Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Ilaid my cheek on the cold marble, and my gaze fell on Torin, who slashed at a creature with his daggers. His horrified eyes met mine. I wanted to smile at him. I wished I could see him wield the magic sword. I bet he would have been unbeatable with it, but I couldn’t move a muscle.
On the other side of the room, Torin’s eyes changed to crimson, and his full transformation followed when he stabbed the creature before him. Blue blood stained the side of his prolonged ears and silver hair.
His vampire emerged, but his red eyes were not hungry for me; rather, they were worried.
He kept glancing at me as he finished off the creature and turned to face me.
His gaze darted between me and the creature looming over me, seeming to calculate the time it would take him to get to me.
Would he make it before the creature’s talon sliced through my neck?
The moment he sucked in air was when Torin must have figured out he couldn’t save me.
I had to save myself.
He mouthed, “Get up,” as his crimson eyes willed me to move. I wiggled my fingers, starting to feel my body again, and attempted to stand. Torin mouthed, “Bracelet,” and touched his wrist, urging me to will my witch weapon.
I focused on my bracelet, feeling its pulse under my skin. Help me. My will to live was strong, and I used my energy to send it to the bracelet.
The creature's hot breath hovered inches away from my head. I rolled onto my back and grabbed my bracelet.
Now. Please.
The bracelet dislodged from my arm, extending into the golden whip I saw only for a moment at the Salem graveyard. I held one end, and the other flew into the air with tiny sparks of magic surrounding it.
The rope wrapped around the thick head of the creature moments before it bit me. I used the leverage to stand and snapped the whip tight. The creature wheezed. The inferno in its throat started to turn black, and the flames were put out.
But my whip was loosening and started unwrapping from its throat before the creature was unconscious.
No, not yet.
Why was my weapon retracting? I poured all my mental energy into it, pleading for it to help me fight off these monsters, but the witch weapon had other ideas. It shortened and snaked around my arm, retreating to its bracelet form on my forearm. I hadn’t mastered its power. Yet.
The demonic dog was a foot away from me, not enough space to sidestep it or avoid its fiery breath. It opened its mouth when Hayden rushed to my side, and with one swift move, he slid under the creature, stabbing its throat at the same time.
Then Hayden pushed his short sword as deep as he could, only the hilt visible, slicing the creature’s throat. He moved just as fast to get out of its way as the creature dropped on its stomach, dead.
Hayden was immediately at my side, scanning my body and frowning.
“You need stitches,” he said in a low, worried voice over the sound of the battle in the hall.
“Anna,” Torin said, and when I turned, he was on my other side.
His crimson eyes zeroed on the blood dripping down my arm. Torin reached for me, and I didn’t know what he would do. Regardless of what his vampire wanted from me, I knew vampire Torin wouldn’t hurt me deep down. His fears of sucking me dry and not stopping were groundless.
Hayden swatted the vampire’s hand away from my body, and Hayden moved in front of me, separating me from Torin.
“You’ve shifted into your vampire, Torin. The Princess is bleeding, so I’ll need you to move aside.” Hayden’s voice held so much threat that goose bumps pricked my neck.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” Torin said calmly.
He seemed in control of his vampire, who must have emerged when he saw me in trouble.
“That’s not what it looks like to me,” my bodyguard said, and he reached back to touch me as if he wanted to make sure I was still behind his back.
Hayden’s other hand held the hilt of his short sword. His fingers twitched, and my chest tightened. Hayden might have riled up Torin and annoyed him on purpose, but he would have never attacked the Alpha or killed him in the past.
I couldn’t see my bodyguard’s face, but by the way he planted his legs wide and his restless hand trembled, I had no doubt Hayden was alert, ready to slice at the vampire.
Hayden deemed the vampire a real threat, but it wasn’t Torin who he should have been concerned about. But rather the creature that sprinted toward the three of us.
The demonic dogs were fast, and this one moved even faster. When it was about two feet away from us, Torin jumped in front of it.
The vampire pounced on top of it and straddled its neck at the only place where the creature didn’t have spikes.
Torin wrapped his arms around its thick neck and grimaced.
As soon as he squeezed hard, the creature tried to buck him off its back, but Torin held on to it long enough until the creature's body dropped to the floor.
Torin rolled off of it and stood in the middle of the hall.
