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“Oh my god,” I whispered to myself, the human feelings stabbing me in the stomach. I stepped away from everyone, wanting to check on Ezra myself, but another sound from the front entrance stopped me cold.
“If she moves again, kill him.” Sebastian pointed at Silas, directing his command to a sorcerer close to his side. The lanky man raised his chin and focused his glare on Silas. His eyes were all white, not even a hint of black pupil peeking through, and his outstretched hands sparked with rays of purples and golds dancing between them.
“Jesus,” Broch mumbled. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“Neither have I,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the sorcerer and Viktor at the same time.
Viktor stood and shuffled back toward me. Ezra groaned on the ground in front of us and the sense of relief that he was still alive made my knees buckle. Ezra certainly wouldn’t be the same, with his bloodied arm missing a hand and the amount of bruises that surely equated to some broken bones, but he was alive and we had him back.
“Don’t take another step, Viktor,” Sebastian growled from the entryway.
Viktor stopped and lifted his hands out in front of him. “What do you want?”
Sebastian walked forward, the glass under his feet breaking with each slow, agonizing step. He released a laugh, a cackle of sorts that let me know just how much he’d lost his mind. “What do I want?”
Viktor nodded slowly. “She is yours no more.”
Sebastian rushed ahead, landing in front of Viktor in less than a second. Another gust of wind blew past us, the chill in the air an indicator of Sebastian’s anger. “I can see that,” he spat. “And just as you took her from me, I will now take her from you.”
Sebastian jerked his chin to the side and the sorcerer lifted his arms. My feet left the ground just as quickly until I was suspended in the air, dangling from an invisible force that squeezed my rib cage and pushed the breath out of my lungs.
Viktor’s terrified eyes met mine for a brief second until I flew through the air toward a small bar area on the side of the room. I crashed into the marble and wood, landing hard on my side and wondering just how much my newly improved body could take. The bone in my thigh cracked when I hit the furniture, the pain lagging several seconds behind. As I fell to the floor, now hidden by the bar, I heard someone scream out in horrific pain.
“Let him go!” Graham shouted. And then there was another crunch that sounded like the one I’d just created.
My thigh snapped back into place, the vampire blood healing me faster than what Viktor had ever been able to do for me before. I dragged myself around the edge of the bar, sliding along the floor until I thought my leg could hold my body weight again. Broch lay in a heap next to Ezra and Graham and Silas had been pinned to the wall by invisible magic. I looked to the sorcerer, amazed that he could be doing all of this by himself, only to see three more standing behind him and conjuring that same ball of energy between their hands.
Viktor appeared to be frozen. His body trembled underneath the magic but he was unable to break the pose where he’d been stopped mid-stride from attacking Sebastian. Portia began stripping out of her clothes along with Brennan. Brandt remained stoic, eyes assessing the situation and taking in every option available.
“I wouldn’t do that” Sebastian warned the shifters. “This is not your fight.”
“I believe you have made it our fight,” Brandt said in a calm, cold voice devoid of any emotion.
Sebastian smiled, showing his fangs and ignoring the frozen vampire in front of him. He peered around Viktor’s shoulder to make eye contact with the leader of our shifter friends. “This does not concern your clan, Callaghan,” he looked at Portia, “or your pack. Ms. Dunanski. It’s best if you stay out of the politics.”
“Is that a threat?” Brennan asked, his shirt hanging in his hands and his boots already untied.
“It is a warning,” Sebastian said in a deep voice.
My legs tingled with the healing and I tried to stay silent as I dug through my purse. I was amazed that it had stayed on my arm while I flew through the room, but now I just smiled as I grabbed my stake and shoved it into the back of my jeans. But in the process, I accidentally kicked a broken bottle, giving away my position and letting Sebastian know that I’d already recovered. His black eyes met mine when I stood.
“This fight is between the two of us.” The words oozed from his lips, the threat in them evident by the way he glared at me. “If you interfere,” he turned back toward Brandt, “your entire clan will pay the consequences.”
