Page 7 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

His white shirt had billowed in the wind, his bone amulets emitting a faint purple glow.

I connected the dots on my own, and Blade just confirmed my intuition.

“There has to be a point to all of this,” I said, quieter this time, slowly meeting Kylo’s heartbroken, bloodshot eyes. “I chose life for a reason. I—I did what Hekate asked of me, and what Princeton told me I needed to do in order to reconnect with my power. I’m not blocked anymore.”

Kylo’s frown deepened. “Evie, you have to understand that you were never a pawn. This wasn’t some master plan to recruit you. I broke your trust. And I’m so?—”

“Where is my brother?” I hissed. None of that mattered. It was a distraction from the only thing that meant anything to me right now. I had tomove.

I reached for one of the tubes in my arms.

Kylo grabbed my wrist, thwarting me yet again. “Evie, please,” he said, in a voice I nearly didn’t recognize. “You need to heal. Do you have any idea how close to death you were a few hours ago?They were scared your heart was going to give out.”

“We’re wasting time,” I said, hating the way my lips trembled and voice shook. “I can rest after.”

“Afterwhat?” Kylo snapped, his eyes alight with anger before he took a deep breath. He loosened his grip on my wrist.

“After I turn Idris!” I said, nearly hysterical. Was I speaking a different language? Why weren’t they rushing to help me? This was good for them either way. If they were evil masterminds, then this was their way to ensure I was bound to the clan forever. And if they cared about me at all, they would want to help me save my brother.

“You have to choose to be turned,” Kylo said calmly. “It’s not a way to save a life that’s already been lost.”

“Then Idris will be an exception. Magick is malleable.Mymagick is malleable,” I said, putting on an air of authority that was beautifully foreign. Authority that was necessary.

Authority that wasmine to take.

“He’s just a kid,” Harmony said, stepping closer to us. Her eyes were wide and glassy. “We don’t turn anyone under twenty-five.”

“He’s almost nineteen,” I said. “And this was what he wanted. Kylo knows that—he knows my brother and how much he wanted this.”

Kylo shook his head, and anger boiled my blood. I didn’t understand why they weren’t helping me—why they cared so much about these arbitrary rules. Where was Kylo’s sense of goodness, grace, and nobility when he’d slaughtered Jacob and then lied to me about it for months?

“Evie, you have no idea how sorry I am,” Kylo said fiercely, pleading with his eyes as ifIwere the one who wasn’t listening.“Death is only a part of the ritual—a ritual with a specific protocol that must be followed. Things have to be done in a certain order. It’s not the kind of spell to ad-lib or fuck with—I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when things go wrong. Did Princeton tell you to turn Idris?”

He searched my eyes, knowing I couldn’t lie to save my life.

Rage was sticky and volatile under my skin. My teeth ground together.

Kylo’s exhale was shaky. “Death must be accepted.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” I yelled.

The lights flickered, and black spots erupted in my vision. My stomach lurched, a tendril of shadow leaving my palm and curling upward like a snake poised to strike.

Harmony and Blade stared at the shadow with mouths agape.

Kylo laughed dryly. “Like hell it is, Evie,” he growled. “Like fucking hell it is.”

The fury in his voice made me flinch. It wasn’t something I’d ever heard from him before, especially not directed at me. I hadn’t realized how much it would affect me. It became harder to swallow as I stared at Kylo’s feathering jaw. Tears pricked my eyes, beyond my conscious control. My ribbon of shadow stared at him too, waiting.

His face softened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. I’m sorry, angel.”

I hated the power he still had over me, the way a simple pet name was able to draw such rich, unwanted emotions from my depths.

“If you don’t let me do this…” I began, my desperation overtaking everything else. So many threats ran through my mind all at once, and I weighed each of them for what would hurt Kylo the most.

In the end, I didn’t need to vocalize any of them. Kylo saw it in my eyes—the resoluteness, the immovability. His face crumpled, as if it weremehe was grieving.

I let my shadows bleed. The glass bottles of healing fluids rattled against their trays. The floor trembled.