Page 13 of Wicked Thirst
“I have nothing to remember because I don’t know, so I’m bound to fail,” I admitted honestly.
“And if you succeed, then you won’t die and you’ll see your sister soon.” Atlas leaned in closer, and I felt his breath fan across my hair as he spoke through gritted teeth. “If you fail, then you’ll die, and I promise you’ll see your sister that way too.”
My stomach sank to my toes. If Prisha died because of me, I’d never forgive myself, even in death. I tried to show him no fear. “Seems like a win-win.”
“Think hard,” he growled.
We’re all gonna die.
CHAPTER SIX
PIPER
“Come along, Piper. Come. Along.” Theon wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me down the hall away from his room and the mirror Grayson leapt through.
I pulled back on his grip, yanking free. “I have to get to him.”
He whirled around to face me. His eyes were wide with panic, and he motioned wildly to the portal as he spoke. “In case you haven’t noticed, your boyfriend has lost his bloody mind. He’s gone mad. There isn’t a thing you can do about it on your own. You need help. The kind of help the King can provide. Grayson will be too strong for you.”
When he looked at me with those deep, serious sage eyes, I wanted to give in and listen to what he said. He’d been a vampire far longer than me. He would know better. But my instincts screamed at me to go after Gray to help him. Standing here arguing with Theon was going to do nothing but waste my time and any chance I had of catching up with him. The urgency was so deep in the pit of my stomach that I was so tempted to knock Theon out and take off running.
Deep down I knew Grayson needed me, and I’d held my own against him before. He had the element of surprise the first time. Now he wouldn’t surprise me. I would keep holding my own until we fixed whatever the hell this was.
“And I am just as strong,” I said.
His face fell and he hung his head. “Piper, not for this. I saw him. The Grayson you know no longer exists.”
The thought of the Grayson I knew not existing in the same world as me sent a searing pain through my chest. When I pressed my hand over my heart, Theon’s eyes lingered on the soulmate mark winding around my wrist. He shifted from one foot to the other and ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. His mouth opened and closed a few times like he didn’t know what to say to me.
“Oh, Piper.” His voice trailed off with a hint of sadness.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I squared my shoulders and glared at him. I’d gotten that look all my life with each new foster home I moved into—the pitying looks like they all thought I was something or someone to feel bad for. I didn’t see myself that way, and I wouldn’t have Theon seeing me that way either.
“I’m not looking at you like anything.” He shook his head and strands of that dirty-blond hair fell over his forehead into his eyes.
“Yes, you are.” I took a step back from him. “We are going to figure this out. Whatever happened to Grayson, I can help, and I can figure it out.”
“Piper . . .” He groaned and his words trailed off. His eyes widened as he looked past me.
I spun around to see Night Spawn vampires flooding out of the mirrors. They didn’t look like they’d been at a ball, but rather through a battle. Their clothing was ripped. Blood spatters covered the material and their exposed skin. But there was a look of shock on their faces, like they were shell-shocked, and it looked as if they were a panicked stampede running from something. Prisha limped toward us with Martin by her side. She leaned into him as he held most of her weight against him.
My jaw dropped. “What happened to you?”
“You look bloody awful.” Theon took a step back from them as he looked them up and down.
Prisha’s eyes flooded with unshed tears. Her emerald ball gown was shredded into strips around her legs. Her skin was scraped up as though she’d fallen or been dragged across the ground.
She narrowed her eyes at Theon. “As if you don’t know!”
Confusion riddled his features and his brow furrowed. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “How the devil would I know?”
“Marius and his supporters attacked the ball this evening.” Martin’s lip pulled up into a sneer, and he too glared at Theon. “A lot of vampires were hurt and killed tonight.”
I froze and my stomach dropped. “He did WHAT?”
“I lost Sanchita in the fray. I don’t know what happened to her.” Tears spilled over Prisha’s cheeks and fell onto her dress, making the emerald color even darker in spots. “And now we have no idea what will happen to any of us.”
I knew the relationship between the Night Spawn and Blood Born vampires was strained at best. Would this be the tipping point for war? It would be exactly what Marius wanted. This was nothing more than a power grab, plain and simple. No one wanted war between the factions. No one but him. He was using the majority to cater to his own whims.