I could see Brandt weigh his options, his choices clearly written on the array of expressions that danced across his face. His eyes darted to his brother and to Portia. He looked at me and then studied the sorcerers who had clearly been hiding their abilities from the Order for a long time. With their amount of power, I wondered how Sebastian had managed to rein them in under his control.
Brandt dropped his chin in a small nod toward Sebastian, forced to comply in order to do what was best for his family. I understood that. At one point, I would have done anything for the hunters. I still would.
Sebastian grinned and flicked his hand. In an instant, Viktor dropped to the ground along with Graham and Silas. And the second Silas was free of the magic, Ashby blinked him out of the building. I wasn’t sure how that bothered me exactly. Broch and Ezra still lay on the cold floor unmoving but breathing. As Viktor jumped back up to his feet, Sebastian raised his brows. “Viktor Kaska,” he cooed. “This is no longer your fight.” I watched as Viktor struggled to stay upright while Sebastian walked toward me. “Sophia Glen, if you want save the men in your life, you will have to fight me for them.”
“What are you talking about?” For a moment I wondered if there was some sort of vampire tradition I didn’t know about. Like how a first mate might test the captain or a knight would fight on behalf of a king. Was Sebastian really challenging me to a duel?
“You were once mine and you’ve broken the pact that we shared.” Sebastian stepped closer to me, Viktor grinding his jaw behind him. “And, as is tradition, we will fight.”
I looked at Viktor who hung his head. “He has challenged you, Sophia.”
“And what the fuck does that mean?” I snapped, tired of feeling out of the loop.
“It means that you will fight me or they will die.” Sebastian looked almost...smug. Like he’d planned this from the very first day we met. “And I will kill Viktor last.”
“You can’t kill Viktor,” I whispered. “He’s too powerful.”
Sebastian smiled, eyeing me up like a prize. “I can see just how powerful he is, new vampire. But he doesn’t have all of the other abilities that I’ve accumulated.”
My eyes darted over to the sorcerers still standing by the doors. Viktor followed my unspoken question. “You cannot use them in your challenge, Sebastian. You know the rules.”
“I make the rules,” he snapped back. “Haven’t you learned that by now?”
Broch stirred on the ground but didn’t wake up. Graham rubbed his head and remained sitting, his back leaning against the wall for support. Brandt, Brennan, and Portia huddled together in the sunroom, muscles still taught with friction but staying out of the vampire business in front of them.
“I will fight you,” I said without thought. “But we fight fair.”
Viktor let a small grin grace his lips, proud of me for speaking up. At least that’s what I thought that look from him meant.
Sebastian simply watched our exchange without saying or agreeing to anything for the longest time. When he finally chuckled, all eyes turned to face him. “All right, Sophia. No magic. No tricks.” As though needing to emphasize our agreement, he took of his jacket and lifted his sleeves. “I have nothing to hide.”
Ezra moaned, words not forming although the tone hinted at his objection to the situation. Viktor bent down and whispered something in Ezra’s ear, calming him back into a deep sleep. It was for the better, especially if this fight went bad.
“I request to speak with Sophia first.” Viktor’s words ricocheted against the high ceilings and marble floors. He sounded so official, so proper that I wondered if there was more to this challenge than I understood.
With a slight nod, Sebastian gave his permission and then returned to his sorcerer’s side. They all huddled together like a team, plotting and planning my demise no doubt. I strained my newly evolved sense of sound to try and hear their conversation. But instead I heard silence—no doubt blocked by some sort of magic.
“Sophia?” Viktor grabbed my shoulders. “Are you listening?”
“I’m trying to,” I said.
“No, not to them.” He shook me again. “To me. Are you listening to me?”
Bright blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and the hint of a dimple graced my vision when I looked up at him. I was lost in the moment until he squeezed me hard “Ow,” I whined.
“Sophia, this is serious.”
“I know.”
“He intends to kill you.”
“I know.”
“You can’t let that happen.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Viktor, I just died. So I don’t want to do it again anytime soon.” But as I watched Sebastian talked to his sorcerers, a sense of hopelessness suddenly rushed into my blood. “Wait, how can he kill me?”
Viktor sighed. “Decapitation, fire, or a stake to the heart. You know this.”
