Page 80 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

I jolt awake when a heavy weight collides with my body, nearly knocking the wind from my lungs.

What the heck?

It’s pitch dark—so dark, I can’t see a damn thing, meaning it still has to be the middle of the night.

Disoriented and half asleep, I feel around, realizing I can’t even see my hand in front of my face. That is…odd. Someone grabs said invisible hand, which I’m now convinced is cast in some invisible magic, and throws me off my bed to the floor.

Rude!

“Did your mother teach you no manners?” I shout through gritted teeth.

“This is no way to wake a lady. Haven’t you heard of beauty sleep, and what did you do with my hands?

” Looking around more, I realize everything must be cast in the same invisible magic, because where in all the lands did everything go?

“This is rather boring for me.” I pout, still half out of it and clearly delirious.

“Can you just give me my hands back and let me go back to sleep?” Realizing I probably need to offer something in return, I add, “I’ll refrain from putting my fist through your teeth if you do so,” I say in a sickly sweet voice, even though that’s the last feeling I’m having right now.

No one messes with my beauty sleep and lives to talk about it. Rule number one in the Nyxi Code of Conduct handbook.

Instead of a verbal response, I’m answered with the back of their knuckles against my cheek.

“Shit… I…” He trails off, seeming shocked by his outburst.

“ Ouch! Could you at least un-invisible everything so I have a fighting chance against your bony ass hands? There’s literally no padding on those things. You have to be at least seventy.”

I’m greeted with a swift, “Shut up, woman! Do you ever stop talking?”

Now, I’m fully heated—no one talks to me like that and gets away with it. “Now I know your mother didn’t teach you that . You can make it up to me by helping scratch this itch on my ankle, seeing as I still can’t find my invisible hands.”

I hear him shuffle closer, probably only humoring me to shut me up.

I wait until he’s close enough that I can hear and smell his putrid breath.

In the blink of an eye, I rear my arm back and throw it full speed at the sleep-stealing culprit’s face.

I know I’ve made solid contact when I hear a crunching noise and a faint clink of what I assume is a rouge tooth cascades across the floor.

Check mate!

“ Fuck !” he bellows while letting out a few pained grunts through labored breaths.

“Well I could have itched my own ankle, but you had to go and turn everything invisible,” I say thoughtfully.

“You’re not invisible!” he hisses, sounding a bit lisp-y due to the missing tooth, courtesy of yours truly .

Atta girl!

“Tell that to my invisible hands!” I flail the missing things around wildly, making my point.

“You’re blindfolded, woman ,” he says, thoroughly annoyed. Under his breath, more to himself than me, he mutters, “Shit, when he said you would be trouble, he wasn’t kidding.”

Blindfolded? Oh… Maybe I did overreact a bit with the whole magic accusation, but when someone startles you awake in the night with their body on top of yours—and not in the fun kind of way—wild accusations are the only correct response…right?

Right!

”Wait, who warned you?” Thinking about it for two seconds, I answer my own question.

Hade, obviously, which brings me to my second question.

“Scratch that. Why the hell am I blindfolded? This isn’t some kinky part of the Crucible I’m unaware of, is it?

Because I wasn’t forewarned, and to be fair, I was so tired from reading late last night, I sort of skipped washing off, and let’s just say no one wants to get anywhere near me right now. ”

I hear him choke on his own tongue, shocking him speechless, which is exactly what I was going for.

Going for my killing blow, I add, “Unless maybe you’re into that sort of thing?

Is that why you itched my ankle for me? To get closer?

Are you trying to hit on me, sir? Whatever happened to wine and dine first?

Now it’s assault them in their sleep, blindfold them, and itch smelly ankles to get a whiff?

” I scoff to myself. “What is with men these days?”

“Can you please just stop talking!” he rushes out, but it’s shaky and unsure.

“Gladly,” I say with a smile. “As soon as you remove the bag from my head.”

“Not happening,” he responds solidly, leaving no room for argument .

Damn, he bounces back fast. “I guess I will have to acquaint you with my other fist, then, because she’s feeling rather left out at the moment.”

“You will do no such thing. We are already late, so you’re going to shut up and not put up a fight, or I will have to knock you out. Contrary to your belief, I don’t want to hurt you. I would like to keep my head attached to my body.”

Now that does bring a genuine smile to my face.

