Chapter 42
“HEKTOR!” Lila yelled as she pushed her way through the dining room doors back into the great hall. This was all his fault, and Lila couldn’t let it go anymore. She knew there was a plan, knew to go floor by floor, but she just couldn’t wait. She wanted to kill the fucker.
But, as she expected, her scream only woke more strigoi. They slithered from the stairs, from the vaulted ceilings where the crows usually slept, from Ambrose’s office. They hissed and growled as Ambrose stepped beside her.
You ready?he asked.
Fuck. Yes.
Lila lunged into the thicket of strigoi, a battle cry bursting from her lungs. She punched and kicked bodies away from her, while forcing warmth all over the room.
It was a messy whirlwind of bodies dropping and others running at them. As Marcus and Constance guided the healed out, Ambrose stood by Lila’s side, swatting away those her heat wasn”t fast enough to cure. He surrounded her with his wings, keeping her in a protective shell as she conjured more warmth.
Any sign of Hektor?she asked as she tried to build herself up once more.
Not yet. But I might need your offense heat.
Gladly.
In tandem, Ambrose flared his wings out as Lila shot her hands forward. The strigoi that couldn’t be cured screamed as their skin sizzled and bubbled, turning into gooey messes on the floor.
Just as the rush of bodies hit the floor, a whole new wave of strigoi rained from above. The sounds were nearly deafening as the screams and wails crashed through Lila’s ears. Instinctively, she threw her hands up to cover her ears, but the moment she did, one of the fleshy bodies leaped on top of her, sending her down hard.
But as Lila fought the creature off, she realized . . . his hair fell in lush brown curls and his jaw wasn’t bisected as he smirked wide with sharp fangs just above her face. It wasn’t a strigoi above her, but Hektor Reinick. And the shit-eating grin on his face told her he expected to surprise her, just as he’d done.
He lowered himself over her, his fangs brushing against her ear. “Hello, Little Mouse. I’m so sad to see you without my collar,” he whispered in her ear.
The strigoi were swarming around them; Constance, Marcus, and Ambrose were bombarded with the creatures all around attacking.
“Let’s see how long it takes for any of them to notice I’m here,” he snickered, his gross breath pungent in Lila’s nose. “Lords, how I’ve missed your taste, Little Mouse.” Lila tried to push him off in a panic, as he licked along her jaw, over her cheek.
Just as his tongue flicked off of her, a whirlwind of events cascaded around her. A swarm of maggots, writhing and wriggling, crashed into the room like a wave, knocking Hektor off of her. Lila immediately wanted to gag, but she knew these maggots were friends. Nostro was near. Like Ambrose’s crows, Nostro summoned an army of the little larvae, and they devoured everything in their path, including the strigoi.
The moment Hektor was off, Lila leaped up and focused all the heat she could muster into her fist before punching him in the face. She felt a satisfying crunch as his flesh bent around her knuckles. When she pulled away, she saw a large stain on his tanned cheek—violently pink, with small white bubbles forming where her fist connected.
But Hektor, unwisely, didn’t stay down. “Fucking bitch,” he hissed. He shifted his body into a monstrous form, towering over Lila and bearing his fangs. But just as he lunged at her, another form swooped past her, screaming.
“You fucking traitorous bastard!” Rebekkah yelled, pulling at his hair and raking her claws down his back.
“I’m the traitor?” Hektor threw her off, but Rebekkah was up again in less than a blink. She jumped on top of him, sinking her fangs into his shoulder.
Lila used the moment to assess around her. Ambrose fought a number of strigoi, all surrounding him, but he looked like he was handling himself well. Nostro rode atop his maggots, climbing the stairs to the next floor as they attacked as many strigoi as possible. Darius was just behind Rebekkah, taking care of the strigoi trying to reach her as she fought her brother.
The humans and vampires from the Viper Morada, and now some trickling in from the Crow Court she’d already healed, were beginning to attack the rest of the hissing beasts. She spotted Robin near the kitchen, defending Sandra as she swatted at strigoi with a wooden stake, bonking them on the head, and Robin killed them as they were (surprisingly) dazed.
But, in all the chaos, Lila realized one thing. She spotted Marcus, running toward her—but Constance was nowhere in sight.
“Drusilla—” Marcus yelled, grabbing Lila’s arm. “She’s here. Constance ran to face her.” Without another breath, he ran past Lila. She didn’t hesitate, she followed him through the main hall, bursting with heat and warmth to burn her enemies and fuel her allies.
Then she saw the wisp of blond hair running into Ambrose’s office.
Fuck, Lila thought. She knew something had happened between Constance and Drusilla when she’d first changed, but she didn’t know what. She didn’t know if Drusilla was the one who changed her.
Marcus bobbed and weaved around strigoi blocking his way, with Lila close behind. He pushed through the door only a moment later, and Lila gasped as she stumbled into him, seeing what stopped him over his shoulder.
At the far end of the room, beside Ambrose’s desk, Drusilla stood, smirking wide, with her hand gripped around Constance’s throat. The vampire wasn’t even wearing any kind of battle adornments; no armor, no leathers—only a slimming red dress with slits high up her thighs. The only indicator she was here at all to fight, was the stake clutched in her hand, and the long, silvered nails currently digging into Constance’s flesh.
