Page 133 of Taste Me

Zy is there waiting for them, which isn’t part of the plan.

What the fuck are you doing, man?

He’s staring at Kor. “You’re not coming in here. I know what my brother smells like, and you are not my brother. Not anymore.”

Kor chuckles. “Zane? Would you mind teachingmy brothera lesson?”

If this is some new part of the plan, I’m left in the dark.

I expect this isn’t the plan, though. Kornelius is acting fucking strange and Zy is saying he isn’t his brother. Did Kor do something to make him mad?

But why would he say he smelled different?

“Last warning, son,” Zane says. “Let us through or you get to be a vessel earlier than planned. That would be a shame, because you’re my favorite.”

Zy’s fingers flex, and it’s the only warning before he rips his glasses from his face.

Kor steps between him and Zane. “Shut your eyes!”

Vessel,I repeat in my head.Kor’s a vessel!

I’m not sure which patriarch has possessed him, but the last time this happened, it took Fallon’s immense death magic to expel the spirit.

I’m not Fallon, but I also don’t have any other recourse than to break from hiding and assault Kor and Zane from behind before they get into the mansion.

Issy is there, helpless.

Collared.

Silenced.

Zane must have known I was watching because he spins on me, raking his claws against my throat as he openly laughs. “You were right, Royce. This is fun.”

“The fun has only just gotten started,” Royce says with Kor’s voice. He whispers a spell and it sends Zy flying overhead onto the street.

He’s out cold while I’m left gasping for air, my open wound gushing blood onto the ground. His eyes are swollen shut as magic rips through him, jolting him awake and making him scream.

Royce and Zane are joking about who gets Issy fist as they pass through the threshold.

“Shit,” I curse when my wound finally closes, and I run for the open doorway.

But I slam into an invisible barrier, sending blood gushing from my nose. “Fuck! Issy! Kor!” I beat against it, fear gripping my dead heart. “Get out of there!”

Chapter42

Issy

Footsteps sounding in the foyer make my heart skip a beat. I could have sworn I heard shouting outside, but it’s difficult to hear over the screams of the dead.

I was right to worry that this ancient abandoned place would be teeming with lost, miserable spirits. My thumb rolls over my temple as I struggle against the overlapping echoes in my mind.

Luckily, I shouldn’t have to deal with it for too long. I’m expecting Kornelius any moment now. He’s supposed to be leading Royce here for the next stage of the plan.

My collar is back in place, making me feel vulnerable even though I know Kor will be with me any minute to remove it when it’s time.

I can’t simply speak Royce dead—not when he would add to the patriarchs’ ranks on the other side.

I need him to kill Zane, or at least injure him enough to allow my mates to finish the job, and then I need his blood while he’s left alive.

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