I landed on my neck and slumped over on my side. Pushing myself up, I propped myself up against the wall. I gritted my teeth and pulled at the stake embedded further into my shoulder than I thought. Moving the stake sent shooting pains through my chest. Fuck, I hated wood!
Growling, Silas rushed towards me again. Seeing his claws pointed at my face, I tugged at the damned stake. Silas lunged towards me, swiping his claws around, hoping to hit me. I felt his hot breath on my face as I freed the stake from my shoulder and braced my arms in front of me. Falling forwards, Silas landed on the stake. I closed my eyes and counted to three before I dared to see if he was still alive.
Blood bubbled up from his mouth as he tried to speak. The stake was still in my hands, but it hadn’t pierced his heart. I had no way of knowing how close the stake was to its target.
“I’m going to kill you, Pixie.” His voice was thick from the blood pooling in his throat.
Taking a deep breath, I clutched the wood with my hands and did my best to ignore my throbbing shoulder. I had one shot at killing the bastard.
Feeling him move his legs around so that he could get to his feet, I knew I was out of time. Holding my breath, I wrenched the stake from his fleshy chest and drove it as hard as I could into his body.
When the first flake of ash flew up into the air, I let out a breath. All around me, Silas’ heavy body turned to ash and floated into the ground.
Pushing myself up, I dusted off Silas’ remains and picked up the stake.
Looking to Landon, I saw him shake out his legs and arms to get the feeling back into them.
I took a step towards Landon, but stopped when I heard someone behind me. Turning, I found Declan leaning against the tile wall, his chest and arms covered in blood.
I ran to Declan to check on him, but he held out his hand to stop me. “Let me finish off Landon and then we can celebrate.”
I threw out my good arm to stop Declan. “He’s with me but no one can know. He’s sort of a double agent.”
Declan eyed Landon and looked back at me. “I noticed him protecting you, though I assumed you hated him.”
“She did hate me.” Landon snickered. “Thankfully, I’m charming.”
Declan frowned and looked questioningly at me.
“It’s complicated. We can talk about it later. Right now, I need to find Adriel.” I waved my hand to stop Declan from asking questions.
“Did I hear my name?” Adriel strode into the shower room with three of his goons. “You’ve made a huge mess today, Ceyla, but it’s over now. My men are subduing your rabble-rousers and sending them to a fiery death.”
“Liar. The rest of your men are dead or soon will be. The school has fallen, which means no one is coming to save you.” I smirked and blew him a kiss.
He snarled. “I really can’t tell if you’re crazy or a skilled performer. Regardless, I’m going to enjoy putting you out of your misery. Oh, and don’t try to get inside my head again. It won’t work. The coven has given orders to kill you.” He motioned to Declan. “If only you had done your job, boy, I could be pummeling some little whelp instead of mopping up this slaughter.”
Declan chuckled darkly. “If memory serves me right, Adriel, you were the one who screwed up first when you left Ceyla alive after killing her parents. I was sent to right your wrongs years later, once the coven found out that she was still alive. I always wondered what stayed your hand. Was it a sense of morality or did you have a code against killing children? Maybe you had a moment of weakness. In the end, it doesn’t matter because I’m going to make sure you never hurt her again.”
The fury in Adriel’s eyes told me that Declan was telling the truth about Adriel killing my parents and leaving me alive only to torture me years later.
“No wonder you hate me so much.” I smiled broadly as I imagined Declan killing the man responsible for the death of my parents.
Adriel snapped his fingers and laughed. “No one is killing me tonight, Declan.”
The sound of footsteps clacked across the shower room floor. My stomach dropped when I recognized the cadence of Wesling’s high heels. Glancing over at her, my heart stopped when I saw Kayden standing in front of her with a blade against his throat.
She smiled pleasantly. “I would think twice about attacking any of us, Ceyla. Right now, you have a choice. It’s true that the coven wants to convert you. All you have to do is give up this silly pursuit and bow before Marcario Mielcarek. Once you pledge your allegiance to him, you won’t have to worry about anything. They will tell you exactly what to say and do. Your life will be simple. No more tortures. No more prison. You will be free to live out your days as Marcario’s prized pet.”
“Let me think about this. I would have to bow and put on a pretty dress with my hair all done up. I’d probably have to sit silently through boring meetings, unable to give my opinion. I would be nothing more than a piece of art, brought out for guests to admire. Who wouldn’t want that?” I smiled sarcastically
