Page 171 of To Ashes and Dust
Her face turned to him, the smile fading. “You saw what I wanted you to see.”
Cody halted. She pushed herself off Cole, taking short strides toward Cody, her movements graceful and predatory. Would she attack me if I reached for my phone? I didn’t think I had the strength to reach Damien’s thoughts, not from this distance.
Her head tilted to the side as she eyed Cody. “You know, I was quite surprised when I first met you, when I felt it.”
Felt it? My brows furrowed.
“I am immortal too,” she said. “So it’s only natural that I should also have... another half.”
Oh God. I turned my gaze to Cody, to the look of absolute horror and pain etched into his face.
She paused and pushed out her lower lip, pouting. “Oh, are you disappointed? That hurts, Cody.” She gave a harsh laugh. “And to think, I’d originally planned to make you my equal, to have a king of my own. It isn’t fair she gets one and I don’t,” she added, glancing to me.
I stopped breathing. Cody was Melantha’s... No, it couldn’t be.
“No, when I found you talking with that fool of a red headed mortal who serves the Lord of Shadows”—Her expression soured, irritation lacing her voice—“I had to change plans, had to keep you around until I could take Moira’s reincarnation. If I turned you it would raise too much suspicion.”
She prowled toward him, and I stiffened, hating that I had no way to defend myself. This was bad. My eyes darted around. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Cole would catch me in a heartbeat, and Cody was too stunned to move an inch. I couldn’t leave him behind.
“Do you know how much of a pain it’s been to keep it all hidden, to keep up the façade? To pretend to be mortal...” Her black eyes trailed to me. “To pretend to be your friend...”
Those words sank into my heart like a dagger. Every happy memory we’d shared burned before me, every laugh, every tear, every joke. None of it was true, none of it had been real.
Everything had been a lie.
“But I don’t have to anymore.” She smiled, her chest expanding as she sighed. “Ugh, you don’t know how good it feels to be able to just beme.”
Dark tendrils shot out of her lower back, the darkness writhing and coiling together like tails. She locked that pitch gaze on Cody, and my heart lurched. This wasn’t happening; this couldn’t be happening.
I reached for him as the tendrils shot forward, the power so great, it surged across my skin. My scream pierced the sky as I cried out his name—
And her tendrils plunged through Cody’s stomach.
62
CASSIE
Melantha’s manic laughter flooded the clearing, and Cody’s gasps of pain filled my ears. She jerked him forward and away from my reach, suspending him above the ground as he grasped onto the darkness, struggling to pull away. The other coils writhing at her back stretched to the ground, lifting her up until her eyes were level with his.
Cody recoiled, fighting to get away as blood rolled down his leg, crimson droplets falling to the pool forming on the ground beneath him. My feet moved on their own as I lurched for them. I didn’t know what I’d do. I didn’t have any weapons, but I couldn’t sit here and watch. Melantha’s darkness snaked up Cody’s body, and his struggles weakened, his body giving up.
“Cody!” I yelled. The tendrils pulled his head to the side as she inched closer, cheeks splitting as her jaw widened, ready to strike. Oh God, she was going to convert him. “No!”
My hand shot out, fire burning beneath my skin, rising to the surface. If I could burn her, weaken her, we might stand a chance. I’d originally given up on the idea of using flames against Melantha, of usingTelos Pyrai,flames end,to destroy her, but...
Damien’s warm face flickered across my thoughts, his smile lighting his eyes as we exchanged our vows the night before.
I’m so sorry.
I didn’t have any other choice. I had to get Cody away from her first, though; I wouldn’t take him out with us. The heat built under my skin, and my hands extended out to Melantha as the flames sparked. Pain surged through me, my body recoiling as it pierced my chest, and the spark died out before it could come to life, the flame never surfacing. I fell to my knees, panting as the pain faded.Shit.I couldn’t use my magic. My body couldn’t sustain it anymore.
Horror settled in. I couldn’t do anything. I was defenseless.
A pair of boots settled onto the ground before me, and I lifted my eyes to find Cole. His black eyes were hollow as he stared down at me, face void of emotion. He crouched, his hand shooting out to wrap around my throat. I fought against him as he rose, lifting me with him until my toes barely reached the ground.
“Cole—” I gasped for air as I grabbed at his hands, my feet kicking through the air. “Stop this!”
He didn’t respond, those broken eyes staring through me.
