Page 97 of Wicked Thirst
Her words struck me, and for a moment I felt like a child being scolded by his mother. “Of course, Your Highness.”
“So you want to just grab a dude, steal all his blood, and give it to Grayson so he will live?” Ophelia tilted her head to the side, studying me.
“Essentially.”
She jumped to her feet. “I’m in.”
The redheaded witch spread her arms out wide. “Hold on. No one is killing anyone. If anything, we’ve learned that with this curse, we do not act rashly.”
“You’re all fools!” Grayson’s voice turned deadly serious. It was darker and smoother than his normal tone. It was almost a voice I didn’t recognize. “I’m going to kill you all for getting in my way.”
“Are we really going to trust this guy?” A dark-haired elf pointed a knife in my direction. “After all that he’s done.”
Piper gave me a scrutinizing look. I arched my eyebrows at her. She of all people would know I never wanted to hurt Gray. “You know I had the kill shot.”
She gave a heavy sigh. “As much as I’d like to say no, he can be trusted. He had the shot, and he didn’t take it. He loves Gray as much as any of us here.”
More so.Before I could answer, a loud boom sounded from outside the castle and the walls shook. Dust and rock fell from the dingy ceiling. “What the devil was that?”
Another boom like a battering ram hitting the side of the castle crashed all around us, and when I looked at the others, they all had the same face I did. We were under attack. The dungeon door flew open, and a small maid ran into the room. She was tiny and round with dark hair and a tear-stained face. Her cleaning uniform was covered in dirt.
“You must come quickly. They’ve taken the King!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
PIPER
“They’ve taken the King!” The maid ran into the room pointing toward the doors.
The group didn’t hesitate. We all turned and ran for the door.
“We have to split up and check all the exits,” I called out toward them as another loud explosion sounded from outside.
Zinnia barked out orders, sending her people to all corners of the castle. “Cover the outside and inside! Spread out!”
They all sprinted in different directions. It was chaos. The explosions came louder and faster now, each one hitting the side of the castle and rocking it. The sound of screams from the vampires inside echoed up and down the halls as they too ran for cover. Members of the court huddled in corners as I ran by, while the staff that worked there fled down toward the basement. When I reached the main level of the castle, I looked up and down the hall.
The little maid appeared out of nowhere. She waved her hand at me. “Come on, miss, I saw them go this way!”
She ran down the long hallway and took a turn down toward the throne room. I hesitated, why would they go to the throne room? She waved me on and picked up her skirts to run through the doors. I slowed my pace. Something didn’t feel right about this, yet I took cautious steps forward. When I entered the throne room, it was completely empty, but there were no signs of a struggle or anything.
“Psssst.” She was pressed against the back corner, peeking around a doorway I’d never seen before.
I crept closer, regretting the decision to come here by myself. I should’ve brought backup, but we’d all run into the fray without a backwards glance. “What’s in there?”
The little chubby vampire turned around to face me. One minute she was the little vampire with a round face and big eyes, and in the next her body morphed into a tall, statuesque ginger-haired woman with dark-brown eyes. When she looked at me, a sneer covered her face and a deep chuckle rumbled in her chest. Five other vampires strolled out from that one dark opening. They moved slowly, arranging themselves in a circle surrounding me. They were all dressed similarly with black shirts and combat pants, as if they were some kind of army.
I opened my hands and let my blood magic flow. “Bring it, bitches.”
The redhead came at me first, swinging her fist toward my face. I ducked under it and threw my magic at her. She turned to stand in front of me like a shield. With the flick of my fingers, I used her body as my own personal puppet. She punched and kicked at the others any time they got near me. A cackle ran up my throat, and I knew I could take them all this way. They were no match for my power, and I would make them regret walking into this castle to ambush me.
The vampire standing in front of me glanced over my shoulder, and a wild smile spread across his face. I turned to look when a thick metal pipe came right for the side of my head. It connected with my skull and my body flew through the air. I soared across the room and smashed headfirst into the wall. Black dots exploded behind my eyes, and I tried to think, tried to move, but I couldn’t hold the offending dots off any longer. They filled my whole vision as pain exploded across the other side of my head. Another vicious hit came, and I welcomed the blackness. My body went limp. I was unable to move or even fight back . . . I had no choice but to let the darkness take me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
PIPER
My fingers felt numb and hushed voices surrounded me. Pain throbbed through my temples, around my head, and deep into my eyes. My body felt so heavy I couldn't move. Ice-cold water splashed over my face and soaked my shirt. I sucked in a gasping breath, and my body swung back and forth before I put my feet down and steadied myself. There were two things I realized in this moment:
