Page 78 of Her Blood Revenge

I fist Dorian’s shirt as I strain against the force of her assault. Tears begin streaming down my face as the heat intensifies.

SLAM. SLAM. SLAM!

‘Furatus aer!’

I blink, my lungs emptying instantly. The queen fades, and the connection is lost.

We all turn to see Cole standing there, my father’s cane in hand and a victorious sneer plastered on his pale face. His other hand is held close to his chest. A stump is all that remains, and it’s clear the injury is causing him tremendous pain. Archie raises his sword and goes to bring it down on Cole’s neck.

‘STOP!’ Shaw yells.

The tip of the blade rests on his neck, barely kissing his skin.

I fall to my knees, the trigger forcing me down as it has so many times.

‘If you kill him, she will never be free of the trigger he has started!’

The battle falls quiet as everyone regathers themselves. Many are dead. The guys cut down a dozen soldiers, and the fire from the queen has slaughtered guards and members of the court alike.

‘Allow her to breathe, Cole. Or I will take your other hand,’ Archie warns.

‘What shall I command of her, General?’ he jeers. ‘Oh. I have a thousand ideas, thanks to your nightmares.’

‘Tell her to blink, and then she can breathe,’ Archie snarls, the tip of his sword moving quickly to rest between his legs. ‘Or I will cut off your dick and have it mounted next to the hand I took from you.’

Cole remains furiously calm, his body unmoving despite the look of violence radiating from him.

‘Come here,Ashe,’ Cole says, not looking away from Archie. He points to the spot before him. ‘You will crawl to me.’

My body obeys, pulling away from Dorian who attempts to keep me close. I crawl to Cole, my body convulsing with the need to breathe, and I stop in front of him.

‘Kiss me deeply and then take three strikes from your lovers. Strikes that they deliver with all their strength. If you do not fulfil this order, you will not be permitted to breathe. Am I understood?’

As soon as my lips meet Cole’s, air flows through my lungs once more. We keep both our eyes open as I kiss him just the way he wants me to. With tongue and meaning. I kiss him like I hate him. Rough and aggressive, so my lips hurt, and our teeth clink.

He is loving every brutal second.

Behind us, three more fire witches move in on the guys. Their flames dance warningly on their fingertips.

Our kiss ends, and I look up at him. I once looked into his eyes with happiness. I may not have wanted to marry him, but he was my friend. I cared for him deeply.

Not deep enough for his needs. Not obediently enough for his expectations.

He and the prince are the same. Tearing off the wings of birds and stealing the freedoms of others.

‘Who would you like to hit you first?’ he asks me.

‘Me,’ I reply before slamming my fist into my face and breaking my nose. Blood spills down my face, and I swiftly wipe it into my palm. I laugh, looking at the red glistening on my fingers.

‘You have the bracelet on. You cannot use your magic against us,’ Cole scoffs.

‘Want to bet?’

He sees the head of my snake poke out from my wrist, and then the screams start.

The dead rise up and wrap their hands around the necks of the fire witches. A series of snaps echo around us, one after the other, as I take command of the corpses.

The dark magic inside me sparks into existence in a powerful burst that has every fibre of my being screaming with life. Life I hadn’t even realised I had lost until this very second. When my neck snapped, and I left my body, I knew I died. My heart stopped. I was a spirit. But somehow, I was returned. Necromancers are powerful and wild creatures, their magic far from understood or studied. But as I tap into the power of my blood, I know that I haven’t been fully alive until right now.

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