Page 48 of Nearly Dead

“What do you want?”I demand.

He tilts his head.His voice lowers.“There is no reason to be defensive.I’m not here to hurt you, my little lotus flower.”

I snort.“Yeah, right.And I am not anyone’s flower.”

“Sure you are,” he answers.“It’s the flower of purity, of rebirth and transformation.That is exactly what you are.Beautiful.Delicate.Pure.A true supernatural queen.”

“Yeah, and no.”I frown.

“You’ve grown, Tamara.Or perhaps fractured is the better word for it.All those little pieces inside you, so many flavors of power fighting for dominance.Mortal soul.Vampire.Wolf.Suppressed magic.Your blood sings to me.”

I clench my fists, trying to hide the tremor.“Back off.”

He smiles slowly, and his look appears indulgent.“You were so much easier to reach when you were screaming in a crib.”

I flinch before I can stop myself.

“You failed,” I counter.“You’ll fail again.”

His smile widens, and he chuckles.“You weren’t necessarily supposed to die as a baby, you know.I knew it was a possibility.And the innocence of babies is,” he sighs in pleasure, “delightful.”

“Gross.”

He continues as if I didn’t speak.“Goblins are loyal, but not terribly smart.You’re lucky the butterflies interfered.But they did mark you, so I could track you.Though I am hurt that you never wore my birthday present.I wouldn’t have needed Conrad to watch you if you had just put on the ring.Such a waste of good craftsmanship.”

I think about the eyeball ring he gave me for my birthday.Conrad had called it a “Peeping Tom”.It’s still wrapped in a washcloth, buried in the back of my drawer at the penthouse where I’d hidden it.The thought of him watching me through that thing makes my skin crawl.

Leviathan leans in slightly, and the shadows curl at his feet like pets.

“Let my brother go,” I say, surprised by the steadiness in my voice.“Release him.Send his spirit on.”

Leviathan’s cold laugh is his only answer.

“I’ll never cooperate with your plans,” I say.“You’ve lost.I’m immortal.You can’t claim me when I die.”

“You think?”

“I belong to no one,” I growl, feeling my fangs extend.My claws push at the skin of my fingertips, eager to emerge.

“Fascinating,” he says, circling me slowly.“You’ve maintained more control than the others.A true success at last.”

“Others?What others?”

“You didn’t think you were the first hybrid, did you?”He sounds amused.“I’ve been experimenting with hybrids for centuries.Werewolf-vampire.Vampire-magic.Magic-shifter.So many failures.So many unstable abominations that tore themselves apart from the inside.A regular Island of Dr.Moreau.”

“Island of what?”I frown.

“H.G.Wells?”He tsks when I don’t respond.“Old book.Hybrid monsters.You should read more.You’d appreciate the irony.”

“You should take a flying leap off a skyscraper,” I counter.“Why would you possibly want a hybrid?”

I can think of a million reasons why something like me shouldn’t exist.

“Because the creature with the most power wins,” he says simply.“Think of what we could do.With your blood we could create a super army.Creatures with the strengths of multiple supernatural species but none of their weaknesses.Imagine vampires who can walk in daylight, werewolves with the cunning of vampires, magics with the raw power of shifters.Following you, the great Devine hybrid.Born of a master vampire and werewolf Alpha.Loyal to us.”

“And what?”I laugh, but there’s no humor in it.“I’m supposed to be your general?”

“No.”He steps closer, close enough that I can smell the grave-dirt and decay on him.“You are to be my queen.”

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