Page 84 of Deadly Alliances

Each breath that I swallowed only fueled my murderous rage even more. I hated this vile creature more than I’d ever hated anyone. She had imprisoned Julian and made him her plaything, her punching bag, her slave. She had violated my body and almost killed me. And right now, she was at my mercy—and I didn’t have a shred of that left.

With Julian’s help, I climbed staggeringly to my feet, glaring at her with all the malevolence I felt for her.

“Kapet-khet,” I intoned, flaring out my hand and commanding fire to ignite in my palm.

Marguerite’s eyes widened, the first sign of fear I’d ever seen in her flicker across them. “W-what are you doing?”

“Sending you back to Hell where you belong,” I declared, raising my hand.

“No!” Julian’s hand gripped my wrist, stopping my throw.

I whipped my head in his direction, shooting him a glare of accusation.

“You can’t kill her,” he insisted.

“Oh, Julian,” Marguerite wept in gratitude. “My sweet Julian.”

“Why not?” I snapped, ignoring the succu-bitch. “After everything she’s done to you? You can’t honestly tell me you feel something for her.”

He grimaced and let out a scoff. “God, no. I want her dead more than you do. But if you kill her now, before we can escape, we will be found out. She’s Hadrian’s right hand, hewillcome looking for her when she doesn’t respond to his call, and we have nowhere to dispose of her body.”

Fury spiked inside my chest, reaching a fever pitch, because I knew he was right. I had her right where I wanted her, and knowing I couldn’t reap the vengeance I so desired—that Julian so deserved—pissed me off more than anything ever had in my life.

I lowered my hand and dispelled the flames it held. “Fine. But we can’t just let her go.”

“Yes,” Marguerite pleaded, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Yes, you can. I promise I won’t tell a soul. This can be our little secret.”

A wicked grin spread from ear to ear as I turned to her. “That’s right. You won’t tell a soul.”

Fear flashed in her face again. “What are you going to do?”

“Sekha hedjefa,” I said, feeling the magic connect to her memory as her expression went blank. “You will forget that you saw me with Julian tonight, and you will forget any and all suspicions you have toward me.”

Like little seeds that were extensions of me, I could feel my command wheedling through her mind, erasing the events of this night. But I wasn’t finished. I wanted to hurt her, wound her beyond repair that would punish her for the rest of her days—at least until I had the clearance to end them.

“And you will forget how to swallow. Even when sustenance passes your lips and touches your tongue, you will be unable to ingest it.”

Dark satisfaction washed over me as I felt that particular seed digging in.Let’s see you bite me again, you evil bitch.

I turned to Julian, who was watching me with a mixture of fear and admiration. “Get back in the bed, so I can release her and seal the spell,” I whispered to him.

Without a word, he nodded and slowly made his way back to the bed. Only when he had returned to his splayed position on the sheets did I release her from the snare and seal the memory spell. The glow that had filled the room faded back to the normal dim lighting, and Marguerite shook her head and blinked as she came back to awareness.

She turned to me with a look of confusion. “What’s going on?”

“You don’t remember?” I asked in my most innocent voice.

She shook her head.

“You had a little too much to drink, so I helped you back to your room,” I lied sweetly. “Maybe you should lie down.”

She frowned, and I hated how fucking beautiful she looked with her stupid bottom lip pouting out. “I think you might be right.” She put her palm to her forehead and trudged toward the bed, waving a dismissive hand at me. “You are dismissed.”

Stealing one last glance at Julian, I gave a single nod and went out the door. When it was closed behind me, I pressed up against it and took a deep breath.

That had been close,waytoo close. I couldn’t afford to make a mistake like that again. I hoped we could get out of here before I had another chance.

Chapter 32

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