Page 33 of Midwinter Night's Prince

She stared at him, eyes wild.

“As fast as you can, as far as you can. Get out of here, witch.”

18

RIGHT AND WRONG

Blair hesitated. She didn’t like running and she’d already done enough of it for a lifetime. Running was what prey did, and predators never failed to give chase. Running away from of four—make that five, given Seth’s predicament—vampires didn’t seem like the wisest course of action. Yet what other choice did she have, exactly?

Seth had tried to get her out of there, she could still feel the sting of his spell, but she’d stopped it. Something inside her had reacted, immediately protecting her, faster than she could ever think, let alone do anything of her own accord.

What was going on with her?

A problem for a different time.

“Blair.” Seth’s voice was tight, his square jaw ticking with tension.

“You can’t take them all,” she whispered back.

Powerful as he was, these were other ancients. Almost all of the demigods had fallen eventually, victim to their hamartia. Blair didn’t need to scratch her head to know what Seth’s was. Hubris. He believed he could get himself of any situation, despite the odds, and someday that was exactly how someone would shoot an arrow through his heel—or something equally ridiculous.

“So, what, we all take you instead?”

She didn’t like this one bit.

Blair knew the limits of her power. She could keep up with vampire speed for a few minutes with the right magic, but it took time, minutes she didn’t have to prepare the spells, and those guys would keep their speed up far longer than she ever could hope for. The only escape she could think of was the portal nearby—the portal they’d just come out of. That didn’t exactly feel like a good idea after their little trip to Olympus. Portals could take people to any location they could think of, but it was wild, olden magic with a will of its own, often serving its maker.

In other words, too dangerous.

What other choice did she have?

“I’m not moving. We fight. You take the front; I cover your back.” She wasn’t blind to her position in this situation. The best she could do was to make sure his heel remained arrowless while he did most of the work, but it would be enough. They’d be enough.

Right?

Who was she kidding? She wasn’t Chloe, who’d taken to a sup’s life like fish to water. She wasn’t Cat, the vampire princess, trained from birth to wield all forms of weapons, or Diana, the ancient fighter, or Avani, as lethal with her fangs and claws as she was with her bare hands. And she sure as fuck wasn’t Greer Vespian. Her spells were weak. They never lasted long in a fight. She’d learned to throw a punch to make up for it, but throwing a punch wasn’t going to help against these monsters.

She was out of her depth, out of her element, and out of time.

So her simple little self was all they had. And she would do the job. She didn’t have a choice. For all her friends—the friends who’d taken care of her more than her family ever had—Seth had to stay free of Aveka’s control. No one would be safe if his mind was taken.

“Blair, we won’t last five minutes.” Seth’s matter-of-fact tone should have pissed her off, but it didn’t. He was baldly stating the simple truth.

There was something else she could do. A simple solution to her predicament. She thought of the blade concealed against her chest for the last few days, nestled right next to Velvet. Its hilt marked with the twelve Olympian symbols. The one weapon that could hurt Seth. She remembered striking him, planting it right in his flank, golden blood flowing.

It wasn’t fair. She thought she’d have more time with him. But for the greater good, she just didn’t have a choice.

Blair didn’t let herself think. She pulled out the weapon, grasping its hilt with shaking fingers, but firmly all the same.

Then she twisted the blade down, pointed at her target and shoved it in one smooth, fast blow—stabbing herself right under her ribcage.

19

AFTER THE STORM

Seth hadn't moved to evade the strike when he'd believed it aimed at him. The betrayal had stung, but he'd perfectly understood Blair's motivations, and because her actions were going toensure the safety of his sisters, he’d let her. He’d let her approach to kill him, as Aveka and her brood rushed in to save him. Funny situation, really.

There was no fanfare, regrettably, but it wasn’t the worst way to go.

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