Chapter 37
I crashed into the hardwood floor with brutal force. My arm was smashed beneath my body, wrenching my shoulder, and my face slammed into the wood. I cried out as pain ricocheted throughout my body, but adrenaline was hot on its heels.
The lessons Dash had been giving me had somehow become ingrained. I shoved my elbow back, hitting my attacker in the stomach. A wheezing cry left their lips as their hold on me loosened a fraction.
I didn’t waste a moment. I flipped over, shoving them off and scrambling to my feet.
The moon was high, and its light streamed in through the bedroom window. I could just make out the furniture in the room and the figure climbing to its feet.
There was no time.
I bolted for the door, but it slammed closed with some unseen force just as I reached it. Grabbing for the knob, I twisted, but it wouldn’t budge.
A feminine laugh sounded behind me, but it was dark and twisted. “Sorry, trash. Can’t let you leave.”
Panic surged somewhere deep as I turned to face my assailant.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. It was Chloe…but it wasn’t. Her skin was a sickly gray color, and her hair was wildly disheveled. And the way she held her body was unnatural somehow.
“Chloe?” I croaked.
Rage bloomed in her eyes. Eyes that looked as if they had no irises at all. They were completely black.
“You are going to pay for everything you’ve done,” she snarled.
My heart hammered against my chest as I surveyed the room for options. The door was out. I thought of screaming, but there was no way anyone would hear me over the loud music.
I took a deep breath and searched for the power inside me, that tangle of abilities at the very center of my being. I tugged on a gold strand I knew was from Ronan. His fire was the gift I’d grown most comfortable with. And as much as I hated Chloe, I didn’t want to kill her if I didn’t have to.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I warned. “You know I can.”
Chloe scoffed, moving in a half circle as if cornering prey. “You don’t have the first clue what I’m capable of.”
“Dark magic?” I challenged.
She stilled, her eyes widening for a moment, and then she cackled. “You wish this was dark magic. Then you might have a prayer of stopping me.”
My breath hitched as the panic dug in deeper.
“I had to do something to make you pay. You stole my power from me,” she growled.
“Your power?”
“Yes, mine,” Chloe snapped. “The Crescents were mine. Their power is supposed to be coursing through my veins. But you stole them from me!”
The Crescents.
Memories slammed into me of Damien’s dungeon and how he would rage about my mates, calling them that.
“How is Damien?” I asked, trying to disguise the panic in my voice.
Chloe’s spine snapped straight. “You won’t steal him from me, too.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. Maybe I was cracking up, locked in a room with this psycho. But the laughter came fast and fierce. “I don’t want a damn thing from Damien except for him to be wiped from this Earth.”
It was the wrong thing to say because Chloe lunged.
I narrowly escaped her attack, side-stepping at the last moment.
She screamed, fury coursing through her. “You ruined everything!”
Chloe launched herself at me again with a snarl. This time, she landed a punch to my ribs that had me stumbling back.
I let a burst of golden flames free as she rebounded for round three. The fire had her reeling back and cursing.
“It’s not yours!” Chloe’s breaths came in ragged pants as she searched for a way to get to me. She was completely unhinged.
“You won’t get away with this. I won’t let you. He wanted me to take you alive, but you don’t deserve to breathe his air.”
Blood roared in my ears. Damien. He wanted to take me again.
But he wouldn’t get me alive. That was one thing Chloe and I could agree on.
Her mouth curved, lips parting. Fangs elongated from her incisors, and I gasped. Had Damien turned her?
That was when I saw it. The black tar dripping from her teeth. Just like a shadow demon.
I was in such shock I wasn’t prepared for Chloe when she lunged this time.
She knocked me to the floor, her fangs going for my throat. My hold on my magic slipped, and I couldn’t blast her. Instead, my knee came up, striking Chloe in the ribs. She cried out, her fist slamming into my own ribs. Pain shot through me like a knife, and I was sure she’d broken something.
Someone yelled and pounded on the door.
I screamed as loud as I could for help.
Chloe cursed, making another dive for my neck as the door flew open.
Her head jerked up as Trace and Ronan stormed into the room.
Chloe snarled, more animal than human. She flew off me, running for the window at a speed that was definitely supernatural. A second later, she launched herself at it. Glass shattered, and she was on the other side.
“What the hell?” Ronan growled.
But Trace was already making a beeline for me.
“I’m fine,” I said, struggling to my feet.
My face throbbed, and my arm ached. I knew I’d have a black eye for sure. But it was my ribs that burned like hellfire.
“What did she do to you?” Trace gritted out.
“Well, it wasn’t a tea party.” I spoke the words, but they were barely audible.
That burning intensified, and I looked down at my side. A black, almost blood-like substance dripped down my dress.
My vision wavered as I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
“Leighton?” Trace pressed, panic now in his voice.
“I’m—” I tried to say I was okay. That everything was fine. But it wasn’t.
My limbs lost all feeling, and my world went black.