Page 71 of Barely Breathing

Even Astrid’s perfect posture stiffens.

“Yes.” My voice is weak as I feel waves of power.

“You saw the altar with those words?” Costin’s voice carries a dangerous edge.

“Yes. When we had that audience with the Alpha, and Thane took me aside.” I watch his expression darken. “We didn’t exactly go into detailabout… Well, I mean, you weren’t exactly in a sharing mood yourself. Then Elizabeth and Mabel showed up. We left, and you were aggravating me. And then that memory came back from when I was sixteen, and you ripped out Robert’s heart in our library.”

“You killed Robert in our library?” Astrid demands in surprise. “Mabel’s vampire lover? That’s what happened to him?”

Costin scratches the back of his head. “I cleaned it up.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Astrid promises in annoyance as she takes a deep breath. “Tamara, describe this altar.”

“It’s twisted metal and stone.” The idea of that room makes me shiver. “Thane has it in a circular chamber beneath a glass ceiling.”

Costin stands. “I’ll be right back.”

I stand to protest, but he disappears in a blur.

Astrid moves to take his seat and pulls me back down. “Have another drink.”

I obey, lifting the goblet to my mouth. When I swallow, I shake my head. “I can’t believe they’ve been planning this for nine years. The ritual, the sacrifices...” My head spins as I try to connect it all. “Did they know what would happen to me? About Paul and Diana? That seems like so many pieces to fall into place. Chester wanted to kill me that night.”

“I would assume they didn’t expect you to become what you are.” Astrid’s gestures at my amulet. “They probably thought you were just a mortal who saw too much. They couldn’t have known you’d be the dragon’s chosen one.”

“But I am just amortal.” The word tastes bitter. “Draakmar, the prophecy, all of it is borrowed power. The amulet’s power.”

“No.” Costin suddenly reappears, holding a thick tome of a book. His hand finds mine. “You were neverjustanything, Tamara. Never to me.”

He starts to pull me close, and my arm brushes up against the book. At the contact, Draakmar’s consciousness slams into me, and the amulet flares with a warning. I jerk away from Costin. The dragon’s frenzy floods my senses, and I can’t understand why the creature is agitated. My vision blurs and turns red. Pain shoots through my skull, worse than the memory recovery. Blood trickles from my nose again.

“Tamara?” Costin reaches for me as the door bursts open.

“My lord!” A servant rushes in, terror plain on his face. “Werewolves in the foyer. They’re trying to access the elevator.”

Costin stiffens and turns his head sharply toward the door. “My sister is nearby. I feel her. Tell the men to seal the tunnel and then hide.”

The servant runs to do as he’s ordered.

Astrid’s already moving, magic crackling around her hands as she snatches the book from Costin. “I’ll protect this, and I’ll handle the wolves. They won’t expect magic.” She sweeps toward the door, her heels clicking against the stone. “Keep Tamara safe.”

I try to protest, but another wave of dragon worry rips through me. Through distorted vision, I watch Astrid disappear with the book, leaving Costin and me alone.

“The pain should pass,” Costin says, reaching to steady me. “Just breathe?—”

I hear stone scraping against stone. Movement flickers near the fireplace. A blurry figure materializes from the shadows, emerging from what must be one of the underground tunnels. Elizabeth steps into the flickering firelight, her biker leather-clad form a contrast to her brother’s elegance. I blink rapidly, forcing my vision to clear. I can’t see how she entered the room.

“What are you doing here?” Costin hardly sounds welcoming. He puts himself in front of me as if to shield me from her.

“Ah, brother dear, that hurts me,” Elizabeth purrs. Her smile is razor sharp. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Costin’s body fills with tension.

Elizabeth holds up a finger and tiltsher head to the side as if listening to something in the distance. She gives a short laugh. “Oops, sounds like they sealed the tunnels to the underground city a little too late.”

“You’re not welcome here.” He stays in front of me.

“Is that any way to greet family?” She moves further into the room, each step deliberate. Her gaze sweeps over the space, lingering on the blood-stained couch where I’d been lying. “Are we having snacks?”

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