Fear paralyzed my brain. “How am I going to beat him?”
Viktor looked at Sebastian and then pushed me back behind the bar so we had a little bit of privacy. Or at least we could pretend that we did. “Sebastian’s old. He’s quick, he’s been fighting for centuries, and I don’t trust that he won’t use magic.”
“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?
“He’s arrogant. His confidence will be his weakness.”
I squeezed my eyes shut trying to push down the anxiety brewing below the surface. “So what am I supposed to do?”
Viktor kissed my forehead and I swear a small tear tried to break free. “Outsmart him. You’re a new vampire but you’re a trained hunter. Don’t forget that.”
I lifted my chin and waited for Viktor’s lips to press against mine again. It wasn’t a kiss of passion, but more like a kiss of support. Viktor had faith that I could beat Sebastian at his game...much more faith than I had. But he was right. I was born and raised a hunter. I had a skill set that Sebastian may not believe was a threat to him.
Viktor’s hands slid around my hips, squeezing them just a moment before passing to my lower back. He tapped the stake and pulled my shirt out to conceal it. “Use every opportunity you have.”
A loud clapping made me jump, but Viktor continued to hold me tight. Sebastian pushed the leather couches and coffee table out of the center of the common room and cleared a nice battlefield for the two of us. “It is time to end this.”
Viktor tensed. “And what happens when this is over?”
I looked around the space when something caught my eye in the far corner of the sunroom. Silas was yanking his arm out of Ashby’s grasp and when our gaze met, he gave me a curt nod and a slight smile. Support. He’d come back to support me even though Ashby wanted him out of harm’s way. I mouthed thank you to him before focusing on Sebastian again.
“When I kill Sophia, you will convince the Order that they should listen to my demands.”
“And when she finishes you?” Viktor asked, and everyone on our side lifted their shoulders in pride.
Sebastian laughed his crazy laugh again. “If she wins, then you may clean up the mess left behind.” The sorcerer’s behind him didn’t seem to like that answer if their confused expressions meant anything. He clapped his hands again. “Let’s get this over with.”
I squeezed Viktor’s hand and walked around the bar. My footsteps were the only sound for the longest time, making me think I was taking my last walk to the guillotine. And I probably was. I looked at Silas, Graham, and Brandt. They all gave me an encouraging head bob, but it did nothing to sooth my frazzled nerves.
“Sophia Glen. You do make a stunning addition to our kind,” Sebastian said when I got close enough. “I only wish it would have been me to make that final change.”
I wanted to give him some witty comeback or sarcastic quip, but I couldn’t. The only thing I could manage to do was appear calm and collected and look like I was ready to fight to the death. “Are we going to talk or are we going to fight?” I asked.
With a smile, Sebastian tilted his chin. “Still a hunter on the inside, aren’t we?”
His eyes flashed from bright blue to black and he let his fangs drop. In two quick steps, he closed the gap between us and grabbed my throat. The air left my body in a rush and I had a flashback to the night my throat had been slit. That gave an extra creepy sense of fear as I wondered if this fight was going to be over before it even started.
“You are pathetic,” Sebastian groaned.
I thought about grabbing my stake, but I didn’t have a clear shot to his heart and it would give away the only advantage I had. So I grabbed his hands with mine and tried to pry his fingers free. It didn’t work. Instead, he squeezed harder and the edges of my vision started to blur.
Lifting me off the ground and whipping me around like a prize, Sebastian faced all of my friends. “I knew this would be easy, but I expected at least some kind of fight.”
Kicking and pulling at him did nothing. And I knew, in that moment, that I was in way over my head and I would let everyone down.
Sebastian glanced up at me dangling from his arms. “You are worthless, Sophia. But I’m not ready to quit just yet.”
With my vision disappearing, I managed to see the spiteful grin plastered on his face. And when Sebastian kissed me on the lips, I feared his next move.
Sebastian said something to Viktor in a foreign language and Viktor’s eyes widened in fear as the hands around my throat tightened. And then I was flying through the air again, relieved of the pressure of strangulation...until I hit the stone fireplace and my neck snapped with a sickening crack.
*