The loud scream that pierced the air had me turn my head around, looking for its source, until I saw Layla sitting on the ground with her knees to her chest. The creature trotting toward her was taunting her, playing with her. It advanced slowly, staring at its prey.
She didn’t even attempt to shift or fight it. Layla was anything but helpless, so I guessed she was playing a game. What was she trying to achieve?
Hayden stood next to me while Torin was halfway between Layla and me. Torin’s crimson eyes met mine. Then he looked at Hayden, and something passed between them. Hayden nodded, and Torin turned his back on us.
The vampire was by Layla’s side, fighting the creature faster than any werewolf could. Torin needed his vampire at this moment. I held my breath until the creature dropped dead on the marble floor.
Then I let out a heavy sigh. Vampire Torin had saved my cousin. I had only threatened her earlier, but I’d never wish for her demise, not because I was a good person but because I loved Uncle Derek, and Layla was his daughter.
Layla extended her arm, and Torin grabbed it, lifting her to her feet. She glued her chest to his side and whispered something in his ear. It didn’t look like she feared his vampire form, but I wished she did. I wanted her to be terrified by the vampire Alpha.
Torin’s body stiffened, and then he turned and scooped Layla into his arms. My heart dropped, even though I knew she must have blackmailed him and made him do it. I imagined her threatening Torin with releasing his secret about being my mate, making things hard for him to remain in the kingdom.
Torin appeased her every whim, avoiding confrontation with the King and its people. Even though I knew that, my heart still ached, and my insecurities resurfaced. What else was she going to demand from him? Where were they headed? Her room? I couldn’t bear the thoughts any longer.
Despite the doubts, Torin wouldn’t betray me. But as Layla clung to his neck, I couldn’t help but feel like she had found the worst way to torture me. The twinge of jealousy morphed into a pang of hurt and abandonment.
And in that moment, Torin, with Layla in his arms, strolled out of the hall, leaving the rest of us to finish the battle.
As the last glimpse of his back disappeared, the growls and shouts filled my ears, bringing me back to reality.
Despite wanting to focus on the battle, my mind kept wandering back to Torin and Layla.
I gave my head one last slight shake and darted my gaze around the hall.
Inside the hall was a battlefield littered with dead bodies of creatures, wolves, and warriors everywhere. Small fires of burning flesh filled the room with the stench of death. Bile rose into my throat, but I pushed it down. The fight wasn’t over.
“Sweetheart?” Hayden’s voice sounded right next to my ear. “Your dad is in trouble.”
I snapped my gaze to Hayden’s face, etched with worry. “Where is he?”
“Over there. Kind of hidden behind one of the columns.” He pointed. “I need to go.”
A creature used its head to ram Dad in his chest and stomach, sending him flying into the column behind him. I could only see Dad’s back. He hadn’t shifted. His body slumped on the marble behind him.
The creature was about to breathe fire into him. Dad must have understood that fighting in his wolf form wouldn’t give him an advantage as the demonic-looking dogs were double the size of wolves.
“I’m going to help the King. Are you going to be okay, sweetheart?” Hayden asked.
“Yes, go, go, Hayden,” I said.
I wouldn’t get to Dad faster than Hayden. My bodyguard moved so stealthily and fast, running over dead bodies and small fires.
He reminded me of a graceful cheetah, and then it hit me. Hayden also hadn’t shifted into his wolf. Some warriors did. And several shifted back and forth as they called on their wolves to heal them faster or use their wolves’ speed.
But not Hayden.
Out of the corner of my eye, I detected movement, and suddenly, Cordelia stood in front of me, blocking my view of Dad and Hayden.
Not now.
My body jolted, and then I let out an annoyed sigh.
She looked me up and down. “You don’t look so good, Princess,” she said and smiled.
I inhaled deeply to calm my nerves, but with each lungful of air, I smelled burning incense—not the calming aroma I used to light up in my London apartment after a long day at the library.
The dark witch brought the scent of sulfur and burnt wood, making every cell in my body sense chaos and dread.
Despite her small frame, this woman’s presence alone was enough to stir the thick air into a frenzy, her dark aura pulsing around the hall like an unseen storm.
She held within a powerful force that made even Dad’s bravest warriors quiver in fear.
“How often do I have to tell you, child, that your mates are no good for you?”
“Don’t project your issues on me, Cordelia.”
Her bright red lips turned up in a wide smile.