Page 67 of Wicked Thirst
“Greatness?” I shoved him back. “You have brought death.”
He pushed his body into me, bumping his chest against mine. His breath fanned across my face as his fangs descended in his mouth. “You’re either with me or against me.”
“Is that how it is? Either with you or death? Such black and white lines you draw to justify your actions.” My hands curled into fists, and I fought the urge to hit him.
Before he could act, a blue light appeared across the cemetery from us and began to expand to a circle. We both dove for cover behind two side-by-side headstones. Marius crouched lower and narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve set me up. What is it!?”
“I didn’t ask you here. You found me, you daft prick. How should I know what it is?” I hissed back as I peeked around the side of the headstone.
Piper marched out of this blue, swirling portal-looking-thing with a tall elf hot on her heels. She glanced around the cemetery and whirled on him. “He’s not here.”
“Don’t doubt my skill, leech. You’re trying my patience.” His eyes glowed a crystal-green in the darkness, and he walked over to one of the headstones and placed his hand on it. Burgundy smoke flowed from his fingers and covered the stone like a thick fog. It crumbled to the ground in an instant. He knelt and placed his hand on the rubble, and two short swords and one long one emerged. He took the two short ones and threw them to Piper. “You needed these last time. You might need them again.”
She glanced down at the dark stone blades in her hands and to where the headstone once stood. “That feels so wrong.”
“What? They’re dead. It’s not like they’re using the headstones.” He shrugged.
“You’re a real ass sometimes, you know that?” She looked down at herself. “I have no place to hold these.”
“I got it.” Another girl with long, dark-red hair emerged from the portal and waved her hand over Piper. She covered her in golden magic, and an instant later Piper was in dark-black jeans and a black tank top. Leather straps were wrapped up and down her arms and around her hips.
She slid the swords into holsters at her hips and nodded at the redhead. “Thanks.”
“Such power they wield so easily.” Marius’ voice was almost reverent as he spoke. His eyes were wide, and I was familiar with that look. He coveted them and their power. The gears were turning behind those dark eyes, and I could almost smell the envy rolling off him.
Piper turned to the tall, dark-haired guy just as a guy with blond hair walked through the portal. Blue smoke swirled from the portal around his hand, and he seemed to draw it back into himself. The smokey magic twisted around his body before disappearing into his palm. He dusted off his hands and moved in closer to the redhead.
Marius leaned forward. “Such company our Piper keeps.”
“Piper is not for you,” I whispered so only he could hear.
He growled. “Everyone is for me.”
“Where is he, Kylian?” Piper snapped at the guy next to her.
Kylian, the dark-haired one, pointed toward the trees in the distance. “My guess would be there.”
“You guess or you know?” she asked as she walked by him.
A black raven flew overhead, and the shadow of its wings glided over the headstones. Piper’s eyes widened as her hands shook. “He’s here.”
Who is she talking about?
Atlas melted from the shadows of the trees like a shroud of darkness, like death himself, like the shadows were where he belonged. The darkness was a friend he knew well and lived with all his life. If the rumors were true, then Atlas was so loyal to The House of Shade that his family paid the price for his loyalty. His black shirt and pants only helped him blend into the night. In one hand he held a sword. The other hung loose at his side. He stood there for a moment, then he tilted his head up to the moon. It bathed his face in blue light, and he closed his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
The sound of a branch snapping echoed off to the right and his eyes flashed wide open. Piper’s head snapped in the direction of the sound, and they both took off running at the same time. Atlas moved like a ghost. His movements were an effortless, silent glide as he leapt over headstones and gained more speed. Piper pumped her arms, trying to get there before he did. She moved so fast her arms and legs looked like a blur to me. It was fast even for a vampire.
Marius wrapped his hand around my wrist and yanked me with him as he followed and kept hidden behind the headstones. When we were close enough, he pulled me down next to him behind a thicket of trees and brush that would cover us. “What do you know of this?”
“I know nothing.” How would I know why the right hand of the King and the soulmate of the Prince were clearly hunting for the same thing? Or why it seemed dire to each of them.
Marius dug his fingers into my skin. “Do not lie to me.”
I yanked my hand free. “Out of the two of us, I am not the liar here.”
When I heard a familiar voice muttering to himself, my head snapped up. Grayson? He was pacing back and forth among the brush. I’d never seen him like this before. His hair was a mess, his clothing was torn, and he looked like he was talking to someone but there was no one near him. He was the opposite of the smooth-talking Prince I’d grown used to. This vampire was . . . mad. When I saw him before, it was a passing glimpse. He wasn’t talking to himself or disheveled. I thought he might’ve slipped for a moment, not gone down the rabbit hole . . . I was wrong.
Atlas was so close. He sprinted toward Grayson with his sword in hand. He leapt up into the air and held his sword over his head like he was going to bring it down across Grayson’s neck. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t turn away. It was like watching a train about to crash. NO! What the devil was happening here? A moment before Atlas swung his sword, Piper dove for him and wrapped her arms around his hips, knocking him off course.
