Page 21 of Oath of Blood and Joy

He knelt beside me, his heartbeat quickening as he assessed my condition. He lifted up my soaked shirt, the fabric peeling away from wounds with a sickening wet sound. “Fuck. What happened to you? These cuts go down to the bone.”

I’d seen worse on guys who tried to skip town without paying their debts. Given them worse too. But I couldn’t say that now, couldn’t say anything.

The scent of my own blood, rich and tinged with the acrid smell of Maximo’s poison, filled the night air. Steve’s face contorted as he examined the deep lacerations across my torso, each one a testament to how easily I’d been overpowered.

“Is Joy inside? Is she hurt too?”

I wanted to answer him, but it was as if someone had their hand over my mouth.

Steve ran into theSangue Reale, then he was back. “No sign of her. Just that damn dress.”

Worry flared in his eyes, replacing the initial anger. Family loyalty ran deep in the DuPonts—it always had. “I’ve got to get you to Serenity.”

If anyone could neutralize this toxin, it would be her. But every minute spent healing me was another minute that Joy slipped further from my reach, deeper into Maximo’s clutches. I tried to communicate this with my eyes, willing Steve to understand my desperate urgency.

But he didn’t seem to notice. He slid his arms beneath me, preparing to lift. The movement kindled a wildfire of agony that consumed me, but physical pain was nothing compared to the knowledge that Joy faced dangers she couldn’t possibly understand. Not yet.

As Steve hoisted me up with a grunt of effort, I managed to form one coherent thought through the haze of pain and fury: Hold on, Joy. I’m coming for you. Just hold on.

Steve rushed through the bayou, his footsteps splashing through shallow puddles and crushing fallen branches beneath his weight. Each impact vibrated through my mangled body, sending fresh waves of excruciating pain coursing through my veins. His ragged breathing mixed with my own strangled gasps as he navigated the treacherous terrain. The night air, thick with the scent of moss and murky water, did nothing to cool the burning fire spreading from my wounds.

“Almost there,” Steve muttered, more to himself than to me. His grip tightened around my shoulders and legs, determination evident in every labored step.

The moonlight filtered through cypress branches overhead, creating dappled shadows that swam across my vision like specters. I tried to focus, to channel the centuries of pain I’d endured into something manageable, but Maximo’s poison was unlike anything I’d experienced before. It seemed to seek out every nerve, setting them aflame with surgical precision.

My head lolled against Steve’s chest, the steady drum of his heart a cruel reminder of my own weakness. A vampire, brought low by a creature I couldn’t even identify. The shame of it rivaled the physical torment.

Another jolt as Steve stumbled slightly, regaining his balance with a curse. The sudden movement sent lightning bolts of agony shooting from my core to my extremities. Dark spots crowded the edges of my vision, expanding rapidly like spilled ink on parchment.

My last conscious thought was of Joy’s face—not fearful as I’d last seen it, but smiling, those eyes that had looked at me with trust now haunting me with accusation. The darkness closed incompletely, merciful in its temporary relief, as I finally passed out.

Chapter Fifteen

Enzo

I was back at Ravenwood Estate and in one of Simon’s bedrooms, but I couldn’t move. My body felt weighted with invisible chains, my muscles frozen in place as if turned to stone. The familiar scent of damp cypress and blood that permeated Simon’s domain seemed stronger, more threatening in this dreamscape.

But everything was in black, gray, and white as if I was watching an old movie.

Joy was tied to a wooden chair, fear flaring in her eyes like trapped lightning. Her wrists were raw and bleeding from struggling against the ropes, dark bruises already forming on her exposed skin. Marsha and Maximo walked around her like wolves waiting for the perfect moment to attack, their footsteps echoing unnaturally loud on the hardwood floor. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed to pulse and retreat with Joy’s rapid breathing.

Marsha slapped her across the face with a crack that echoed through the room, giving her a fat lip that swelled instantly,blood trickling down her chin. Joy didn’t make a sound, but her eyes brimmed with tears she refused to shed.

Anger rose through me, molten and consuming, but I was like a frozen statue unable to move. I strained against the paralysis until I felt like my veins would burst, but not even my fingers would twitch. I was a spectator, helpless, forced to watch the horror unfold.

Maximo grabbed her hair and yanked it back, exposing her throat in a way that made my fangs ache with protective fury. His nails lengthened before my eyes, those same deadly weapons that had paralyzed me. “You will not use your powers against me,” he hissed, his breath visible in the suddenly cold air of the room.

“Stop. Please. I don’t... I don’t know how to control them.” Joy’s voice broke, a tremor running through her body. Beneath her chair, shadows writhed momentarily before falling still again, as if responding to her distress.

“You will learn,” Marsha said, her voice carrying that singsong quality that made her threats all the more terrifying. She traced a finger down Joy’s cheek, leaving a trail of frost in its wake. “Or I will torture Zoe until she dies.” Her smile was all teeth, her eyes glittering with malice.

I noticed a girl gagged and strapped to the bed, her eyes wide with terror. Zoe? She thrashed against her restraints, muffled screams barely audible through the gag. Dark symbols had been painted on her forehead and arms, pulsing with an eerie glow.

“Noooo, please.” Joy’s anguished cry seemed to make the shadows in the room shiver and stretch toward her captors before retreating again. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt her.”

I wanted to scream to Joy not to give in, but nothing came out. My throat felt sewn shut, my vocal cords severed. I couldfeel Maximo’s poison still coursing through me, keeping me immobile, forcing me to witness my failure. The worst torture of all.

The scene began to blur at the edges, Marsha’s laughter growing distorted as the dream started to dissolve. The last thing I saw was Joy looking directly at me, somehow sensing my presence, her eyes conveying a silent message: Find me.

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