Page 74 of When Bones Whisper
Gertrude smirked. “He is incapacitated for now. I shall return him good as new once we are done here.”
Charlotte held her breath, her gaze flitting to Nathaniel’s bloodshot stare. Silent grunts stretched his lips, one set of his fangs sliding from his mouth. Thin fingers curled into fists as he tried to push himself out from under the spell she had cast, but it was too strong. She could feel the pulse of magic from there—suffocating, heavy and enveloping.
How on Earth could she incapacitate four vampires, nature's strongest creatures?
“How is that possible?” she asked. Even with sacrificial magic, that was too much.
“Why are you surprised, dear?” Gertrude asked. With another slow, purposeful step forward, she said, “We are nature’s warriors. The manifestation of our desires moves in our bones. It is embedded in our souls. There is no person nor creature alive that is stronger than us. Look at them. See how quickly these predators bow to us when we embrace our power. Now, you will come with us.”
The scent of rosewater wafted around her when she took another step closer.
With a loud growl, Nathaniel broke free of her spell again, while the rest struggled, and raced to Charlotte, stretching out his arm over Charlotte’s chest. “Don’t touch her!”
“Step aside,” Gertrude warned.
“No! You could have eased my pain once and now you plan to take away the only one who can save me.”
Save me.
Charlotte’s stomach twisted.
Gertrude scanned her eyes over Charlotte, forcing a chill into her core. “You truly believe this woman is going to help you?”
His brows creased and he shot her a wary glance, something potent breaking in his darkening stare. “We have an agreement.”
“My son the fool,” she said, and looked at Charlotte. “It appears you have not mentioned what the cost is to break his curse.”
Nathaniel glanced at her. “Charlotte?”
Oh God. The way he said her name sent a blade of pain through her chest.
She averted her gaze, swallowing hard when a lump formed in her throat. The truth was about to come out and she couldn’t look at him when it did, in fear of him revealing the truth that hurt the most—that the cost didn’t matter and he would sacrifice her life if it meant becoming mortal. As much as she wanted to believe he’d softened toward her, she knew what he was and what he could do.
Gertrude continued when Charlotte did not speak.
“She must sacrifice herself.”
Charlotte’s stomach hollowed, heart thrumming in her ears. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Nathaniel's gaze fixed upon her.
“Is this true?”
She chewed on her bottom lip before nodding gently.
His face crumpled, a long, heavy sigh whooshing past his lips.
Looking away, to anywhere but him, her gaze landed on Gertrude.
A flicker of movement drew Charlotte’s attention to her arm. A cockroach crawled onto her shoulder, its antennas flicking when it looked at her. Either she truly was losing her mind, or she had seen that exact insect before.
Her hip pulsed with pain, throbbing deep into her muscles, eliciting a short groan. There had been a cockroach in her room the night she heard knocking on her door at Lovett Manor, again on her first night here, when she’d arrived back from the graveyard by her garden gates, and when Duke had tried to catch it. The insect ran into her gray hair, settling there after twisting its legs into the strands. She lifted her index finger to its exoskeletal back and smoothed it.
It was Gertrude’s familiar.
The realization stunned her to spot.
Oh God.
“You hexed me,” Charlotte said, lips parting in disbelief.
