Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Victor howled, then turned manic. He fought upright, managing to shove Ben’s foot off him. “Don’t listen to them! They’re just as bad as Henri! All these men are. The guards! They’re in on it! Help me.”
The bald guard crossed his arms and muttered, “That’s Victor Grand, and you’d be wise not to trust a word out of his mouth.”
Q went deathly still. His eyes snapped to Victor.
Victor shuffled backward, dragging his useless legs across the manicured lawn, turning green into glistening red. He shook his head. “They’re lying. They’re all lying. I’m—”
“I admit it’s been a while since I saw a picture of you.” Q smirked and stepped toward him. His pistol swung to point at Victor’s face instead of mine. “But it is you. I never forget the eyes of evil.” Cocking his head like a vulture, he sniffed. “You know what? A bullet is far too good for you.” Shifting back to me, he snatched up my discarded knife. “I made a vow to my wife once upon a time to see if men like you have hearts.” He launched at Victor and landed on his knees, either side of the Master Jeweler’s chest. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
Victor screamed as Q brought the knife down.
“STOP!” I used every last droplet of aliveness to throw myself at my brother and shove him off Victor. The knife caught me in the side. Only shallow. Just a nick. But it added another creep of pain that I could no longer block out.
“His death isn’t yours!” I snarled and coughed and gasped. “Peter! Paavak! Get your ass out here!”
Q shoved me off him as if I weighed nothing.
I struggled onto my hands and knees, hacking up a glob of blood.
I couldn’t catch a proper breath anymore.
I shivered with a bone-arctic chill.
“His death belongs…to the jewels,” I gasped, glowering at my brother. “Not you.”
Scowling, Q paced around Victor. He eyed up Victor’s bloody ankles and shot me a look with a raised eyebrow. And then his gaze landed on my shredded back. The mess that was left of me.
He went still.
His face filled with questions.
They fired at me like bullets, demanding answers.
But I had no energy to tell him anything.
Once again, my gaze was drawn to a shadowy part of the garden where a fire had burned out and a few jewels huddled around something on the ground.
The fact that they hadn’t come to watch the show. The fact that they’d stayed there, heads bowed, hands linked, tears glimmering on their dirty cheeks.
Where’s Peter?
Where’s Ily?
A godawful stabbing arrowed right through my fucking heart.
No…
Victor wasn’t telling the truth.
He can’t…
I crawled.
I staggered to my feet and wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to hold all my pain together. “Ily…”
The jewels sitting around the two denser shadows on the grass reminded me so much of a vigil, a funeral—
No…please, fuck no…
I broke into a wobbly run.
“Give the knife to the jewels,” Ben said behind me. “Like Henri said, Victor’s death belongs to them.”
I didn’t look to see if Q obeyed.
But then the sounds of Victor’s screeching tore through the moonlight as the crowd of jewels fell on him, delivering him the same mercy he’d shown them.
“This is for Rebecca,” someone hissed.
Victor howled.
“This is for Bet.”
Victor screamed.
“This is for Dane.”
Victor shrieked.
The beast inside me wanted to watch. It wanted to participate and tear Victor limb from fucking limb, but…
I couldn’t stop the calling, the command.
It was as if a black hole latched onto my heart and dragged me into its orbit.
I couldn’t stop it.
Couldn’t fight it.
I bolted right to the ring of silent jewels.
I didn’t look at them.
I just looked at the ground before them.
And I finally saw.
No…
My legs gave out.
I slammed to my knees beside my only friend and twin flame.
Peter lay on his back, eyes closed, face serene.
Ily lay next to him, black hair haloing the grass, dark scarlet soaking everywhere. A piece of purple silk tangled around her collar, dripping with red.
“No…” A cry escaped me, tattered and terrible, utterly feral with fear. “I-It’s not possible.”
The jewels moved aside as I gathered Ily’s lifeless body onto my lap.
I cradled her head.
I kissed her cold lips.
The fire that bound us.
The soul that we shared.
I couldn’t feel it.
Why can’t I feel it?!
“Ily…come on. Open your eyes.” I kissed her brow, and brushed aside her hair. “Please open your eyes. It’s over. We won. You’re free.”
I rocked faster and faster, a hurricane of grief howling through me.
“Little nightmare, please…please don’t do this. Not now.” Tears streamed down my cheeks and landed on hers. They rolled down her chin, leaving streaks in all the blood.
Hugging her lifeless form, I reached across and grabbed Peter’s icy hand. “Paavak…come on. Snap out of it.”
Caishen bowed his head, sobbing quietly. “Henri, they’re—”
“No. Don’t say it. They’re not.”
“I tried.” Caishen gasped. “I tried to stem their bleeding. I’m sorry. So fucking sorry.”