Page 57 of Entombed By Blood
But he let these men bond their souls to mine, and now he expects me to stare into their eyes and end them. And I will do it without blinking. For Immy.
As I did when he gave it to me centuries ago, I drop a kiss to the silver, burning my lips. “I will be the blade that ends our enemies,” I swear, tasting my own blood. “When they take me, I shall destroy them from within.”
I flick the blade back into the leather scabbard and accept the belt he hands me next, buckling it into place around my waist before looping the scabbard into place against my hip.
“Not immediately,” Cain cautions. “I need to know what their plans are. There are whispers, foolish ones, that they’ve discovered a weapon they believe can kill me. It’s absurd—I am invulnerable—but the people believe their lies. Whatever they’ve come up with, I will need to know, so I can disprove their claims and remind everyone exactly why these kinds of schemes will never work.”
“And you’re certain they’ll forgive me for murdering four of their own. They won’t seek revenge?”
“Four pawns are nothing in the grand scheme of things.” Cain waves it off. “I have no doubt the deaths will make them act rashly, which will also be to my benefit. But they’ll likely pin the blame on me, rather than you. Poor, traumatised little Evelyn. I would allow them to live, but the resistance must believe I think the threat has been eliminated. It will make them bold enough to make mistakes.”
I nod, swallowing back the emotion clogging my throat.
“We’ll discuss the finer details after the execution.” He holds out an arm. “Come, we have work to do.”
I take the offered limb without flinching, feeling myself starting to shut down as we take the first steps out of the room and towards the double doors. I’m fully numb when the vampires lounging around the Court take to their feet to applaud us. My smile is automatic, muscles moving with practised ease to perfect the mask they want to see.
Like magnets, my eyes snap straight to the four men lined up against the wall behind the dais. Four thralls who’ve lied to me and planned to use me just like everyone else does. They’ve condemned me to suffer the pain of yet more broken thrall bonds, and that makes me so angry that it almost breaks through the numbness.
Silas is calm, but encouraging, the softness in his eyes promising safety. He’s the one whose betrayal stings the most. I truly believed that he cared, even if none of the others did. Vane’s muscles are coiled tight with the tension in his body, as if he can sense something has changed, and his eyes are narrowed in suspicion. Draven is smirking, but the expression is flat and icy, almost completely devoid of feeling as he applauds with everyone else. I save the alpha for last, only to bite my lip. Gideon isn’t even looking at me; he’s focused on the sword at my hip.
Does he suspect that Cain gave it to me to kill him?
Polite applause echoes around us as Cain leads me up the steps of the dais, guiding me to a chair on the right-hand side of his throne. Callie looks like she’s swallowed a toad as she sits farthest from our sire, glaring across Bella at me. Morwen gives me a nod from the other side, but otherwise she looks bored by the entire affair.
She’s changed the most out of our sisters since I last saw her. The hundreds of braids she used to wear are gone. One side of her head is now shaved and the wild curls on the other have been tamed into frothy waves in a radical new style that makes her look older. More callous.
I don’t get a chance to nod back before I’m turned around and presented to the vampires in the crowd.
“Behold, my daughter Evelyn has returned home at last.” He raises my hand to more cheers. “And now that our beloved executioner is, once again, in residence…” He makes a hand motion and the guards around my thralls snap into action.
It’s not a fair fight. They’re outnumbered a dozen to one and completely caught off guard.
They’re wrestled under control before they have any idea what’s going on. Vane roars, trying to throw off his assailants, only to be put in a headlock. A brutal kick to the back of his knees brings him and the others down to the ground.
Only Gideon remains calm. “What is the meaning of this?” he demands as he’s dragged around so he’s kneeling before us.
They’re lined up neatly, all of them staring up at our family. Not with terror, but with enough anger to scorch me to my bones. I can’t look at them anymore. Can’t see the accusation in their eyes when they realise what I’m about to do.
So I pick a spot on the wall beyond the crowd and stare at it.
“We’re clearing house,” Cain announces. “Starting with the traitors who thought to steal my daughter from me.”
He smiles indulgently at me. “Let’s send a message, shall we?”
I nod, blinking to try to clear the blurriness that seems to have descended on my vision. My muscles are still working, but my brain seems to have slowed down. The sword slips free of the scabbard like I’m in a dream.
I’m floating—an observer in my own body. None of this can touch me. None of this is real.
Am I really going to do this?
That thought—so out of place in the midst of the blankness—makes me hesitate. The silver hovers inches from Silas’s neck.
And then the screams start.
Chapter Nineteen
Evelyn
