Page 134 of The Star's Sword

My night sword was still in my hand, but I had a new plan for Vasara.

For all the vampires she’d killed. For all the trouble she had caused for Simon. For the way she looked at Samael and Cayne.

I was going to make this bitch suffer more than anyone had suffered before.

“Simon,” Vasara said, yelling at him. “You’ve just killed hundreds of your vampires and for what, her? A human? A dog?”

“A demon,” Simon said pleasantly. “And I didn’t kill them.” His eyes narrowed. “You did.”

Vasara let out an infuriated shriek. “Now I’m going to die to that freak!” She pointed her sword at me, then glared at Simon. “You took my support. You did this on purpose, you little prick.”

“Cleo, cut her to pieces for me, will you?” Simon asked, as the vamps were cleaned from the area.

Now that the blood loyalty trial was over, she didn’t have a single vampire standing by her side.

The thousands of vamps on the hill were moving downward, intrigued.

If I fought well, could I finally win their approval?

I just wanted this to be over, so I could take Samael home and keep preparing for the next step of our quest.

“Yes,” I answered Simon.

“Small pieces.” He grinned, then lifted a hand to wave and left the arena.

“You’ve killed your own vamps, and for what?” Vasara was still shrieking, her hands shaking on her sword. “This will be for nothing. You’re all going to die!”

Simon folded his arms from outside the arena.

The line in the side between us glowed blue, and I heard a light ding.

“Match started! Everything is legal! Simon yelled.

“Get her, Cleo!” Samael yelled, standing in his cage now and raising a fist to me.

“You got this!” Mor, Griffin and Os yelled.

“I believe in you!” Zadis shouted.

I walked forward, holding my sword in a defensive position as I moved toward Vasara.

The fear in her eyes told me exactly how this was going to go.

But she was still an eighth realm celestial with a lot of tricks up her sleeve, so I prepared myself, and stepped over the line.

44

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” Vasara said, voice trembling, as she backed away from me and I advanced, sword drawn. “The vamps, I needed them.”

“Should have fed them, then,” I said, calm as I continued to approach.

I could see the droplets of stress sweat on Vasara’s forehead as she got closer.

I took a testing lunge, extending my sword in an attack to see how she reacted. She swung her sword clumsily at mine but dropped it the second they touched.

I stared down at it, then put a foot on it, grinning. Then I lunged again, and she jumped back, putting her hands up.

“Stop, don’t hurt me,” she said.

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