Page 95 of The Child of Rue Royale
“Slow,” I whisper, and it’s like time has stood still from this new power I don’t understand. The dagger moves to me in slow motion, and when it’s within inches of my body, I simply flick it with my finger, turning it mid-air. I barely tapped the sharp metal, yet it spins with retaliation and drills into the place where Violetta’s heart would be, if she had one.
Her eyes glaze over from the impact, her swollen mouth dripping with blood, and she falls forward, her dead body incapable of torturing me another second.
TEARS FILL MY EYES, Aviolent relief hitting that she’s gone. I have to stand still for a moment because of the lifetime of torment she’s delivered me, the years I wasted putting up with it because it was expected of me.
I wet my dry mouth, looking back to the stage, fear for my family sending a dread through me. Because Rosemary is still alive, so I march the best I can in their direction.
Smoke from the fire blocks my view, and I cough, casting shadows to clear it just as a form appears. The same form I saw the night on the beach, the night I resurrected Bastian. But this time, the form doesn’t disappear. No, it storms right into me. Him. Bastian, pulling me into his arms, and I melt.
“You found me,” I cry.
“I’ll always find you,” he says, pushing the bloody hair from my face. “Even when I’m dead.”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, emotion threatening to get the best of me, but then I see my baby’s face in my mind’s eye.
“Where’s Aven?” I ask, and he squeezes my ribcage.
“Your mom has him. He’s safe. Can you walk?”
I nod, looking through the smoke. “He’s not safe as long as Rosemary is alive.”
“Let’s go,” he says, pulling me back toward the stage.
Amongst the rows of chairs, Nicola is in the air, captive by Rosemary’s power, yet Chantal’s ropes of power are shooting intoRosemary’s stomach. Cassius sits not far off, a look of agony on his face as tries to stand on his mauled leg.
“Chantal, move!” I yell, pulling my arms apart, focusing all my energy on the chairs that were set so perfectly on the lawn for my burning. With all the strength left in my body, I bring my outstretched arms to a clap, sending thirty wooden chairs into Rosemary’s back. They knock her down, piling on top of her as Nicola slams to the ground, crying from the searing pain of electricity.
Cassius rises, sliding his leg behind him, pulling Rosemary from the pile of chairs by her shoulders. “Were you the one that sent me to the swamp?” he demands.
“That’s the one,” Nicola shouts, hunched over, eyes searing into Rosemary.
Cassius licks his lips, taking in the witch so weak in his grasp. She’s exhausted and there must be nothing left in her. Cassius bows, forcing her to meet his eyes, but she doesn’t cower to him. Instead, she digs her long nails into her flesh like knives and scrapes down the skin of her chest. Blood bubbles up quickly, and I cover my mouth, panicking that he’ll fall victim to the blood. I shake my head because Cassius is smart, but vampires do stupid shit when it comes to blood.
“Come on,” she entices. “Have a taste.”
Fangs blur my vision, and Cassius’s mouth widens. “No, Cassius,” I yell, pulling closer to them, because the crimson now runs down her skin, drenching the top of her blouse.
“She wants you to, she knows it will kill you,” Nicola yells.
“I know,” he says, his eyes not tearing away from Rosemary’s intense gaze. His hand rises, grabbing her thin neck. I look at Bastian’s tormented eyes as his voice booms.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Cassius! Her blood will kill you.” Bastian warns, and it’s like Cassius can’t hear Bastian.
“You took advantage of my friend, you used her. You killed my brother.” His words seem to weep with ferocity, a deep-seated sorrow from the love and regrets he has regarding Oksana, the pain he still feels from Bastian’s death.
“You and your sentimental heart, Cassius. Stop taking everything so personally. No one can fix your daddy issues. Grow the fuck up.”
Cassius chuckles from those cruel words. “You won’t take anything else away from us. Enjoy hell.” His eyes darken, but it’s like he’s toying with her, so I coil the power within me to take her out.
“Kill me slowly,” she says with a yearning. “So you can look in my dying eyes and know that every extra second I spent dying, I spent hating you. All of you.”
Cassius does not kill Rosemary slowly. Instead, he snaps her neck, quick and unflinching. I watch her eyes go dim, and even though her death is quick, she kept her word.
I feel the power inside me, beating, pounding, but I won’t release it. I don’t have to. Instead, I turn, running to the tree my mom and Aven hide behind, Bastian following.
I take Aven into my arms as everything around me goes foggy, and Bastian holds us both up. My head falls upon his back. He’s always got my back, and I look up to him, his soft kisses stamping my temple, his arms folding around us, tears streaming down my face. “Oh, my God,” he says, holding us, and we sink to the grass around us.
“Is he okay?” Chantal asks, her face frozen in fear.
