Page 26 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

Through the chaos, I saw Dimitri cutting through the crowd with lethal grace, desperately trying to reach Gianna.

But one of Balthazar’s demons materialized behind her, yanking her back by her chains. The ground beneath them began to smoke, and in a burst of sulfurous flames, they all vanished—leaving nothing but scorched earth and the echo of Petar’s strangled scream mingled with Gianna’s terrified gasp. Dimitri’s guttural cry cut through the disarray as his fingers closed on empty air where she had been seconds before.

I was almost to Joy, my fingers reaching for her, when Maximo’s guards started dragging her away. “No!” The word ripped from my throat. A whisper of movement behind me, the finest glint of steel—then fire exploded in my back, driving me to my knees.

I spun around, fangs bared, but saw nothing—until the air seemed to ripple and Steve appeared. My hand shot out, gripping his throat, fangs plunging deep.

“Stop!” Joy’s scream came too late. Blood rushed into my mouth, hot and sweet, and rage took over. I couldn’t stop—didn’t want to stop—as Steve’s struggles grew weaker.

“Enzo, please!” Joy’s voice cracked with desperation. “You’re killing him!”

Her words finally broke through the bloodlust. I didn’t realize she knew who I was. I pulled back, seeing Steve’s pale face, feeling his thready pulse. Damn it. I bit into my wrist and pressed it to his lips. “Drink, you bastard,” I growled. “Don’t you dare die on her.”

Steve sucked greedily at my wrist, blood running down his chin. The bastard would live—though Joy would never know I’d saved him. One more debt buried in the shadows where I kept all my secrets.

I tore my wrist away from him then forced myself upright, frantically scanning the chaos for Joy. She’d been just twenty feet away when the explosion hit, but now she was gone.

“Joy!” I shouted, my voice barely audible over the ringing in my ears. I pivoted, ignoring the searing pain from the deep wound in my back, searching desperately through the dead bodies and wolves howling.

A flash of movement caught my eye near the clearing. Maximo was dragging her toward a black SUV, a triumphant smirk on his face. I lunged forward, but the knife wound in my back sent me stumbling. By the time I steadied myself, the SUV’s doors were slamming shut. The last thing I saw was Joy’s terrified face through the tinted window as they peeled away, taking her with them.

“Joy!” I roared, but it was useless. She was gone. And I was here, kneeling in the dirt with Steve’s blood on my lips, theprecious seconds spent saving his life having cost me my chance to save her.

Chapter

Fourteen

Serenity

“Where is she?”

The guttural scream ripped me from an exhausted sleep, my heart thundering against my ribs like it wanted to escape. The remnants of dark dreams scattered like ashes in a storm as reality crashed back.

“Balthazar, please.” Julienne’s voice cracked with desperation, her usual vampire composure splintering. “She’s exhausted, let her sleep.”

“From using her power against me.” Balthazar’s voice boomed through the house, making the walls tremble with demonic fury. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway like approaching thunder, each one sending vibrations through the floorboards. The sound of his approach measured out the seconds until his rage would find me.

I rolled onto my side, my body heavy with exhaustion as I stared at the door. Angelo’s face haunted my thoughts—had the execution happened already? Was his immortal life ended by beheading, or had they burned him alive, reducing centuriesof power to ash? Noon had come and gone, and Balthazar had left to witness Angelo’s final death personally. Each imagined scenario was worse than the last, images of torture and fire that I couldn’t banish.

A flicker of hope cut through my despair. If by some miracle Angelo had survived, I knew he wouldn’t rest until he found me. The vampire had moved through centuries with unwavering determination—he would tear through the barriers between worlds if necessary. The thought of him out there, hunting through darkness for me, gave me strength even as I feared he’d met his true death.

The door exploded inward with a crack like breaking bones. I jumped, my heart lurching painfully in my chest. Balthazar filled the doorframe, hellfire dancing in his eyes, turning them into wells of living flame. The temperature in the room plummeted, frost crystallizing on the windows.

“We had an agreement that you broke.” Each word dripped with barely contained violence.

“I didn’t agree to anything.” I forced steel into my voice even as fear jackhammered through my veins. “You threatened me and forced me to cloak Steve.” The words came out steady, almost casual—a mask of calm over the terror churning beneath. My fingers twisted in the sheets, anchoring me to reality as waves of his demonic power rolled through the room.

He hauled me off the bed, his fingers digging into my flesh like iron hooks. “Do not play games with me, Nephilim.” The words came through clenched teeth as he dragged me out of the room and down the hall, my bare feet scraping against the cold floor. Each step sent jolts of pain through my arm where his grip tightened.

He threw me into the living room, sending me stumbling forward. On the sofa, Julienne’s posture shifted from concernto outright fury, her kind eyes transforming into chips of glacial hate.

The last person I wanted to see stood in the living room, swirling a glass of blood-red wine with casual arrogance—Petar Dragan. The usurper who had stolen Angelo’s crown, the vampire who styled himself a king. His presence made the air feel toxic.

“Serenity,” he drawled. “You caused quite a stir.”

Stir? Something must have happened to make Balthazar go nuclear. I tried to hide a smile.

Suddenly, strong fingers wove into my hair, yanking my head back so hard my neck muscles screamed in protest. Fingernails scraped against my skull like talons, sending shivers down my spine. “Drop your smirk, Serenity.”

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