sword glinting under the room’s dim lights. I focused on the blade, watching for the telltale shift in stance that would signal his first strike.Over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Elena shaking her head frantically.

“No,mon petit, you must leave me. He’s... He’s cast a spell on me. You cannot help me.”

Behind me, I heard Gianna’s determined voice. “We’re not leaving you, Elena.”

The guard lunged. I drove my fist into his gut, the impact so hard he folded in half with a sickening crunch. The sword clattered from his grip into my waiting hand.

The door behind me burst open. Another blade sliced through the air near my face as a second attacker entered. I spun to meet this new threat, and in that split second, my heart clenched—Pascal, Angelo’s new chauffeur, one of my own enforcers. He must have abandoned his post outside. Those black, soulless eyes stared back at me from a face I’d shared drinks with just last week.

“I don’t want to kill you, Pascal.”

His black eyes gleamed as he grinned. “I’m stronger than you are, Enzo.” He lunged, blade aimed at my heart.

I twisted away from the strike, rolling over his extended arm and bringing the blunt edge of my sword down hard on the back of his neck. He collapsed.

“Get away from her.” Dimitri’s savage growl made me spin around.

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