Page 34 of Break Her Heart
Simon spit his drink out.
I started to turn toward August, lips twitching from Simon’s reaction, when I caught the faint glimmer of something metallic in the candlelight. My breath hitched a second before the pain struck.
August moved, a blur of motion—but not fast enough.
The knife sank into my stomach with sickening precision.
The world tilted.
I gasped, pushing myself from the table. Pain bloomed through my middle like fire, and I didn’t know whether to pull the knife free or leave it. My hand hovered uselessly near the hilt.
“Forgive me,” Lavina said. “It just slipped.”
August was already moving—shoving the table aside, reaching me in an instant. His body blocked mine, his arm stretched protectively as he faced her. “You—”
He didn’t finish. He launched at her, and she didn’t even have time to brace herself.
She hit the stone wall with a dull thud, a low grunt escaping her lips as she slid halfway down. But she laughed. She laughed as if this were a joke. “So protective,” she purred. “It’s almost romantic.”
“Touch her again,” August growled, “and I’ll make sure you never touch anything again.”
Lavina’s gaze swept lazily to the blood now soaking the front of my dress. “You don’t have to worry,” she said with a cruel smile. “I think I nicked something important. You always did have a weakness for fragile things.”
I whimpered. I hadn’t meant to, but the pain was too much.
August snapped, and this time even Lavina flinched. He seized her by the throat and slammed her into the stone with enough force to crack it.
“You think this is a game?” He roared through the dining hall. “You think I won’t rip your throat out?” His fangs bared, his eyes glowed like coals. “Come near her again and you’ll crawl away—if you’re lucky.”
Lavina tried to step away, but August grabbed her again, this time by the back of the neck.
“Oh no. You break it,” he hissed as he hurled her toward me. “You fix it.”
I didn’t wait. I gripped her wrist, letting the magic flow. She screamed.
The knife slid free of my body with a squelch, and the pain drained with it. The hole in my stomach closed before my eyes, leaving only blood and torn silk.
“I really liked this dress,” I muttered. I held her longer than necessary. Just enough to make her squirm.
But even with her withering away under my touch and every vampire in this room wide-eyed, it wasn’t enough. This fucking bitch thought she could hurt me. I placed the knife in front of her face so she could watch as it turned into a wooden stake.
“Augustus!” one of the brothers shouted.
He turned, fangs gleaming. “Move and I’ll rip your heart out.”
I shoved the stake right next to Lavina’s heart.
“You shouldn’t worry about his threats. My favorite thing to do is kill vampires.” I brushed her hair aside, fisting it tightly in my hand. “And now you’ve made it personal.”
I released her, watching her crumple. She was pale and trembling as she weakly fumbled with the stake.
“Maybe he was protecting me after all,” Simon whispered.
August glanced at him.
And I smiled.
Simon cleared his throat, setting his goblet down with exaggerated care. “Well, that escalated.”
