Then he grabs me by the neck, squeezing just enough to cut off my windpipe. A strangled cry escapes my lips. I tear at his arm with my free hand, but it’s no use. My head spins as my oxygen is cut off.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he hisses. “You witches think you’re sopowerful, gifted by the gods with your magic.”
He tilts his head lower, he voice dropping to a dangerously low cadence.
“But you’re nothing but flesh and bone…andblood.”
WORTH FIGHTING FOR
Celine
The bright lights of the city herald my return.
And the phone buzzing in my pocket indicates that I’m back within cellphone reception. I usually don’t pick it up when I’m flying, but it’s buzzing so insistently, I take it out of my pocket.
Almost nobody has my cell number. Renata, Tudor…the mayor.
And Cedric.
There’s a voicemail from an unknown number. I put it to my ear.
My brother’s smug voice rings out. “Hello, Celine.”
My fury mounts again. If he was standing in front of me, I would stake him on the spot. I have a strong urge to throw my phone in the lake. But that would accomplish nothing.
Cedric’s voice says, “I’m aware that father has dragged you out of the city on one of his ridiculous tirades against the kitchen witches. I hope you enjoy your final battle, since by the time you receive this message, I will have infiltrated the Respite hotel with my night guard and imprisoned Renata and Lexi in their crypts. You see, I took advantage of the party to sneak in and change the security codes of their private chambers. I knew it would come in handy, I just didn’t realize how quickly it would pay off.”
He chuckles malevolently. Furious, I pause, suspended in the air above a busy intersection. I was heading to Lazarus’s mafia headquarters, planning to stop him and Cedric there. But if Cedric is at the hotel, I need to take this opportunity to get my revenge.
Ifit’s the last thing I do, I’m going toendmy traitorous brother.
“Oh, but that’s not all, dear sister!” the voicemail continues. “Not even close. While you were gallivanting through the woods with our Creator, I kidnapped your sweet girlfriend. It was so easy to pick her up off the street outside of her apartment. She looked a little roughed up, Celine. You should really take better care of your toys.
“But of course, that won’t be anything compared to what Lazarus is going to do to her. While I’m at the hotel, he’s going to be back at the mansion, slowly draining your cute plaything until she’s an inch from death. Then he’s going to slow down even more. You know the stories about Lazarus, don’t you? About how he loves to play with his food. And I’m sure he’ll have a wonderful time with your bartender. I’m a little jealous. She’s such a pretty thing. And her blood smellsdelicious…”
Rage overcomes me, as sharp as my stake and a hundred times more deadly. The phone crumbles to dust in my fist, the wind picking up the tiny pieces and swirling them down onto the city below.
I hover over the honking cars and bustling crowd, only a few streets from the hotel.
My fury knows no bounds. I have a chance now, an opportunity to end this once and for all. Cedric and I are the same age, equal in power and strength. I could go to the hotel and face him, unleash my anger and finally satisfy the thirst for revenge that’s been brewing inside me ever since he betrayed us.
Betrayedme.
But…I think of Amara, imprisoned in Lazarus’s mansion. I know that Cedric’s threat is real, that Lazarus would take great pleasure in killing her, slowly and painfully. And I know that he’ll do it before the night is through.
I remember the fear and the hurt in her eyes when I last saw her, the blood running down from her throat.
She’s a witch, but she won’t be powerful enough to escape Lazarus Gray. Certainly not in the weakened state she’s in.
The weakened stateIput her in when I drank from her.
And something unravels within me. Something old and entrenched. Something I didn’t even know was wrapped around my heart.
I should never have let her leave in such a state. I should haveknownthat somethinglike this would happen.
I put her in this danger…
Even if she’s a Hecate witch, even if she’s the enemy spy…I can’t bear the thought of Lazarus sucking the blood from her veins.
