Chapter 73
73
EVANGELINE
F iona reached for me, maybe to say goodbye, when she froze, her eyes frosting over, face turning as blank as the statues around us.
“What…” I spun, searching for the crone, because of course Ysbeth had fucked us over, that’s what all witches did, you couldn’t trust any of them and…
“Hello, Vicious.” Malachi waited a few feet away with his hands in his pockets, his face shadowed, only the points of his fangs catching the light.
“That was…impressive. Aria insisted there wasn’t a single Bloodmoon witch left alive, yet here you are, being unbound by their eldest Matron. Fiona is fine, by the way, she’ll walk away from this unharmed, as long as you cooperate.”
“Blake and Riordan are going to kill you. They’ll sever your head from your shoulders and I will fucking open a bottle of champagne and toast to never fucking hearing your voice ever again.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into that, I see.”
“You’ve spent a lot of time fucking us over.”
“I have.” He conceded, still not coming closer, just…waiting. I didn’t have a weapon, not a single blade. I was a fool, following Fiona out here so trustingly, believing Crimson Ho use was safe.
“I’ll make this fast. Given how possessive your lovers are, I expect they will come barreling toward us at any moment. You need to come with me, Vicious. We have work to do and we don’t have a lot of time.”
“You are seriously delusional.” I held his eyes, cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “ Blake . Riordan . Nash .” My shouts echoed back, bouncing off some invisible wall.
“Ravok is awake.” There was enough urgency in Malachi’s tone I stopped searching for a way out and listened.
“Your father believes he controls Ravok, but Silas is wrong. Within days, my Maker will be recovered enough to devastate this clan, but you and I can stop him. We have to act now, before he regains his full powers.”
“Ravok is your problem.” Even as I threw the accusation at him, I knew it was a lie. Ravok had already gotten one taste of Riordan— and me . He’d come back for more. Not only that, Silas could never hope to keep him contained.
“Come with me and I’ll remove the witch’s blocking spell, teach you how to use your magic, enough for you to kill him. Ravok’s strong, but you’re stronger.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re blathering on about.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Slither away and make it fast, because once Blake finds you, he’s going to crush you into dust.”
“I know about your magic, Vicious. I know what happened at White Chapel. I know everything.”
My heart stopped beating.
There was no way he could know, no way, unless…
There were only three people who knew what happened that night, and one of them was dead. And Angel would never talk . Never .
Horror made my knees weak when Malachi went on, something like pity on his face, “I know why your mother bound you so young, something you haven’t told anyone, especially not your new friend , Fiona. Would she have unbound your magic if she knew what you were?”
He shook his head sadly. “I think not.”
“My magic’s none of your fucking concern. And what’s your plan? Lock Ravok back in his coffin?” I shook my head. “Hate to tell you, but that’s buried under a million tons of stone.”
“This time I have no need of a coffin. This time, I’m not locking him away, I’m ending him for good.”
I had to… what the fuck was my plan? Kill Malachi, then find Ravok and kill him, too?
No. We had to kill Ravok first, he presented the bigger threat.
Once Ravok was neutralized, I’d finish off this bastard in front of me. I’d been trained to kill his kind, after all, and he had no idea how ruthless I was when I had my prey in my sights.
“You can go fuck yourself, Malachi.”
“You will help me, or I will kill every soul in Crimson House, starting with her.” He pointed at Fiona. “I won’t spare anyone to get what I want.”
His eyes glittered with something like desperation. “This has to happen, Vicious. I tried giving you a choice, you refused. Now neither of us has a choice at all.” Then, with horrifying, smothering awfulness, his glamour wrapped my every thought in shadow, trapped me inside my own body, until my face went as slack as Fiona’s.
A wall of thudding power surrounded us, then Malachi was beside me, arm circling my waist, fingers caressing my hip with casual familiarity .
I was going to kill him.
Murder him in his sleep.
Stab a knife in his heart and it was going to feel so fucking good…
“This next part, I’m afraid, will be difficult for you, Vicious. But I’ve waited a long time to see Blake Marten break, and while I was denied my victory, I will not be denied my revenge.”