Page 39 of Barely Breathing

My attackers rewind, falling off me as I’m pushed back up. Time freezes, and I can’t move. It holds me captive for several moments before I’m again on my back, thrashing to fight off my attackers.Hands claw into me to hold me down. Elizabeth’s fangs scrape my neck.

I’m going to die.

Oh, fuck, I’m going to die.

Not here. Not like this. Not…

Why doesn’t she bite?

A blue light flashes so fast I’d miss it if it didn’t bounce off Elizabeth’s ear, blocking my view. I feel a release of pressure like a pulse is sent out into the universe. The vampires fling away from me in a flurry of pitching limbs and surprised screeches.

“No!” I scream, fighting bodies that are no longer there. My fists punch at air. My legs tangle in bedding. It takes me a moment to place where I am.

Costin’s bedroom.

He’s withdrawing his bloody hand from my mouth, but I taste him. Still, I fight, struggling to escape.

“Easy, Tamara, easy,” Costin soothes.

I blink and spit, trying to get rid of his taste.

“You’re safe.”

“Fuck you, Costin!” I yell, rolling away from him to land on the floor.

I lift my arms to defend myself as I look around the room. It’s only the two of us, but the fear fromthe memory lingers. It felt so real. I was back in that moment.

Costin reaches for me as if I will just fall back into bed with him.

“You had no right to do that.” I spit the words at him, still tasting his blood on my tongue. My whole body shakes with fury. “No fucking right! You just proved you’re exactly like your sister. You take what you want, consequences to everyone else be damned.”

“I needed to know what Elizabeth did,” he says, reaching for me again. “This was too important.”

I dodge his touch.

“Important? I just let you in…” My voice breaks, remembering how vulnerable I’d been moments ago in his bed. The betrayal tastes bitter in my mouth. “So I really don’t matter at all. It’s about beating your sister.”

“It’s about keeping you alive!”

“I would have told you everything. But you couldn’t wait, couldn’t trust me. You had to force your way into my head.”

“I am not my sister,” he states as if he’s the one who should be offended out of the two of us. “You should take a breath and calm yourself. That timeline no longer exists?—”

“But the memory does. The feelings do! I would have told you without going through that hellagain.” I wrap my arms around myself, hating how my body still tingles from his touch even as my mind recoils. “Your sister is an evil bitch who was trying to fill a power vacuum that is no longer there.” I drop my arms. “What’s your excuse?”

“You don’t understand what’s at stake. I needed to see which vampires sided with her.” Costin moves toward me. I back away until I hit his bedroom wall. I want to run but doubt I’ll make it to the elevator.

“Then explain it to me what’s at stake!” I slam my palm against the wall. “Stop treating me like some chess piece you can move around the board. I am so tired of everyone telling me what’s best for me. I’m not a porcelain doll that needs to be locked in the protected wing. I know you get off on controlling every?—”

“You think that’s what this is?” His eyes flash crimson. Good. Let him be angry. I’m pissed.

“I know it is. You can’t help yourself. You’re used to everyone obeying your every whim.” Yelling feels good. I don’t want to stop.

The crimson fades. “That is what you think of me?”

Damn him. I want to fight. Why isn’t he yelling back?

“I am responsible for everything that happens in North America. If I fail, the elders will send warriors from the old countries. It’ll be a bloodbath.This is something my sister never cared about. Yes, she wants power, and your memory of her in that other timeline is not the first time she’s tried grabbing for it. Joining forces with Conrad to control your family would have been too much for her to resist.”

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