Page 47 of The Call of Crimson
He winks and backs out of the room, leaving me to explore in peace.
CHAPTER TEN
OPHELIA
“You traitorous bitch,” my father hisses.
There was a time when those words filled me with terror. Pain and fear were once my constant companions, but now I don’t even bother to flinch.
“No, Father.” The strength in my voice surprises even me. “You’rethe traitor, and I’m done living in fear of you.”
Our matching gray eyes meet across the dinner table, and for the first time, we’re truly seeing each other. I’ve known the depraved depths of his soul for years, but now he sees mine. I feel nothing but disdain for the male before me.
“You will pay for this!” he roars, lightning bursting from his hands. It slams into the guards beside him. They drop lifelessly to the floor. For that, I do feel remorseful. That fury was meant for me, but it claimed them instead.
Everyone in the room retreats a step from the lightning dancing along his fingers. I don’t blame them. I’ve felt the sting of his Gift, and I don’t wish it on another. They don’t want to be his next target, but none of them are.
He and I have been approaching this confrontation for years—I only regret not facing him sooner. Maybe if I had, there wouldn’t be nearly a dozen bodies in his wake.
I realize too late that though I am his next target, it wasn’t his Gift he intended to attack me with, it was a dagger hidden at his side. The metal flies through the air, end-over-end, headed directly for my chest.
I possess no Gifts that could stop this knife, so I just stare at the end coming for me. It takes less than a heartbeat, though it feels like slow motion as I watch it happen.
The sharp metal pierces my flesh, burying itself deep in the center of my chest. I expect it to hurt, but I feel nothing.
My knees give out, Elijah catches me before I hit the floor. He lowers me, gently stroking my cheek as tears fill his panicked eyes.
I try to speak, but nothing comes out. My body feels cold and heavy as the noise around me fades. All I can hear are the rapidly slowing beats of my heart.
Elijah is mumbling something through his tears, but I can’t make it out. Layne appears on my other side, his blue eyes telling me all the things I can’t hear.
“Ophe…”
I think he’s saying my name.
It’s cold.
“Wake…”
Everything is so cold.
“…safe.”
Blackness clings to the edges of my vision, slowly spreading until all I see are blue eyes.
“Ophelia, wake up!” Elijah’s voice breaks through the dark. He shakes my shoulder roughly until my eyes finally fly open.
A pained cry erupts from my mouth as I jolt upright, my entire body trembling. My hands grasp at my sternum, searching out the scar—the wound—I know must be there.
It burns and aches, my eyes filling with tears at the sensation.
“Make it stop,” I sob, rubbing my hands frantically over the center of my chest where the dagger landed. No matter how much I try to soothe the area, the pain persists.
He grips my face between both hands, thumbs rubbing softly along my temples and cheeks. “Make what stop?”
“The pain, Elijah,” I cry, tears running down my cheeks as I beg, “Where he stabbed me, it hurts so bad. Please make it go away.”
“Wherewhostabbed you?” Elijah asks, trying to piece together my sobs.
