Page 52 of Wicked Thirst
What?
Astrid crouched down and crawled closer to get a better look. She lifted her head and peeked over the bare branches, trying not to draw attention to us. She lowered her voice and whispered, “What is he doing?”
“From what I can tell, he’s about to summon some hell demons.” Kylian shook his head. “You all are always fucking about with things you really shouldn’t.”
“The curse wasn’t a choice, you ass.” I fought the urge to punch him. The Grayson I knew would never in a million years summon hell demons.
Logan rose to his feet and moved to Kylian’s side and watched Grayson’s every move. “We have no choice. We have to stop him now or The Fallen will show up and put Grayson to an end before we can even capture him.”
“How long do we have?” I sprang to my feet as adrenaline flooded my body.
“Moments. The Fallen respond quickly. As soon as a demon emerges from that spot, they’ll be here to kill them and possibly Gray for summoning them.” Dark-orange smoke seeped from Logan’s hands. “I can try to calm him with my power.”
I shrugged. "Couldn’t hurt.”
Beckett held his hands up and his blue magic swirled up his arms. “We need to move now.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” When I looked out over the field, all I could think was this wasn’t him at all.
The Grayson I knew was suave, strong, and confident. He was always put together to the point of cockiness. This thing that huddled in the middle of the field in filthy torn clothing and muttered to himself was not him. The others all stared at him, and I felt the need to remind them why we were here.
“Hey,” I snapped, “this is the curse at work. He’s still our Gray in there.”
Astrid placed her hand on my shoulder. “We all know that. It’s just shocking to see it for the first time.”
“Well, let’s not let it continue on. The faster we capture him, the faster we can fix him.” I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that the longer the curse held on to him, the further he slipped away.
“That’s what we’re here for.” Astrid nodded, and I felt her power weaving around us.
I gave her a nod and stepped out from our hiding place, and I saw Kylian mutter a curse under his breath. The moment I was out in the open, Grayson’s head snapped up and he wrinkled his nose as if he was smelling my scent on the air. I took a step toward him.
“Hey, Prince Grayson! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
His eyes locked on mine, and the moment I saw how black they were, I knew he wasn’t in control. He shook his head and went back to his drawing. “Not real. She’s not real,”
“I’m real!” I ran out toward him, pumping my arms faster. I stopped just a few feet from him and held my hands out. “Look at me.”
He tilted his head to the side in an eerie movement. It reminded me of the way an animal moved when it was confused by something. He took a step back and looked me up and down like he’d never seen me before. “No, it lies.”
“What? I’m not lying.” I took another step toward him to try and close the distance between us. I so badly just wanted him to touch me, to recognize me. If we could share one real moment, he might snap back to me the way he had before.
A wild chuckle burst from his lips, and he threw his head back. He looked to the sky and smirked as though there were someone standing behind me. “You mustn’t yell. Yes, yes I will finish it.”
“Gray, who are you talking to?”
But he was too far gone in his own head, hearing voices that weren’t there. He bent down and swiped the cruddy paintbrush over the ground, then stood up and admired his handy work. He threw his arms out, tossing the bucket of blood and brush off to the side. Blood splattered in the grass. I thought he was about to dance among the chaos when his hand shot out and his fingers closed around my throat. Pressure gathered in my chest, and I could hear the others running out behind me.
He lifted me up off the ground by the throat and held me there. “What are you doing here . . . Piper?” He hissed my name, and it sounded nothing like his real voice. This voice wasn’t smooth or velvety. It was deeper and slightly rough with an enticing hint.
My legs dangled and swayed. I wrapped my hand around his wrist and squeezed hard. The bone in his wrist cracked. He flinched but kept his hold. I scratched my nails over his skin and blood trickled down. Blue smoke shot up between us, and Grayson’s grip was ripped from my neck. His nails raked across my skin as I fell to the ground and landed atop his weird drawing. The damp blood stuck to my hands as I lay there on the ground. Grayson sailed away from me and landed outside the circle he’d drawn. Mud and dirt shot up from the ground in a thick dark cloud.
Kylian sprinted toward me, waving his arms and motioning for me to move. “Get out of there! Move!”
I scrambled to my feet feeling the drops of blood running down my neck. I pressed my fingers to them, then pulled my hand away only to watch crimson beads fall to the ground at my feet. The painting illuminated a bright red and the ground cracked beneath my feet. I scrambled back, trying to get out of the circle, but the light only grew brighter. Steam so hot that it burned my skin rose up from the cracks. A scream ripped from my throat, and Kylian dove across the opening and wrapped his arms around my waist. His shoulder slammed into my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. My feet lifted off the ground and we soared out of the circle and landed on the dead blades of wheat, which were not as soft as they looked.They were straw-like and poking.
We rolled to the side, and dirt and grime coated my body along with Kylian’s. When we came to a stop, I lay there for a moment staring up at the sky as it faded from purple to a pinkish color. My chest heaved in time with Kylian’s panting breaths.
I turned my head toward him and let it fall back into the muck. “Thanks.”
