Page 20 of Our Sins in Silver (Coven of Sin 3)

My mate bared his fangs, his glittering eyes rife with hatred of the purest form. I would have taken a step back if I could, cried, and even ran. I had to remind myself that he wasn’t looking atme.

My father raised a hand to cup his progeny’s cheek, letting out a hellish purr as the priest jerked away with a scathing hiss.

“Oh, my gorgeous sterling spoon. You sparkle even when tarnished. A treasure like you is wasted on a common mortal and her unborn spawn. You exist for me alone.”

The scene melted away before I was forced to witness what I knew came next, but Sterling’s voice screaming Elizabeth’s name sounded in one ear, with the girl he called Catherine chanting “Julian” in the other.

When the memories disintegrated back into the blackness of my own mind, I crumpled to my knees in a shaking mess.

I took a breath. Then another. For a good minute, it was all I could do to keep myself from crying.

Don’t cry.

Not in front ofhim.

The necrotic visage of my father’s corpse materialized before me, his shoes stepping into my field of vision. I lifted my eyes, my hatred for him so potent that I felt weak and tired even in my own mind, where physical exhaustion shouldn’t have been a factor.

“Why?” It was as if an anvil had been dropped on me like in one of those old cartoons. “Why did you show me those things? To hurt me? To prove how much of a vile monster you are? You could have saved us both the time. I already know you’re basically Hilter. The only fortunate thing about you was that you stayed dead.” I spit on his shoes. “I’m going to find you, and I’m going to kill you. I’m a Helsing. I should be damn good at it.”

The vampire king’s eyes narrowed to slits as he looked down his nose at me, jaw ticking. “You’re an insolent little slut, aren’t you?”

“What did you expect from the daughter of the vampire king and Sapphire Lockheart? You really think I’d bow and scrape to anyone? Especially you?”

He pursed his lips, at least I think he did—it was hard to tell with the way his flesh sagged. “I’m pleasantly surprised by how much you are like me.”

His words struck a nerve that had me lunging forward, my claws snatching for him. But my fingers grappled with nothing but shadows and dark energy as he blew away like ash in the wind of my own unbridled magic. “Come back! Coward! You’re just like your fucking son.”

I staggered to my feet and spun around to scan the darkness for any sign of the vampire king. His laughter sounded all around, coming from every direction. I clutched at my ears, screaming. “I’m nothing like you. But you and Dagon? Perfect match made in Hell. When I kill you both, I’ll put you right back in your tomb, and Dagon can take the pretty white casket you had made for Sterling.”

The laughter ceased. “You must think me terribly cruel. But I show my family mercy. I protect them.”

“Mercy? Ha! Right. You wouldn’t know mercy if it slapped you in the face.”

His cavernous voice bellowed around me in my mind, rattling my bones and sinking into my marrow. His laughter was just like him, cold and cruel. “If that were true, I would have killed you when your mother brought you to my doorstep, desperate for us to give you sanctuary. The Helsing Guild was hunting you. You needed a safe place. You both did. And I provided it. I gave you a chance at a normal, human life.”

“Normal? Is that what you call leaving me with a stranger?”

He snorted. “Ah, so you don’t know.” Before I could press him for more information, he gave me a dismissive flick of his blackened hand. “It’s no matter now. I’m coming for you, little gem.”

“Coming for me?” I blinked. “Because Dagon is making you?”

“That pathetic waif of a bastard had no hope of holding me.” The slow and manic grin in his voice crawled its way inside me, freezing me from the inside out.

Had.

Not has.

Had.

As in he’d already broken free from his son’s control. My pulse roared, and fear narrowed my vision to pinpoints, shrinking it until there was nothing but darkness surrounding me once again.

“I’ll see you soon, little gem. I’m looking forward to it. It’s rare that a mortal makes me feel alive again. Too bad I have to kill you.”

“Kill me?” It’s what I feared, what I’d expected, even. Still, it came as a blow, hearing him confirm his motives. “What happened to your so-called mercy?”

“In our world, deathismercy, my little gem. I tried to save you from this life, buttheyfound you. Took you. Tainted you. They will destroy you slowly, and you them. It’s what you are. It’s in your blood. It’s been a law, written not long after the world was new, that Helsings and Knights shall always be destined to destroy one another.”

“That’s not true!” I screamed again, unleashing my scorn and bitterness, which made the wind around me rage all the more. The power was so chaotic, I couldn’t harness it. It thrashed me around, trying to tear me off my feet. My red locks lashed at my cheeks, and my eyes stung in the cyclone of unhinged power.

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