Page 135 of Memories Like Fangs
How dare you even form your lips to talk about her! And to threaten my family!My dragon snarled. My jaws parted as I released a roar that made the windows shake like they would give any minute. I wanted to shred her into unrecognizable pieces with my fangs. I wanted her to beg for death and mercy, so I could deny it to her and continue to make her suffer. I only wanted her to know pain.
But, I couldn’t put my loved ones in danger for my revenge. I wasn’t Cooper, my family weren’t pawns to be used and destroyed.
Then, an idea formed in my head.
The crystals.
I flexed my claws, pulling on the threads that connected me to all the stones in the condo. All of the crystals in my bedroom surged behind me, but I kept them hidden behind my large frame. They fractured, splitting off into sharp blades ready to attack like a glittering barrage on my mark. I didn’t fire yet. Instead, they hovered in the air at my back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike like the methodical predator I was.
Quinn stepped forward then. The bond between us thrummed like a steady and secure lifeline. Her back was straight and proud. Her hazel eyes were that focused bright gold that was sharp with clarity. There was a small undercurrent of pain I could feel she still had, but it was overshadowed by her calm anger that was more chilling than an upfront bout of wrath. With her daggers in hand, she looked every bit the iron-forged huntress leader.
“Let them go, Lilah.”
Lilah’s smile widened. “Oh, Ilovethat tone. What are you going to do if I don’t, Daddy Huntress? Or, should I sayPapi?”
I roared again. This time, everyone, excluding Lilah, flinched as their eardrums fought to handle the volume. The windows shattered, sending a rush of chilled, humid air into the condo. The marble from the massive countertop cracked, laced with spiderweb fissures. One touch, and it seemed it would all crumble.
Instead, the sharpest pieces of glass and marble floated. Silently, they drifted behind Lilah. They were a rising tide of dagger and death made of stone, preparing to bathe Lilah in what she controlled.
Quinn noticed it, either from the flicker of my power through our bond or just from a glimpse behind Lilah. Anticipation, pride, and something warmer, like desire and affection, pulsed from her. I didn’t have to look at her to know she was doing her best to fight a smile.
Gods, you’re hot when you’re murderous.
I am trying to be wrathful right now. Don’t make me laugh.I covered my snorting laugh with a growl.
Sorry not sorry, Sweets.
Quinn’s voice lowered then, full of danger and venom as she practically growled herself. “What. Do. You. Want?”
“Well, Iwantedan enchantment, and I would have one, too, if it hadn’t been for you meddling kids and your stupid little dragons.” She rolled her eyes. “Actually, that’s not fair. It wasmostlyCoopie’s fault. Weak-ass hunters. That wasn’t the plan. Well, notmyplan anyway. But, oh well.”
Shrugging, she turned her gaze up to me again. Her smile became something darker, more malicious.
“But, you? I didn’t expectyouto be that strong, Ladybug. Bravo. Sincerely.”
Simone’s voice cut through my snarls, hoarse and sharp with her sadness. “Haven’t you taken enough? What more do you want?”
Lilah’s face twisted, her eyes narrowing on Simone, as she snapped. “Afew dropsof one fitch’s blood are not enough. That meansnothingto the kind of magic I need. I don’t want to benothinganymore. Iwon’tbe. The enchantment will make meeverything.Powerful. Untouchable. Immortal.”
She pointed at me. “That’s the difference between us, Byrdie. Youinheriteverything. You do nothing and always get what you want. I will sacrifice everything in my way to get exactly what I want. I have no one to lose, so death is just something for me to use to my advantage. I have worked so hard andearnedthis. So. What will it be, Byrdie? Shall I kill what little remains of your precious family one by one? Or will you tell me where your mother’s enchantment is hidden so no one gets hurt?”
I answered with a crackling hiss. My tail thrashed behind me. The room was heavy with silence for just a moment.
Then, I unleashed everything onto Lilah.
The crystals shot forward. The shards of crystal, stone, and glass struck Lilah from behind and in front. Grinding her teeth to muffle her cries of pain, she stumbled from each hit. Each blade sliced through the bloody snake from Talli to sink all over Lilah’s body. They drew blood as they stabbed through her skin and muscles. It brought her to her knees. The attack would have been more than enough to kill any normal person. It was enough to kill Cooper. But Lilah was a different beast. Her blood magic was already pushing the shards back, repelling them and not allowing them to sink far enough to do any meaningful damage.
It was more than enough to distract her.
Quinn and Nat rushed forward in perfect harmony. They grabbed Everett and the others to pull them behind me. I kept my eyes trained on Lilah the whole time in case she triedto interfere, but I could hear and see Simone summon water from the kitchen to wash the restraints away. They hissed and screeched in resistance before finally falling to the floor like rainfall. Everett, Teddy, Izzy, and Rhois shifted and roared from behind me. A massive golden griffin, a black jaguar, a fiery golden sphinx, and a red wolf with teal eyes came to flank either side of me. Journee with their hands enflamed with cerulean blue magic, Simone with her watery tendrils at her control, Quinn with her daggers raised, and Nat with a long, thin, polished blade that almost seemed wet with something joined us, too.
Lilah’s eyes flared to an even brighter shade of red as she looked over each of us. In an instant, I shifted into my hybrid form, my wings and tail sweeping behind me. My fingers, hands, and forearms were no longer soft tawny skin, but hardened crystals whose color matched the opal of my scales. My claws weren’t black either, instead looking like crystalline shards attached to my fingers. Without even realizing it, blades of crystal formed in my palms from nothing but a spark of my magic. They felt like extensions of me that I could wield. My hands had looked the same when I sent that fatal barrage toward Cooper. In this moment, it felt overwhelmingly cool and badass. I smirked at Lilah.
“I guess you’re right, Lilah. Idoget what I want.” I approached Lilah and used the tip of my blade to tilt her chin. As I looked at her blazing burgundy eyes, I couldn’t help but remember when she had done the same to me when she had kidnapped me. It made me smile even wider at the karma of it all. “You are outnumbered and about to lose. Are you going to go down fighting, or will you admit defeat now and surrender?”
I expected Lilah to sneer or frown as she said some scathing retort before trying to find a way to take all of us on. I knew she definitely wasn’t going to give up easily. Lilah wouldn’t ever facea courtroom for her crimes. There wasn’t a world where Everett or anyone arrested Lilah, and she went through a trial. There wasn’t a jail that could hold her. She would have to be slain. So, asking her to accept a loss was a formality at this point.
Of all the ways Lilah could have reacted though, her chuckling before building up to unhinged laughter was among the least I would have guessed.
