Her eyes slowly opened. “Ouch.”
Against the snow, the blood all over her looked even darker and grislier.
“You okay?” I asked.
A peculiar expression came over her. “I guess you saved my life. Again.”
“I have good timing like that.” I wiped a sticky layer of blood from over Priscilla’s eyes, leaving the rest of her face drenched in Veronica’s red vomit. Priscilla looked comical with these white circles around her eyes. “You’ve got something on your face,” I joked.
Priscilla took a deep breath. “Yeah? Well, you’ve got something on your mouth.” She reached to the back of my head with her right hand, clutched a fist full of my hair, and then pulled me down to her lips, kissing me.
I felt a thousand sparks fly through my belly and down to my toes. This was better than I ever imagined.
When our lips broke, she stared at me. It was a new expression, though. I felt seen with a new pair of eyes. This kiss wasn’t a one time thing, and we both knew it. Priscilla actually liked me.
I wanted to soak in the moment, but something suddenly occurred to me.
“Wait a minute. Where’d Cora go?”
Priscilla leaned her head back and groaned. “Not this shit again.”
Chapter Forty-Three
CORA
“Guys?” I called out. “Guys?”
Crap.
Somewhere in the middle of our run, my shoe tangled in a vine and I tripped and landed on my butt, and Priscilla and Daggett kept running and left me behind. There were so many directions to go in this maze that I immediately lost track of them.
I’ll remember this when I’m sending out Christmas cards. They’re not getting jack from me this year.
I got off the ground and untangled a piece of the vine from around my shoelaces and then discarded it. As soon as I lifted my head, I saw a body running toward me. All brown, crazy hair and electric eyes. I immediately knew who it was, and my stomach sunk. No one ever looked as angry or eager to hurt me as Molly did.
She rushed into me, pinning me to the hedge wall. “Are you ready to stop breathing, you stupid bitch?” I’d never seen her as hyped as I did in this moment. Molly grabbed the tips of my hair from behind my back and yanked down, forcing my neck to arch back and my throat to be exposed. She was going to tear through my trachea.
I suddenly remembered the reaction Master had to silver, and grabbed my necklace from around my neck and pressed the moon against Molly’s cheek. Her skin boiled and smoked as she yelped, and her grip on me loosened. I used that moment to reach for a nearby branch, snap it free from the hedge, and jam it into the side of her neck. A loud gasp erupted from her throat as she spun backward and away from me and the pain.
I didn’t stand around and wait for her to recover. As she fought to remove the branch from deep inside of her skin, I ran. I ran so fast that the cold air around me felt like blocks of ice punching me in the face. I didn’t know which direction to go, and the idea that I was putting myself deeper into the maze crossed my mind, but I didn’t have time to map out where I should and shouldn’t go. Away from Molly was the only right direction. If I got lost, maybe she would too.
I turned right, then left, then left again, then right. Every pathway looked identical, and I had to wonder if I was going in a circle.
I stopped and pressed my back flat against one hedge and waited. I waited for the sound of Molly yelling for me, or even her footsteps. At first, I heard nothing.
But then…
Click…click…click.
I wished I had a weapon of sorts. I’d never be able to fight someone like Molly off, but at least I’d have a dash of hope with a knife or a blunt object. God, why did Priscilla and Daggett have to run off like that? I could kill them. They’re lucky I was about to die, because I’d kill them if I lived.
Hands suddenly tightly wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. I flailed around as they lifted me off my feet, but the hold on me was too powerful and I could do nothing. This was it, I thought. I’m going to die.
They brought my back against their flat chest and held me there. I wasn’t in danger. In fact, this felt very familiar. I turned around quickly and was suddenly inches from Max’s beautiful blue eyes. They danced across my face, like he was both checking to see if I was all right and to see if I was real. I felt the same way. The relief that swelled inside of me was so intense and overwhelming, I thought I would cry. He was here, and I was safe again. Before I could say a word, he pressed his fingers to my lips and shushed me. The cautious, speculative expression on his face let me know he could sense Molly was nearby. We weren’t out of the woods—or hedge—yet.
Max put his hands on my hips and shifted me so I was no longer facing him. A moment later, Molly strolled toward me. Her steps were sluggish and her hand was still raised to the side of her neck. For whatever reason, the branch did some damage to her, and she was oozing blood. Maybe all things related to wood was a weak spot for vampires. I had seen enough classic horror movies throughout my life to know a simple stake usually finished the job. But that was a movie, and
