Page 63 of Her Blood Revenge

Behind him, Pix coughs and gasps, clutching at her throat as she struggles to breathe. The scent of her blood fills the air as it continues to splatter on the ground.

When she looks up at me, her eyes are hers once more and are filled with pain.

When I take a step towards her, she scurries back. Utter confusion stretches across her face as she looks around, holding her broken and bloody nose.

‘I’m sorry,’ I insist, loathing the guilt corrupting my body. ‘It wasn’t you I hit. It was her!’

Dorian kneels beside Pix and takes her face, inspecting the damage and wincing as she lets him look.

‘You broke her nose, Archie!’

‘I broke Sinthia’s nose!’ I argue, quickly doing up my trousers.

He looks back at me, his shadows writhing behind him. ‘What the fuck are you talkingabout?’

Pix looks to my left, staring at nothing. Her face hardens.

‘Stop laughing!’ she snaps at the air. ‘Bitch!’

Dorian follows her gaze and then looks at her wrist.

‘Your charms. Where are your charms?’ He takes her hand roughly in hand, looking at her as she stares into the corner. ‘Do you see Sinthia?’

‘Go away!’ she commands, staring at the corner.

She stands, her fists balled at her side and dark veins pulsing up her arms. ‘I said LEAVE!’ She reaches out, the dark veins thick and terrifying. The stench of blood magic fills the air as she taps into her forbidden magic.

The room shakes as she roars her command. Chunks of plaster rain down from above and leaves from the plant life inside her room are shaken loose.

Pix calms with a deep breath, and the veins withdraw. Then she looks at me.

And she is furious.

‘You have her body downstairs.’ The betrayal in her eyes matches that of her tone. ‘Why do you have your ex-lover’s body downstairs?’

‘You went downstairs?’ Dorian asks her. But her eyes are on mine. Even as he goes to take her hand, she snatches it away and looks at nothing but me.

‘Why do you have her body, Wolf?’

‘It was a precaution. Just in case we needed her,’ Dorian replies.

‘Need her?’ Pix scoffs. ‘Needher! Why would we ever need her?’

‘It was just… in case we did,’ I reply. ‘Information or leverage against Neve.’ And then I feel my anger rise. ‘You went down there to speak to her? You used blood magic whenwe ordered you not to?!’ I grab and shake her. ‘Are you so fucking stupid?’

‘Get your fucking hands off me,’ she warns, yanking her arm out of my grip. ‘There’s only one person alive who can speak to the dead, and that’s me.’ She glares at Dorian. ‘Should I see Dhalia? Thenyoucan wake up withyourex-psychopath lover sucking your dick, too?’

The mention of Dhalia’s name has Dorian unable to meet anyone’s eye.

‘They’re too dangerous to be left with Neve.’ He refuses to meet her accusatory glare.

‘You wanted me to control them. After everything you said. Everything we agreed on. You are absolute pricks. Stay the fuck away from me.’

She leaves the room.

Shit. And she only just started talking to us again.

‘You okay?’ Dorian asks.

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