Page 92 of This Ravenous Fate
Layla nodded, but she didn’t believe him. “Bullshit.” She tilted her head to the side and glared. “I’m half-dead, you imbecile. I’m not an idiot.”
A confident rage exploded across Stephen Wayne’s face. “Fullydead now—”
The gun went off, but Layla didn’t flinch. The bullet flew past her as Tobias Saint kicked Stephen Wayne’s ankle, throwing him off-balance. The gun slid across the hardwood and out of sight. Both men were suddenly on the floor, tearing at each other. Tobias Saint threw the first punch. “Asshole. I put everything on the line for you, and this is how you repay me?” He pounded into Stephen Wayne’s face so hard, the man’s skin went from pale to bloody in mere moments.
Layla grabbed a handful of Tobias Saint’s coat and pulled him off Stephen Wayne. She threw him onto his back, her knee pressing into his sternum until he gasped for breath. “You should have known better than to trusthim,” Layla hissed. “I don’t feel sorry for you at all.Idiot.”
Mr. Saint’s jaw tightened, but the fear in his eyes overrode every ounce of confidence he tried to boast. “I’m not the villain,” he gritted out.
“You are.” Layla backhanded him so hard, blood flew from his mouth. “You owe your daughter an apology,” she spat.
Confusion muddled his features for a moment. Then that stupid, vile smile returned. And Layla knew this man was a true monster, inside and out. When he looked at Elise, he didn’t see his child. Layla recognized that spiteful look in his eyes; she saw it every time she looked in the mirror. The Saint patriarch had no daughter; to him, Elise represented the amalgamation of his own faults. Nothing Elise did would ever be good enough to him because he had already failed himself. The thought made Layla so angry, she was sure her bloodboiled in her veins. How dare he damage a soul as untainted and innocent as Elise’s. How dare heruinher—
Blood gurgled out of Tobias Saint’s mouth as he laughed. Layla looked down, realizing then that her hands were crushing his throat. She pressed her fingers deeper into his neck, but the air shifted behind her, drawing her attention away from him.
“Let him go.” Sterling’s stern voice turned her around. He stood several feet away, but his gun pointed straight for her heart.
Layla laughed roughly. She would entertain him. For now. She released Mr. Saint and turned to Sterling. “You would rather protect this man than your own friend?” Layla asked.
Sterling’s eyes shifted. He tightened his grip on the gun and stepped closer to her. “You know what it’s like to lose family. I would never risk it again. Not if I could stop it.”
“There is no risk, Sterling,” Layla said. “You’ve already lost them.” Her fangs sprung free right as his gun went off. But before the bullet found her, something slammed Layla’s body to the floor. She winced, her head spinning from the scent of Elise and blood.So much blood.
The Saint heiress lay on the ground a few feet away, her hand pressed against her chest. Sterling lowered his gun, a horrified look on his face as he realized just where his bullet had ended up.
Elise’s blood filled Layla’s nose—it filled every part of Layla. She sat up, rolling Elise onto her back. The wound was in the center of her chest, right beside her heart—if it had not grazed her on entrance. Layla cursed. Sterling moved to tend to Tobias Saint, and Layla thought she saw pain flash in his eyes while he hesitated betweenthe Saint patriarch and Elise, but she hardly noticed. Layla was too focused on the light quickly leaving Elise’s eyes.
“Why?” Layla shrieked. “Why, why, why would you do that?” She ripped Elise’s dress open.
Elise whimpered, her body shaking with pain. “Layla, I’m sorry—”
“Stop talking. You’re not dying,” Layla said hurriedly. All Layla could think about was Elise. Her blood, her pain, her shallow breathing. Ignoring the gnawing desire she had for Elise’s blood felt impossible, but she did it anyway. The one thing keeping Layla focused, preventing her collapse, was the slowing heartbeat right beneath her fingertips. Layla shoved the fingers of one hand into Elise’s mouth and with the other scrambled around her chest for the wound. Pearls, slippery and wet, tangled her up. Layla tore those free and reached into her gaping chest wound. Elise clamped down around Layla’s fingers, screaming so hard, Layla couldn’t even feel the pain of her teeth digging into her fingers.
Once she found the bullet, she pulled her hands back and dropped it onto the floor. Blood poured freely from Elise’s chest. Her eyes rolled back and her head lolled to the side. Layla gripped her chin. “Saint—” she said, frantic. Elise had not bitten her fingers hard enough to draw blood. Layla cursed. She lifted her wrist to her mouth and tore it open with her teeth. Blood spilled onto Elise’s wound. But her split skin wasn’t closing fast enough.
Layla felt drained after only a few moments. Soon, she would join Elise in death if a miracle didn’t make itself out of her blood.Layla drew closer to Elise, tears welling in her eyes. She touched her face, pulling her back to her. “Come on.” Her voice broke. “Elise.”
Her muscles ached. Blood loss had Layla feeling both empty and weighed down at once, but she sat up straighter and clasped her hands over Elise’s newly scarred skin. She put every last bit of her strength into chest compressions. Blood pooled around them both, soaking the pearls and the glass that had rained onto the floor. Layla cursed the tears that continued to fall from her eyes, knowing they only drained her further.Tears won’t save her, Layla thought fiercely.
“Elise,” Layla said again, her voice stronger than before. “Please, Lisey.”
A faint pulse grew stronger with each passing compression. Though blood rushed in her ears so loudly, Layla couldn’t tell if she was actually helping. She gazed at Elise through eyes bleary with exhaust and nearly collapsed when she saw her cheeks warming up and her eyelids fluttering with life.
Elise coughed then, gasping for breath. Layla stopped the compressions and cupped her cheek. “Elise,” she pleaded frantically. The reveal of Elise’s now bright eyes electrified Layla’s heart. She tried to pull Elise into her arms, but her body gave out, and she fell on top of her. Layla pressed her face into Elise’s neck and cried.
42
Rogue reapers dragged Layla away from the scene the moment police and ambulances showed up.You cannot be here. Not while you’re starving and covered in blood. So she went back to Harlem reaper territory and hunted, then waited by Saint territory until dawn. The moment she saw Elise’s bedroom light flicker on, Layla climbed the vines leading to her window and tumbled into her room.
Elise had changed out of her bloody, torn dress, and now she sat at her window seat in a pristine, white nightgown. Layla underestimated just how much she would react to seeing Elise alive and well when only an hour ago, she had been dying in her arms. When Elise looked at her from her seat, eyes bright with recent tears, Layla went to her, arms outstretched. Despite having just fed, her knees gave out when she felt Elise’s warm, human body against her own. The life thrumming through her veins beat right against her own damned heart and Layla hugged her tighter. Theywere almost on top of each other, their legs tangled on the cushioned window seat while Elise stroked her fingers over Layla’s back.
“Thank you,” Elise whispered. She placed her hand over her chest, where new scars covered her heart.
“Are you…” Layla pulled back and studied the scars. “I’ve never used so much of my blood to bring someone back from the brink of death. If it has any effects—”
Elise covered Layla’s hand with her own and smiled. “I feel fine. Human, if that’s what you’re asking. The rogue reapers sensed your bite on me and I think that’s why they showed up for us even when your plans went south.”
Layla’s mouth twisted as she remembered the carnage she had awoken. Her eyes dropped to the scars on Elise’s chest, this time lingering on the older ones from her attack years ago. “I was a monster.”
