Page 15 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Fifteen

EVIE

I was going to die.

I had no control over my body.

My switchblade was slowly slipping from my limp fingers.

A highly venomous snake flicked its tongue in the air at me, a hungry glint in its slick eyes.

Fear settled itself in my belly, a hot and pulsing whirlwind. The snake’s sharp scales scraped against the wooden floor. Coming closer.

With my chin forced upwards, it stung to keep my eyes facing down at such a sharp angle.

If I would die, I wanted to see it. My little act of defiance.

You can’t die. Not now, not like this , a small, yet forceful voice said from inside. It sounded so much like myself, it jolted me out of the dread racing through me.

I couldn’t run, but I could fight.

My mind wasn’t frozen and that was my best weapon.

As the snake kept advancing, I listened. Only its slither echoed in the room. There was nobody else here. No harsh breaths in the corner, no hushed cackle from the doorway.

But there was a small hiss; not from the snake. It sounded like a chant, flowing in from the small window behind me.

The windows had all been closed when Kaya and Vexa had left. But they could only be opened from the inside, I’d checked when I first moved here. I’d seen Goose leaving for the kitchen myself, and there was nobody else in this house.

Or maybe there was.

The snake lifted its head, tongue flicking faster.

My leg muscles hurt from trying to move them and failing.

Why couldn’t I move? What magic was this?

And why did it feel excruciatingly familiar?

Flashes of gold and dark eyes swam between the black spots crowding my vision.

I’ve been through this before.

The thought rattled around in my mind, cutting through the terror. Anger burned away at the fright.

Someone was playing with me, stringing me like a puppet.

Always remember who you are.

The snake’s head glided up my ankle. I could feel every little scale, each so rough the edges hooked into my skin.

And survive, whatever it takes.

Grandpa Constantine’s words bloomed in my mind, mixing in with the rage, spurring me on.

With all my strength, I pushed against the invisible binds caging me. Inside, an earthquake shook. Outside, the snake slid up my leg, unbothered.

I couldn’t see it anymore, but my stomach churned at the sensation.

I tried, gods, I tried to move my fingers around my weapon. I didn’t manage a twitch.

Slick sweat poured from my temples, dripping into my eyes. They burned, blurring my vision even more, but I was powerless to blink them away.

No.

I wasn’t powerless. I had power in me, grandpa Constantine had said so, and Allie had imbued me with her own spell.

I would rather die from exhaustion trying to save my life than to perish like this.

The snake passed my knee, as if guided by some unforeseen force, too.

My thoughts pushed forward, past the shadowy confinement of my fear, the weapon which had kept me captive for so long.

My body was a cage, but my mind was mine and free.

There was nobody here telling me I couldn’t. That it was forbidden.

It was just me. To blame if I died or cheer if I lived.

I held onto that sliver of a hope, desperately searching for a blue tendril. Seeking what had to be inside of me.

The snake stopped moving. Its tongue whipped against my thigh. Once. Twice.

Ready to strike.

My chest throbbed and burned . As if a molten blaze bubbled and snapped, trying to free itself.

I was Evelina Vegheara.

I was Protectorate First Family.

And I would survive, even if it killed me.

The throbbing in my chest burst out, searing through my veins.

The last of my strength willed my fingers to move . With a spasm, they closed tightly around my switchblade.

A tremor raced through my legs, but I couldn’t jerk them. The snake hissed and bit down.

Pain unlike any I’d felt before erupted in my leg. The snake’s fangs dug deep into me, inch by inch, piercing my skin and slicing through my muscles.

I pulled my left hand downward slowly, as if moving through molasses.

Half passed out from the pain and the effort, I kept struggling against the hidden binds. The glint of the blade gave me strength.

My switchblade speared through my dress, straight inside the snake’s skull. It thrashed against me, flogging my skin.

The tip of the blade went through my leg, but I kept pushing.

The snake finally went limp, only held up by my switchblade.

A bitter victory.

He’d already bit me.

I was going to die–but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Barely conscious, I felt myself falling. With my last shard of hope, I angled my body so that I toppled toward the edge of the table, right where Kaya’s box sat.

My body slammed against the floor. The switchblade and fangs pushed further inside my flesh.

The last thing I registered was the heavy opal breaking next to my head, and a sweet scent wafting through the air.

Then darkness descended upon me.