Page 83 of Barely Breathing

“No.” I cup his face, making him look at me. “We won’t let that happen.”

“We?”

I freeze, guilt choking me. Here he is, beaten and chained, and I’m wearing another man’s bite marks. “Paul, I should tell you...”

“It’s true what they said?” Something flickers in his expression. “You’re with a vampire now?”

I feel his words like a slap. He’s been through so much, and here I am, hurting him more.

“Hey.” Despite everything, his voice is gentle. “It’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I see it in your eyes.” His unchained hand touches my face, and his thumb brushes away tears I didn’t know I was shedding. “We had something real, Tamara. Something pure. But all of this is too much. This is your world, not mine. I just want my daughter safe.”

The understanding in his voice breaks something in me. It was his goodness of heart that attracted me to him. Before I can stop myself, I press my lips to his in a brief, gentle, goodbye kiss that tastes of might-have-beens and regret. When I pull back, his eyes hold no judgment, only acceptance and worry for Diana.

“I loved you in our moment,” I whisper. “What we had was real. Know that. I never meant any harm to come to you.”

“I know.” He manages to smile despite his split lip. “But you need someone who can survive in this world. I just need my daughter back.”

“How delightful!” Mabel’s voice slices through the darkness like a blade. “I do so enjoy a good romantic tragedy.”

I spin to face her, lifting my arms to block Paulfrom them, but guards are already crowding the tiny cell. She stands in the doorway, magic crackling around her fingers, looking like she’s been watching us the whole time.

“Did you really think we’d make it that easy?” She steps closer, and I see genuine pleasure in her eyes. “That we wouldn’t be watching? Oh, you foolish girl. Did you think we didn’t know that lovesick puppy Peter was lurking around eavesdropping for sweet morsels to feed you? Sherlock Holmes, he is not. It took you long enough. We’ve been waiting for you. Though I had my doubts you’d show. I thought we were going to have to send you a gilded invitation with a map.”

Magic crackles from her fingers, but instead of aiming at me, she turns it on Paul. He screams, body convulsing as blue energy courses over him. The sound tears through me like physical pain.

“Stop!” I lunge at her, but guards grab my arms. Even with the amulet’s protection, there’s nothing I can do as Paul writhes in agony. “Please! You’re killing him!”

“Oh, we won’t do that quite yet.” Mabel’s smile is cruel. “Death magic only works if he’s alive for the ritual. But we can do so many things that won’t quite kill him.” She intensifies the spell, and Paul’s scream cuts off into choking sounds.

I struggle against the guards, but there are toomany. Without the amulet, they’d have crushed me already. Even with it, they manage to force me to my knees.

“Elizabeth will be so pleased you accepted her invitation.” Mabel finally releases Paul, who slumps unconscious with his one wrist still in his chains. A guard moves to refasten the manacle I had managed to get free. “She was certain you’d come for him. She said, ‘Tamara’s greatest weakness is that she cares about these pathetic humans.’ I guess she was right. Damn. I owe twenty dollars. I hate losing bets.” She steps closer, examining me like I’m a bug under glass. “How is dear Constantine? Still playing the noble protector?”

“When he finds out?—”

“What? That his pet human walked right into our trap?” She laughs. “By the time he figures out what’s happening, it will be too late. The ritual will be complete, the power will be ours, and you’ll get to watch it all happen.” Her magic wraps around my throat. The power of it takes me by surprise. She shouldn’t be this strong. “That amulet might make it so I’m unable to kill you, but as I already said, there are so many things we can do that won’t entirely kill you.

Black spots dance in my vision as the pressure increases. The last thing I see is Paul’s limp form and Mabel’s triumphant smile as consciousness fades.

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Awareness returns before I’m able to move or open my eyes like I’m suspended in dark water. None of this is right. I should be more protected than this. With my connection to Draakmar, the amulet’s magic has been getting stronger, not weaker.

My head throbs and it feels like they let my skull strike the ground when I passed out. Mabel’s magic shouldn’t have affected me like this. I might not know everything about the magical world, but I know Mabel isn’t this powerful. She shouldn’t be a threat, especially when I wear the amulet.

Unless… Have they somehow been siphoning power before the ritual?

The idea scares me.

When I’m finally able to open my eyes, the first thing I register is the moonlight. I blinkto focus my vision and see an impossibly large orb magnified through a glass dome. Its light bathes everything in silver, making the circular ritual chamber feel both beautiful and terrible. Marble columns stretch up three stories to support the massive dome, their surfaces carved with classical scenes that seem to move in the shifting light.

Silver, not blood red.

The moonlight is wrong.

It has to be a good sign. If there is no blood moon, they can’t perform their ritual. The idiots got the night wrong.

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