Page 57 of The Reaper's Vice

I blink, and somehow the plague mask has a second dagger in his gloved fist. I open my mouth to scream—to warn Ivan—but it’s too late. The blade sinks into the side of his neck like it was sliding into butter, and Ivan’s pained scream billows into the air.

The plague mask stoops to grab the dagger from Ivan’s neck—to end his life once and for all. His gloved fingers are inches from the hilt when Noah appears behind him, the dagger that was pinning him to the wall raised high above the plague masks neck. His murderous roar rivals Ivan’s screams as he brings the blade down, lips peeled back to reveal teeth as red as his bloodshot eyes.

Hope blooms in my chest, but the plague mask swerves at the last minute, causing the blade to embed in his shoulder instead of his spine. With a snarl, he snaps his hand over his shoulder, wrapping his hand over Noah’s and keeping it on the handle as he straightens.

He snaps Noah’s wrist with one quick movement, reaching into his pocket with the free hand and drawing athirddagger. The blade slashes through the air, embedding deep into Noah’s left eye as the plague mask howls with laughter.

Noah slumps but can’t move away from the man due to the death grip he has on his wrist. I roll from the bed, scrambling toward my purse that holds my dagger when a blood-curdling scream fills the room.

I glance over my shoulder, horror filling my veins as I witness a thick, serrated blade being dragged across Noah’s throat. He saws and saws, and saws, and I can do nothing but look on, bile rising in my throat.

When the head is disconnected from the body, the man looks up at me, his gleaming red eyes matching the spatters of liquid coating his mask.

He looks insane.

He looks delicious.

I shake my head, taking a cautious step toward my purse. I don’t know where the fuck that thought came from, but it terrifies me that I could be attracted to a man who just…

My stomach roils as I look at the bloody head hanging from that gloved hand. He tosses it toward me, and it lands on the carpet in such a way that his face is turned toward me, the eyes glassy and unblinking.Dead.

I take another step, but his voice freezes me in place. It’s a deep, soothing timbre that rolls over my skin, twisting my insides and pushing every sinful thought I’ve ever had to the forefront of my mind.

And it’s so, so familiar, too.

The man in the plague mask reaches up, his gloved fingers slipping beneath the lip of the mask before yanking it off. Eyes the color of a cloudless summer sky glint menacingly beneath a mop of messy black hair, the aura bursting from his shoulders equally beautiful and dangerous. But his smile unnerves me the most. Seductive, and hungry and bloodthirsty andwanting—and it’s all for me.

“Hello, little dove.”

26

ORION

“TAKING SERAPHINA”

Red shroudsmy vision as I take a step closer to Seraphina, a deep need settling into the pit of my stomach, infecting every cell in my body until I’m nothing more than a giant, shuddering mass ofneed.

Need. Need. Need.

The word echoes in my mind as I commit Seraphina’s expression to memory. The horrified sheen in her eyes, the space between her lips as she gasps her shock. Her terror.

Good. Youshouldbe scared of me, little dove.

My attention is pulled to the corner of the room, biting down a furious snarl as Ivan fights to right himself, clutching the wall for support while thick rivers of blood course down the side of his neck. Before I have time to stop it, Ivan rushes from the room like a cornered rat, leaving a heavy trail of blood across the expensive rug.

My lip curls in disgust, only for it to fall a moment later when I realize my dove and I are alone.Finally.

I step over Noah’s headless body, my pulse thrumming in my ears as I close the gap between Seraphina and me. For every step I take, she moves back, until her back slams against the far wall.

Her chest rises and falls rapidly, eyes wide and searching the room for something to defend herself with.Too late for that, little dove.

“If you’re looking for your dagger, it’s currently embedded in your lover’s neck.” My fist tightens at my side when I remember Ivan is still alive.Another failure.

She shakes her head, mouth wide and wordless as she settles her eyes on my face. “You…”

My mouth quirks as I rake my eyes over Seraphina’s naked frame, only for it to drop as I take in the small black tattoo on her hip.Who the fuck did she get that for?

Rage boils my skin as I take another step toward her, “You’re coming with me, little dove.”

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