“Where are you taking me?” I resort to pouting again. “Can we rain check it until I at least get a couple more hours of sleep? Seeing as it’s still the middle of the night.”

I feel him grab my arm, dragging me up to stand. “It’s eight in the morning. You’ve had plenty of sleep.”

“Eight? Did you fail school or something? Since when is the night sky still out at eight in the morning?” This man has lost his marbles.

He sighs, clearly thoroughly over me. “It’s bright out; you just can’t see it due to the blindfold,” he replies in a clipped tone.

Oh, right…the blindfold. Whoopsies .

“Well…if you took the blindfold off, I wouldn’t be so confused about what time it is, would I? So why don’t you do us both a favor and just take it off… please. ”

“No.”

“Brute!” I grumble.

Tugging me to follow him, I suddenly panic, realizing I have no idea who this man is and what he plans to do with me.

Why the hell have I just been sitting here doing nothing about it?

I chalk it up to tiredness, and honestly, I can smell the anxiety pouring off him, like he’s scared to touch a single hair on my head.

If I were in true danger, I would sense it.

So far, all the man has done is timidly acquaint me with the back of his hand, and I think it shocked him more than it did me .

Digging my heels into the floor, I do my best to slow us down. Even though I think I could take this man blindfolded and half-asleep, I still have an uneasy feeling about this.

“Stop that!”

“Tell me where we’re going, and maybe I’ll oblige. Do you even workout? It feels like I’m pulling against a child right now.” I gasp dramatically. “You’re elderly, I forgot. Brittle bones and all that. We wouldn’t want you to snap a femur trying to take another step out my door.”

“I’m taking you to the Bubble for the final round of the Crucible. There, are you happy?”

“No.”

“You are insufferable, woman!”

I sigh. “So I’ve been told. Hate to break it to you, but that’s last week’s news.” I think it over, his words finally hitting me as hives spread over my body.

The Crucible.

Today is the final round of the Crucible, meaning it could very well be my last day alive.

An array of questions rack my head. Why is it starting so early?

Why am I blindfolded? Where is Hade? Who is this man?

Will I get to say goodbye to Des or Winston before I potentially die? What will today’s game entail?

The questions are a never-ending tide swirling around my head in a dizzying manner, and my body slickens with sweat. I had a plan in place for today, and this puts a major, life-altering wrench right in the center of it.

After finishing the last of the journal entries last night, I was left with even more questions and avenues to chase down.

Why did the journals abruptly stop at age fifteen?

Did I miss some of them in the library, or did something happen at that birthday ball?

I still have no idea who the journals belong to, but I know they are important to solving this riddle .

I was planning on heading to the library first thing this morning and checking for loose floorboards, praying whatever mysterious gift hidden within them was still there.

Clearly, fate laughed in my face and had other plans.

That was my last ticket to solving the riddle before the last round of the Crucible, and now, it’s gone.

There’s no getting out of this, and like every other moment in my life, I will have to fight my way out to survive. Nothing I’m unfamiliar with. So far, my track record for staying alive is on a twenty year winning streak, so I’ll take my odds.

Count your days, Tank, because they are about to be over.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”

I’m about to ask him what exactly he’s talking about right as I feel a small prick in the side of my neck, and then, everything truly goes dark.

Groaning, I slowly peel one eye open while stretching my neck, feeling a giant, uncomfortable kink in the side. Once I’m coherent again, I register chanting around me, but once again, I see nothing.

I see black. I see him, dark as death itself, the hazy abyss calling to me akin to how it feels to be wrapped in his dark, blissful magic.

Except it’s not him. It’s just a blindfold, and reality comes crashing back.

The Crucible.

Licking my chapped lips, I swipe a tongue full of sand that must have snuck into the bag around my head, swiftly sputtering and spitting.

We’re in the Bubble.

This is it. Life or death. Strangely, I’m not as nervous as I should be.

Instead, a small pit of excitement festers deep in my stomach, a small ball of hope for today being the first obstacle to check off my list in my oath of vengeance for Theo.

A smaller part of me is also buzzing at the thought of being able to wield magic.

Magic had zero sway in my decision to enter the competition, contrary to my opponents, but now that I can practically reach out and grab it, it’s exhilarating. I push the thoughts away and ready my mind and body for this last test.