“Well, what do we have here?” Cassius strides through the door, straightening the sleeves of his jacket. When he spots me, a devilish grin crosses his mouth.
Victor lifts his chin and shakes his head once. The black veins recede, and his eyes return to normal, save for some lingering black past the pupils. Then he turns toward Cassius as if he wasn’t attacking me only seconds ago.
The hold of his compulsion lessens. My body is mine again. I should stand and leave the room, but all I can see is red.
How dare he take my blood and compel me. How dare he touch me at all.
I reach for the dagger in my pocket and swipe at the vampire as I stand. The tip of the blade cuts across the side of his leg. My movements are slow and uncoordinated. I slice deep, but not deep enough to kill or slow him.
Blood wells up immediately, soaking the material of his trousers.
Victor rounds on me, hissing and baring his teeth. He lifts a hand high, ready to strike. I flinch, expecting the resounding pain, but it doesn’t come.
My breath escapes my lungs in a whoosh. Cassius stays Victor’s hand.
“Let me go. I will kill her. The little bitch drew blood,” Victor snarls.
Cassius raises a single brow. His expression changes, but I don’t understand. My fingers tighten further on the hilt of the dagger. I will not let either of them kill me without a fight.
“Wrap your leg,” the vampire orders. He releases Victor, and I think he might ignore Cassius and attack me anyway.
Cassius approaches with slow movements. He takes my wrist and removes the dagger from my grasp. I don’t want to give it up, but if I resist, he might break my hand taking it. Cassius sets it atop the piano, never taking his eyes off me.
Any positive thoughts I once had about either of them go up in smoke. I know them for the bastards they are.
This will end badly. I’ll be lucky if I get a somewhat quick death.
He shakes his head as if he’s disappointed. “I really wish you’d taken my offer, little bird.”
I want to ask him what he means when two new voices draw closer. The talking ceases as soon as they step inside the room. Della takes in Victor, his leg, and the sliced drapes, her gaze drifts over to where Cassius and I stand next to the piano. Lawrence glares at me.
“It seems,” Cassius starts, turning to face the three other vampires. “Our dear friend Alaric has not yet fully claimed his pet.” He reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me forward so I can’t hide behind him, or reach for the dagger while his back is turned.
No one speaks, no one so much as moves or twitches a muscle.
I straighten my spine and square my shoulders, wincing at the pain of the bite. A warm trickle of blood still seeps from the wound.
I might be surrounded by predators that don’t care if I live or die, I might not have Alaric’s full mark to protect me from their compulsion, but I refuse to cower.
“You know that even attempting to compel another’s marked human is forbidden,” Lawrence says after a long moment.
I’m shocked by his defense.
Cassius smiles. “Ah, but she is not marked.” He faces me, his eyes roaming up and down my body, lingering on the flesh of my shoulder for a long moment before turning back to the others. “Not fully.”
I try to think back on our previous encounters. Cassius had known since he found me in the hall after my first night terror. As fas as I can tell, he hasn’t said a word until now. Is this… payback for rejecting his offer?
“You wouldn’t know without trying to compel her,” Lawrence shoots back.
Cassius presses a hand to his chest in mock offense. “It was not I who compelled her. However, that doesn’t matter now. We all know the truth.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “Unfortunately, she has drawn first blood, and according to Elizabeth's law, it is within Victor’s rights to demand a fight to the death.”
The world sways under me.
“Look at her neck,” Della says more to Lawrence, though we can all hear. “She’s bleeding.”
“You know feeding doesn’t count as an attack—otherwise, all humans could try to kill us when we drink,” Cassius says before Lawrence can respond.
“Then we will wait until Alaric returns and then this mess can be sorted,” Lawrence says.
I don’t know why he is coming to my defense, but I could almost kiss him for it.
Victor leaps up from the sofa and takes several long strides toward me. “I will kill her right now for what she has done.”
I take a step back, hating myself for showing weakness.
“It is his right,” Cassius says, shrugging as if they’re discussing who gets the last piece of cake, or something as equally as trivial.
“No,” I say, glad my voice is steady despite my heart thundering in my chest. “That isn’t a fair fight.” I’m furious at them for debating my fate. I hold on to that anger and slap Cassius’s hand away. “What chance does a human have against a vampire?”
Cassius actually has the nerve to look taken aback. His green eyes sparkle with mirth. I glower. How heartless does he have to be to find humor in this situation?
Bastard!
I take in all four vampires. I have never been around them all at once without Alaric nearby. It’s all too much to be a coincidence.
But who planned this, and why? I know it wasn’t Victor—I would be dead by now if he had, and the others wouldn’t have arrived in time.
I narrow my gaze at Lawrence. He said it himself, he can’t prove I killed Rosalie, but he suspects I did. He could have planned this to be rid of me while keeping his hands clean.
I tamp down my theories and questions. It doesn’t matter because finding the answers won’t save me now.
“These are ancient laws set forth by our queen. They are not for any of us to decide.” Cassius holds his hands palm up as if he were the one rendered helpless. He motions to Lawrence and Della. Then he turns to pat me on my uninjured shoulder. “The three of us will witness and report the result to Alaric and Elizabeth.”
My mouth drops open and I can only stare. Being slaughtered while three others—who could save me if they chose—stand and watch is no comfort, but the way he talks, he seems to think it should be.
This will not be a good death.
Cassius grips my upper arm. I try to jerk away, but his hold is too strong, and I only serve to bruise myself.
“Alaric will kill you,” I snap.
He drags me to the center of the room, stopping me about two yards from Victor.
My limbs grow cold as I take in everything about my opponent. My view is broken when Cassius steps in front of me, taking me by the shoulders and placing a kiss on my cheeks—as if wishing me luck in a game without deadly consequences.
A flash of red sears my neck and the white-hot pain blinds me. And then it’s gone. I stand panting, sweat beading across my brow. I reach up and feel my neck. He healed me.
Cassius’s mouth quirks up as he backs away.
“This is a fight to the death. Make it clean. No compulsion is to be used, and no torture.”
These rules are clearly for the vampire’s sake. Even without compulsion, he will still have his preternatural strength and speed.
Cassius retreats to stand close to Lawrence and Della. All three of them block the only way out. “On my mark.”
Victor takes two steps forward. The veiny, black lines reappear. They spread out, nearly swallowing the whites of his eyes, then seep into his skin and over his cheeks, trailing down his face.
I will die—but not without a fight. I swallow and widen my stance.
“What the fuck is happening here?” Alaric’s deep, rich voice demands.
I have never been so relieved to see him as I am now. But that feeling doesn’t last.
In a blink, Victor closes the distance between us, his hand swipes out, fingers curled into claws. I throw myself back to avoid the strike. He misses my neck, but his knife-like nails slice across my left shoulder to the center of my chest. I cry out and slam into the back of a sofa.