Page 67 of The Serpent's Bride
There was a hatch in the floor that must lead deeper into the underground. That was likely her only chance of escape. She hoped it opened.
Turning, she ran a hand over her face and sighed. This wasn’t going to go well at all.
John was standing some ten feet away, a gun pointed at her, a mix of expressions on his face. “Why’d you spare me that night?”
“Because you were decent.” She sighed, throwing up her hands in frustration. This is what happened when she didgoodthings. They bit her in the ass. She should have just killed himand been done with it. “And because I didn’t think I needed to. You lot are my people.”
“Then why’re you working with that bloodsuckingbastard?”the other man, Ezra, bit out. He also had a gun trained on her. That was going to make it a lot harder to kill them. A lot harder. Probably impossible. Even as a shapeshifter, she was only deadly when she had the jump on someone. Two men with guns who had her at a disadvantage? She was as good as dead.
She walked over to a bench by one of the tables covered in jewelry and gold coins and sat down. “Because I’m trying to kill him. Because I’m wearing this fake body to sneak into his family so that I can murder every last one of them. Untilyoulot keep getting involved and fucking it up!”
That made them waver, glancing at each other. “So youareher…Luciento told us what happened to your father…your whole family.”
“I’ve been out to get revenge on them ever since. I saw the chance to switch places with his arranged wife, and here I am.” Gesturing down at herself, she changed her shape to that of heralmosttrue self. Her humanoid self, at any rate. Her own face, her own hair, her ownhumanoidbody. Not her tail, for obvious reasons. But still clearly a fae.
She let out a sigh, feeling like she had finally been able to put down a jug of water she’d been carrying for weeks. She was good at holding up glamors—it was her whole life, after all—but that didn’t mean it wasn’t exhausting. She wondered how much energy she’d have in a day if she didn’t spend half of it holding up literal appearances.
Whatever.
The two humans stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m a little sick of being Monica right now.” She cracked her back. Monica was chestier than she was—a little fuller in the hips and the backside. It was nice to becurvy now and then, but it meant that she didn’t really know how to carry all that extra front weight.
John lowered his gun. “You want him dead.”
“Very badly. I’m just biding my time. I’m trying to take the whole family out. But I’ve lost time due to all this nonsense.” She gestured at them and the warehouse. She took Monica’s shape again, and let out a heavy sigh. It felt like putting on wet clothes. “Now…please. I don’t want to hurt either of you. But if I have to, I w?—”
She didn’t get the rest of her words out.
That’s when the screams began.
Nadi had heard plenty of screams in her life. Screams of pain. Screams of agony. Screams of rage. Even screams of fear.
But…there was something different about what she heard in the sound of Luciento Iltani’s men. She knew they were dying. And she knew they were afraid.
It was the sheerhelpless terrorin them that twisted something in her and cut her nerves raw. It was like biting down on steel, jarring and horrible.
John and the other man looked just as affected.
She went to the door, pulling out her own gun. “Go. Both of you.Run.You can’t fight him—you can’t save the others.Get out of here!”
They stared at her, wild-eyed and unsure.
She grabbed John by the arm. “I can’t do anything to help you this time. Take Ezra here and run.Please.”
John nodded weakly. “Hey. She’s right. Let’s go.” He threw the door open. Stepping out into the hallway, he immediately took a left turn and ran in the opposite direction from the screaming.
Ezra, however, wasn’t so smart. “I’m no fuckingcoward.” He ran to the right.
And Nadi knew he wouldn’t come back. Fine. One less person who knew her secret. That was, if Luciento hadn’t already spilled the beans to Raziel. The vampire might already know the truth—might already know what she was. Her secret might already be out, and she might already be dead if she stayed.
Letting out a ragged breath, she pressed a shaking hand over her mouth and held her gun down at her side, thinking as fast as she could.
If she ran, she’d lose her only chance at revenge. This was likely her one and only shot at Raziel and the Nostroms.
But Luciento could have told Raziel everything—betrayed her to the vampire to spare himself? That’s what she would have done in his place. His men were dying in theworstpossible ways, of course he’d offer anything in exchange for mercy.
And even if he hadn’t? Her odds of survival tonight were slim.
