Chapter 23 Elodie #3
There are eight of them. Each one angrier than the last until I come full circle to the first man I locked eyes with. His mousy brown hair is slicked back off his face and his beady green eyes devour me as he smirks.
“It’s time now, my love,” he projects, eyes set on mine, and I shake my head.
“I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not your love,” I retort, tensions coiling tight through my limbs as I blink at him, and he snickers.
“Thorne, you may leave us,” he states, waving a dismissive hand at the shadow fae beside me, but he doesn’t move an inch.
“Do you know this guy?” I murmur into Thorne’s shoulder as he remains in front of me, and he shakes his head.
“I don’t know who you are, and I couldn’t give a fuck about what you want, so politely, fuck off,” Thorne grunts, his voice thicker and raspier, but the persistent guy simply smiles wider.
“Are we doing this the easy way or the hard way?” he asks, earning a mumble of snickers from the men completing the circle with him, and Thorne shrugs.
“Hard,” he declares, shooting his hands out toward the leader, black smoke firing through the air, but before it can meet its mark, someone else takes the blast for him, falling to the ground in a writhing mess.
I jolt back as everyone charges at us, my eyes wide as I spin on the spot, ready to defend myself, but a quick glimmer of something dark flashes in my vision.
Gloves.
Fuck.
Tugging them off as fast as I can, I slam my palms against the chest of the first man to get close.
I’m instantly consumed by the magic swarming inside of me, watching as the man falls to his knees, cheeks hollowing out as his eyes strain.
The ache forms in my mouth immediately as my fangs elongate, and I feel the rush of his abilities becoming mine.
My pulse thunders in my ears, or is it everyone else’s? Regardless, my gaze narrows, seeking out my next target, but the man a foot behind the guy on his knees falters, his jaw falling in shock as he gapes at me. All I can smell is blood, and I want the taste on my tongue.
Releasing my hold on my first victim, I charge toward the second.
Knocking him to the ground is effortless in his shocked state.
I can’t control myself. The need inside of me is desperate and frenzied, and before I can think, my extended canines sink into his neck.
His bellow of pain ripples through the air, quickly dwindling to a gargle as he splutters beneath me, but I don’t stop until the part inside of me is satisfied.
Blood drips down my chin, coating my chest and staining my dress as I rise to my feet, my teeth retracting as I glance around the group, ready for the next fucker to try me, but I’m immediately halted in my tracks when I find Thorne.
He’s not alone. He has a hand wrapped around his neck, and the owner?
The leader. Only now, his facial features have shifted to match what I just experienced.
He’s a vampire, and his gaze is set on me.
“It’s time to go now, my love,” he repeats, the threat clear, the warning noted, and I take an instinctive step toward him.
“Let go of him.”
“Protective. Cute. But we all just saw what you’re capable of, and there was nothing sweet about it. But I can play the role if you’re looking to be a hero,” he rambles, a devilish grin curling his lips as his fingers flex at Thorne’s throat. “Come with me and I’ll let him live.”
“Okay.” I don’t miss a beat, I don’t take a second to ponder the idea. Instead, I lift my blood-stained hands in surrender and step toward him, hating the crimson-stained sand I leave in my wake.
“Just like that?” he clarifies, and I nod.
“Just like that.”
He grins with victory dancing in his eyes.
“What’s your name?” I ask, but he waves me off.
“We can get into the juicy details when we leave, Little Weapon,” he muses, and I cock a brow at him as I come to a stop a few feet away.
“Little Weapon, huh?” I blurt, rubbing my lips together nervously. “Now is when you let him go,” I add, pointing at Thorne, who is still as quiet as ever, but it’s only now from this angle that I can see why. One of the other men is using magic on him to hold him in place.
Fuckers.
“I make the rules,” my new captor states, and I roll my eyes.
“Of course, but I need to know he’s going to be okay.
Otherwise, I won’t do this the easy way,” I insist, certain deep in my soul that I won’t be leaving here with this man, but I don’t have the ability to think of a plan while I’m sinking in the moment as I attempt to get us out alive. Adrenaline is in complete control now.
The fucker’s eyes narrow as he stares at me, but one by one, he removes a finger from around Thorne’s throat.
The second he no longer has Thorne in his grasp, he signals for the man using his magic to restrain Thorne to ease up too.
The moment he does, we’re drenched in thick black smoke and Thorne drapes me in his hold.
Yet the cackle that manages to penetrate through sends a shudder through my bones, and his parting words sit heavy on my heart.
“Power is forged in ruin, Little Weapon. I will be yours.”