Page 108 of The Prince's Curse

“Let go,” she said firmly. Armina pulled against her, but Lux snapped her head up and said to Stella, “Help me.”

What kind of company do you keep?

Stella nodded, following suit to weave a grounding spell that settled on her skin like cool silk threads. When she took Armina’s other arm, power sizzled through her like lightning, and those strange whispers became shouts. Diving into the Weave was often tumultuous, but this felt like stepping into a hurricane.

Slowly, painfully, they pulled her out, weaving magic like a cocoon around the powerful witch until the hold broke. Armina sat back, breathing hard, then shoved her chair back. She stumbled, and Lux caught her. “Ma’am, please sit. I’ll get you some tea.”

“I’m fine,” Armina said. Her dark eyes scraped over Stella, nostrils flaring. “You’ll accompany Jordan. You come back with Shoshanna York’s head, or you don’t come back at all.”

Stella recoiled. “Ma’am…what exactly did this witch do?”

“Does it matter?” Armina asked.

“Yeah, it does. You want me to kill her, so it matters,” Stella said. Her throat worked.

Armina rose, gripping one of the wooden dining room chairs tightly. Even with her petite frame, her presence filled the room, and Stella shrank back. “When you came to me, you swore to do what it took to gain the power you sought. Has that changed?”

“I thought I would have to work hard, not kill people,” Stella said.

With a harsh laugh, Armina said, “You think I don’t know what you’ve done? I’ve seen inside your head, you foolish child. You’re very good at making it look accidental, you know.”

Her stomach churned. “That was once, and he deserved it.”

“And what did you get from killing that redheaded Neanderthal? Nightmares and a few hundred dollars in cash?” Armina said, her tone mocking. “You have everything to gain and everything to lose here.”

“But why? Just tell me what she did,” Stella pleaded.

“She has ruined my work!” Armina said, her voice thundering through the house. “They were suffering the cost of taking him from me, and she stole that away! She gave them absolution that none of them deserve!”

Cold air whipped around them, and Stella took another tentative step back. “And do you intend to hurt Scarlett? She seems to think you want to kill her.”

“Scarlett is mine, and if I wish to break her like spun glass, then that is my right,” Armina said.

Stella stared at her blankly and said, “I don’t want to do this. You don’t care about anyone. Not Scarlett, not Lux, not me.”

Armina let out a sharp, barking laugh. “God, you sound pathetic. Lux, are you under the illusion that I care for you?” Lux let out a derisive snort. “Did you come to me seeking a replacement for your mommy? Or did you come to me seeking power so that no man would ever do to you what that drunken waste of carbon did that late April night?”

“Stop,” Stella murmured as her blood ran cold.

In a blur, Armina was on her, mere inches away. A strong grasp closed on her arm, and pain lanced through her nerves. “You will do as I say.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll take it back,” Armina said.

Horrific pain wrenched through Stella, her mind going blank as unseen claws tore at her from inside. She managed to pull away, but Armina was still there.

Just the witch. No vampires to back her up anymore. Just a frail old woman. And if she could get downstairs, Stella could have her own vampire who was highly motivated to get the hell out.

Stella gritted her teeth and shoved the woman back. “I said no.” She darted past, and another searing bolt of pain tore through her, but she got to the table and grabbed her tablet.

“Lux!” Armina called.

The air thrummed with power, and as soon as she saw Lux’s hands moving, Stella frantically wove the first spell that came to mind. If she had one advantage over these two, it was her focus. No long incantations.

Darkness, obey, she mouthed, pantomiming the tying of a knot between her hands. The cabin plunged into pitch black, and she ran for the door. A cold hand seized her wrist and yanked her back.

“I taught you that spell,” Armina hissed. Her hand twisted in Stella’s hair, and her mind went utterly blank. It felt as if Armina was pulling out her veins, every last thread of nerve fiber, slithering under her skin, ripping free. It was excruciating, and she managed to think only run.

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