Page 87 of Happily Ever Bitten (Underworld Royals 2)

She had her legs kicked over the side of Lux’s throne, petting her snakes. “Finally,” she said, sounding relieved. “I felt you tinkering with my magic over thirty minutesss ago. What took you so long to track me?”

Shit, I thought, realizing she’d played me.

It’s okay, Grigory told me. Two against one.

Except I sensed the auras lying in wait. She’s not alone.

I’ll handle them.

Napia sighed, kicking her heel-clad feet off the arm of the throne and setting them on the ground to allow her to stand.

“You’re growing in power,” she said to me. “Which should, in theory, help you. Only, you don’t have the practice wielding energy like I do.” She demonstrated by sending a wispy strand of electricity slithering over the floor toward us.

Slow, purposeful, dark.

I stepped to the side, expecting it to pass, but it followed me instead.

Grigory frowned. What are you doing?

You don’t see that? I countered, opening my mind to show him the strands of the sizzling current flowing over the ground.

Napia laughed. “Beautiful. There really isss more to you, isn’t there?” She looked at Grigory. “Isss that why you fancy her? The power inside her? Too bad I’m going to consume it like all the othersss.”

The slithering motion picked up speed, lunging at me like a coiled snake. I jolted to the side, barely avoiding the bite as she sent two more across the room.

Grigory! I shouted to him, seeing the black rope heading straight toward him. He tried to dodge it, but the magic anticipated his move and latched onto his ankle, curling around his limb and working its way up his leg.

I danced to the left to avoid the electric snake of energy chasing me, then dodged the second one she’d sent across the room.

“Well, I guess I’ll be feeding off you first,” she cooed, her attention shifting to Grigory as her soldiers entered the room.

I can’t hold them, Grigory panted inside my mind. I can’t fucking move either.

“It’sss really too bad we couldn’t make thisss work,” Napia continued as she sauntered toward Grigory. “I mean, I planned to kill you from the beginning—it wasss going to be my wedding-night gift for you—but I would have enjoyed a taste between the sheetsss first. I’ve heard such amazing thingsss.”

Grigory growled, but I was too busy avoiding the swimming lines along the floor to focus on him. There had to be a way to block her power, like I did with my mind. But I only knew how to do that because she’d touched me with her magic. And I wasn’t too keen on letting those magical vines anywhere near me.

Napia drew her fingers along Grigory’s torso, her tongue snaking out to lick his jaw.

He didn’t outwardly flinch, yet I felt his mental wince. Whatever she was doing hurt, yet he couldn’t physically react. He was completely paralyzed from the toxin she’d woven into the strand of energy writhing around him.

A hand caught my arm, one of the soldiers finally making a move to seize me after entering the room. I palmed a blade and sent it backward into his abdomen, but he didn’t react. I tried again, and he just held on to me as if I hadn’t just stabbed him twice.

What the fuck?

“Oh, they can’t feel anything,” Napia said.

Something zapped my leg, causing me to curse in my mind. She’d used my distraction to strike. Bitch! A jolt shot all the way up my spine as the paralyzing poison rendered my body useless.

Oddly, I didn’t fall to the ground.

It was more akin to being turned to stone, only rocks didn’t coat my skin. Everything just… froze.

“Ah, see, now isn’t thisss beautiful?” Napia asked, her eyes glowing with emerald power as she licked Grigory again. “Mmm, you’re powerful. I may have to keep you alive just to savor your taste.” She looked at me. “Perhaps I’ll keep you alive just to watch.” Her tongue met his skin once more, causing me to want to grind my teeth, but I couldn’t. Not in my current form.

The guard behind me continued to hold on to me even as he bled out against my back. I couldn’t see him, but I imagined his expression matched those of the others within my line of sight. They all stood emotionlessly in the room. Four of them, including the one behind me.

All black souls with no other colors.

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