Marcus dove forward, not hesitating for another moment. He swung himself haphazardly at the hag, his fists clenched all wrong, and Lila swore at herself for not taking more time to train him. But he was a vampire now. He didn’t need proper form when he had raw strength.
Constance wiggled in Drusilla’s grasp, clawing at the hand at her throat, but as Marcus dashed toward them, Drusilla flung Constance, hard. She smashed Constance’s head against Ambrose’s desk, and let her drop before throwing her hands up to fight off Marcus.
Lila didn’t wait to see, she ran to Constance, forcing warmth to her hands—but fear for her friend was shooting through her. She knew Constance would heal. But she wanted her to be okay, now.
The moment she reached her, she saw blood oozing from Constance’s forehead where it’d been smashed. She hovered her hand above the wound, shaking, but could feel the warmth pool out, and—thankfully—the gash began to stitch itself closed.
Suddenly, all the wind was knocked from Lila’s lungs as a hard force was thrown into her, tossing her body back. Her body, and Marcus’s. Lila’s back smashed into the bookshelf, and then Marcus crashed into her gut. She tried to catch her breath, but nothing was coming.
“You just can’t fucking give up, can you? Bastard brother, like bastard sister,” Drusilla scoffed. Marcus tried to get up, but fell back down immediately. His elbow was bent in an odd direction and the back of his hand was flush with his forearm. “Too weak to do anything, but too stupid to just give up—” she kicked Constance’s head with a heeled foot, and Constance went flying into the opposite wall.
“Stop!” Lila gasped out.
“Constance!” Marcus yelled in unison, trying desperately to crawl to her with his broken arm.
Lila focused her warmth on Marcus, whose bones began to snap back into place, as she regained her breath. “Your issue—is with us.” Another deep inhale. “Leave Constance the hell alone.” Forcing her lungs to accept air, she forced her warmth around the room, healing Constance, Marcus, and herself.
Marcus lunged for Constance, sliding on his knees till he reached her. As Drusilla’s head spun to follow him, Lila switched gears. Heat poured from her skin, sizzling the air around her. She threw herself at Drusilla, throwing her fist into Drusilla’s gut.
“She’s okay!” Marcus yelled. Immediately, Lila’s fear was devoured. Now, she was only angry.
Drusilla gasped as Lila’s fist collided with her again, leaving a gaping hole in the red dress, and blackened scorch marks all around. As Drusilla doubled over, Lila sent a sharp upper cut to her chin, and then a hook into her opposite cheek. She didn’t relent, she didn’t give the vampire a moment to catch up. Each hit fused with scarring heat, leaving Drusilla’s perfect skin reddened and bubbling. With the skin under her left eye turning into a black crisp, Drusilla screamed.
Lila! Where are you?Ambrose’s voice broke through Lila’s mind in a panic.
Your office. Drusilla’s here!
I’m coming.
Lila punched the hag again and then sent a roundhouse kick into Drusilla’s ribs, feeling a couple shatter at the impact. Drusilla stumbled back, catching herself against the chair in front of Ambrose’s desk.
“Well, that’s new,” she sneered. Her face was a charred, boiling mess as black blood dripped from her nose, from her lips. Drusilla spat out black blood as she huffed for breath. “I underestimated you, murine. I knew you were the Sun Child, but . . . to be frank, I just thought you were content being a whore—for the Reinicks and Draven.”
Lila bristled but remained silent. Let the hag try and antagonize her. She knew her power and soon, the bitch would too.
“If memory serves correctly, according to Hektor you’re also a slab of meat.”
Fury over taking her, Lila lunged at Drusilla, a yell burst from her lungs. Crashing into the chair and breaking it underneath Drusilla, Lila punched the hag over and over, feeling flesh melt and liquify against her knuckles as it stuck to her skin.
Between one punch and the next, Drusilla shifted underneath her, and in the moment Lila was caught off balance, Drusilla slashed at Lila’s torso. Lila screamed as long claws tore across her chest, ripping her leather armor and leaving bleeding gashes underneath.
But with the scream, Lila focused on the sun. Focused on the day. It was the summer solstice, and she felt it course through her blood, even as she fought in a dark room.
Lila reared back her fist once more, focusing all her heat into her knuckles, hoping she would punch Drusilla with the force of the sun behind her. But just as she did, Drusilla thrust her charred arm up, wrapping those long talons around Lila’s throat, just as she’d done to Constance. Lila grabbed Drusilla’s wrist, ready to set it ablaze if she had to, when she heard someone force their way through the door.
“Lila!” Ambrose stood, wings flayed, scratches all over his body, in the opening of the door. Behind him looked like chaos as bodies continued to swarm. But her eyes only focused on his. Red rubies watching her, glancing between her hand and Drusilla’s.
Something changed in his gaze right before her. His eyes went wide, his eyebrows shooting up, as he lunged forward.
Lila heard him cry out. Heard Marcus cry too. But she couldn’t hear what they said.
Not as claws tore through her neck, tearing her open. Not as her body was flung and thrown out the only window in the room—the same window Ambrose had thrown her out of. Not as blood gushed out of her, spraying across the windowsill.
Lila was dead before she even hit the ground.