Then—through the swirling mist of death—I saw her.
Across the ballroom, her silhouette emerged.She was cloaked in black, her face masked, the same attire she wore in France.
In her hand, the final vial.The last of the poison.
And she was aiming it at him.
Salvatore.
“No,” I whispered, horror freezing my blood.“Elizabeth...don’t.”
She moved.
Poised with deadly accuracy, she threw the vial at him.
“ELIZABETH!”I roared, surging forward, sprinting toward her—toward them.My heart was pounding, and desperation was clawing at my throat.
But the vial had already shattered.
A thick, noxious cloud exploded through the air, rushing out in all directions.I was too close—too slow.The poison hit me like fire, slicing into my lungs.I gasped, choked, staggered.
No—no—NO!
Salvatore reeled back, shadows erupting around him.He moved fast, slipping just beyond the edge of the poison, escaping into the dark like a serpent.
He didn’t inhale it.
I did.
I stumbled, but through the burning and haze, I saw him strike.
His hand shot out—grabbing her.
Elizabeth’s body jerked in his grip, and before I could scream, before I could reach her, he hurled her across the ballroom.
Her body hit the wall with a sickening crack.
She crumpled to the ground—motionless.
“Elizabeth!”I tore across the room, falling to my knees beside her.My lungs singed, my vision swimming, but none of it mattered.Nothing mattered but her.
Her skin was pale, and her breath shallow.Blood stained her lips.Her eyes fluttered open—just barely.
“I’m here,” I choked out, gathering her in my arms.“You’re okay—you’re okay—I’ve got you—just stay with me—please?—”
Her lips moved, but her voice was gone.Her body trembled in my hold, fading, fading...
With a inhuman roar of unrestrained fury, Salvatore seized Mathias’ lifeless body, lifting it high above his head with an iron grip.
His knuckles turned bone-white, his sinewy arms tensed like iron cables, and every muscle in his form coiled with unearthly power.
And then he screamed.
Not a sound.
Not a mere shout of anger.
A bellow of wrath so raw, so volcanic that it tore through the very bones of the palace.
