Page 92 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Five

The air crackles.

The commander slowly closes the distance between us, but I don’t let her distract me.

Goosebumps ripple up my arms and the hair stands up along the back of my neck.

I breathe out and the breath condenses in a puff of white.

The commander raises her sword. The movement is like a movie in slow motion.

There is only five, maybe six feet between us and I’d bet her sword could easily close three of those feet.

Snowflakes swirl in the air and another rumble of thunder sounds in the distance.

“Summer Army!” the commander yells. “Hold back. I’ve got this one.” Her dark brows sink over her eyes with menacing glee.

With the commander giving them an order to hold off, I no longer have to worry about the army. I let go of all the rubber bands, and doing so focuses my magic on one spot—on the commander.

Bran would tell me to be patient, even in war.

Not yet, Jessie.

Not yet.

The snow falls thicker.

The commander swings with her sword, but her movements are faster, picking up in speed.

I won’t panic. I will not fear.

Her arrogance will be her undoing.

The sword is just inches from me.

Energy surges up from the ground and a cold wash of power comes over me. It races up my legs and pools in my belly before surging up my chest and then down my arm…where a bolt of ice forms sharp as a blade in my hand.

I sink to my knees. The commander’s blade cuts the air above me, just inches from where I was. And she’s made one vital mistake: she’s left herself completely open.

I heave upward with the ice and it pierces her side. She gives a loud grunt.

I rock back, planting one foot in the ground, using the other knee to brace myself. I shove with more force.

The blade breaks bone. Blood gushes from the wound, down the crystal-clear ice, down my arm.

The commander coughs and blood splatters over her open mouth.

Her eyes get big and she quickly turns pale.

Her sword drops to the ground.

“Looks like you didn’t have this one after all,” I tell her right before she drops to her knees.

Episode One Hundred Five

THE LABYRINTH

There is a moment of silence while the commander hangs on my blade, the life draining out of her.

Her army stands behind, stunned.