Page 52 of SummerTime Madness
That's how we work.
The sounds of snapping tree branches snap me from my thoughts as the guard emerges, all dressed in black with his weapon raised. Panting and shouting into a radio.
“Target located. Repeat–target–”
I raise my hand, silencing him.
Mmmh… infected.
Just as his partner cuts through the foliage of greens, the man hesitates when he realizes how fucked he was.
One of my babies lunges–jagged teeth, slicked with bloom. He tackles him into the groundbefore straddling him and biting deep into the second guard’s neck. The one fighting the infection tries to run before he’s cornered by more glittering bodies.
The man screams behind me.
It doesn’t last long.
Slowly, I approach him, kneeling beside his twitching form as my blooms tear through him. I run my finger along his slick, blood soaked cheek, then I lift his chin and lean in, placing a kiss on his lips.
Filaments slide from my mouth to his, creating a carrier for the spores to invade his body and then be spread back into the air. His eyes roll back and his body convulses–shaking violently.
And then–stillness.
The camera embedded in his helmet blinks red. Recording. Grabbing the helmet, I lift it into the air and make sure to get me in all my glory with a wide grin before crashing into the ground. The crowd cleared for my Kings to approach me.
Knowing they mean everything… feeling our love.
Our devotion and twisted connection. Tate’s chest rises and falls too fast… Chase looks pale, but both are glowing so beautifully–still infected…
Still mine.
I walk toward the beach, slipping free of my clothes and baring myself to the world—
To my kingdom.
With my Kings behind me.
Glowing.
Blooming.
Mine.
Chapter Nineteen
Madness
Tate
The night stinks of sex, earth, and the metallic bite of blood. The ferris wheel begins to ascend as Calvin Harris ft. John Newman “Blame” blares through the island.
Cordelia actually did it.
I didn’t want to believe it at first. I told myself it couldn't be real.
But seeing her walk through the crowd… watching them part for her like the water parted for Moses was nothing short of divine.
She is divine.
