Page 171 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

54

EVIE

Maybe it made me a coward, but I chose not to see the coven in the wake of Gwendolyn’s death. I didn’t want to intrude. I wasn’t one of them.

I also felt responsible no matter what Kylo said.

I wrote to them my condolences and promised that I would take care of the killer. I would attend the vigil and death rites. I’d be there for them after I killed Juliette. It wouldn’t fix what had already happened, but maybe it would help.

Or maybe it would merely allow me to look into Amy’s eyes without shattering into a million jagged pieces.

In front of the mirror where Kylo had first shown me my tattoos, Kylo slipped a dagger into a fabric holster on my upper thigh. The weapon met Hekate’s tattoo of a serpent coiled around a key. When Kylo touched me, the snake came alive as always, shining with iridescent magick. Flowers bloomed in shades of pink and violet. His hands skimmed my leg reverently before kissing my hip. He pulled my deceptively sweet skirt back down, a piece of blush satin and tulle with a matching corset.

“You remember what we practiced last week? Where to strike with poison for the quickest paralysis?”

“Yes, Kylo,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I remember everything you’ve ever taught me.”

Our training sessions were ripe in my mind. I would never be quicker than a vampire, but my dagger was fused with violet bane—my new-and-improved version of blood onyx. I’d even consecrated the blade itself in the name of Hekate. I’d done several protection rituals, preparing myself for this final mission before war.

Kylo didn’t support my plan, yet he’d helped me craft it anyway. He and a team of top fighters would be waiting nearby, more than the first two visits. Kylo held back on making rash decisions after Aster tasted my blood, but I no longer expected him to do so if my life was on the line.

The stakes had never been higher. Guilt had become a second, ill-fitting skin, unshakable no matter what decision I made. I was sleep deprived, plagued by visions of Princeton and Gwendolyn all night. Terrified as they’d taken their last breaths. Eyeless.

Dead.

Sometimes I saw Amy, spreading out her handmade tarot cards as witches gathered around her. The bright defiance of youth in her green irises.

My mission tonight was to kill Juliette and only Juliette. Quickly and quietly. And then to leave or escape by any means necessary. Earle wouldn’t declare war over a dead wife. Killing lords, on the other hand, might trigger what we weren’t ready for.

I couldn’t plan for all possibilities. But I hoped to take care of this in a way that made it look like a disappearance, at least temporarily. Anything to buy the Serpent Clan more time. Plan B was riskier, and it was a plan I’d been dissuaded against.

Plan B was to accept Conrad’s offer to remove Juliette from the picture under Aster’s nose.

I ran through the plot over and over. Kylo grilled me on defensive techniques. Idris swallowed down his anger to give me his best fighting tips. Vesper told me more about Conrad, and Clarke shared wisdom from his time working in a born feeding club.

Stun powder was loaded into a hollow rose quartz pendant. A tiny pen and note were tucked into a hidden corset pocket.

Kylo thumbed my silver, discreet collar as I said my goodbyes.

“Let me come,” Idris blurted. “Let me be a part of the extraction team.”

I glanced at Kylo for help, my heart sinking.

“I’m sorry, Idris. Not this time. It’s safer for Evie if you stayed back. You would be a distraction.”

The harsh words hung in the air between them. At first, Idris looked like he was going to fight Kylo. Surprisingly, he chose to nod instead.

He exhaled, hugging me a second time as he cursed. “Please be careful. I need you.”

I hugged him tight. “I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When I pulled back, for a moment, I saw the little boy who’d blossomed under Mena’s care. The boy who’d gone from cowering in fear to playing with toy knights and sticking up for me when the neighborhood kids made fun of my country accent—the accent we’d both buried with the other ghosts.

“No more running,” I whispered. “Thank you for giving me a reason to stay.”

He grinned. “I think I share that victory.” He angled his head toward Kylo.

Kylo watched me like a devoted sentinel, deceptively stoic before the small crowd that had gathered. It was only after I’d hugged Vesper, Blade, and Harmony that we broke off from the rest of the team.