Page 171 of Kiss of Seduction

Blood poured from his nose and mouth. Then his eyes and ears. It ran out of him as Evie pulled out the hairpin and stabbed him again. His pores turned bloody, producing a flow of constant red from every orifice as Evie stabbed the monster from her nightmares over and over again.

She kept stabbing him even when he was no longer moving. Even when she was blind from tears and was just plunging a stake into a mess of flesh and torn fabric. She kept staking Stefano until her arms were too tired to keep going.

Chapter 47

Evie washed the blood off her body in the bathroom. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking as she did, and she had to scrub for several minutes to get the traces of scarlet out from under her fingernails. It left her skin looking red and raw.

Taking off her now bloody clothes, leaving the sweatshirt and jeans on the floor, Evie stripped down to just her underwear. Pretty red lingerie. The kind Varro preferred and the kind Stefano would have put her in when he was done with her. She couldn’t quite stifle the bleeding from the fang marks in her neck, but it didn’t matter. It sold her role as an enthralled slave better.

The wooden hairpin had snapped when she used it on Stefano. It was useless now, one less means of defense. Trying to calm herself, Evie pressed her tongue against the ampoule still in her mouth. She’d almost broken it when Stefano fed on her, and she was thankful she hadn’t. Unarmed, weak, and bleeding, the littlecylinder was the only thing she could actively defend herself with. And she could only use it once.

Knowing her hour was coming to an end more rapidly than she’d like, Evie exited the guest room and started towards the east wing.

She encountered several people on the way. Human guards and a few vampires. They all ignored her as she walked the halls barefoot, eyes downcast and shaking all over. They were used to seeing frightened slaves. As long as she walked with purpose, they all assumed she’d either been summoned or that she was returning to her chamber to rest.

It was difficult to walk with purpose. She wanted to turn tail and run.

She’d already assumed Natalya was in the east wing. She’d assumed Dominic would be with her too, but he was just a man. A man who wanted her. Evie had planned to use that for her benefit, letting him believe she wanted him too, and then seize an opportunity as soon as his guard was down. She hadn’t expected Varro to be there as well.

He had Natalya. According to Stefano, he was making her scream. Knowing that helped, in a dark, frightening way. It was easier to walk with purpose when you were angry rather than afraid.

As each step brought her closer to the east wing, a new plan formed in her mind. She came up with lines in her head, whispering them under her breath as she walked and hoping they would be believable when spoken aloud.

They had to be. Otherwise, she’d never see a sunrise again.

Natalya let out yet another scream as arcane pain surged through her again. It was akin to being stabbed with the fiend-fixed dagger, except her entire body suffered this agony. It was like everything inside her had been set on fire.

“Why is the East Coast attacking now?” Varro said. It was the fifth time he’d asked that question.

“I don’t know!” The same answer she’d given the previous times.

“I believe she’s being truthful, Varro.” Dominic was sitting at his desk, feet up on the table, playing with the knife that had killed the lesser Lust fiend. “We did summon her awfully quick after Envy got back. It’s likely she wasn’t part of the replanning effort.”

“They aren’t supposed to be attacking until days from now,” Varro said.

“They probably panicked and moved up the date.” Dominic looked bored. “Just follow the plan and keep your fangs near home. Then when the Chains roll in, you can tear them to pieces at your leisure. If they’re attacking before being ready, they’re probably scrambling. Good for you, no?”

“I was hoping we’d have more information before such a thing happened. That we’d know exactly what forces the Chains would be sending.” Varro glared at Natalya. “Fane, would you make her stopwailing!? It’s making it impossible to think.”

Dominic dismissed the pain with a wave, and Natalya fell back on the floor, gasping in relief.

She was being purposefully difficult. Though she couldn’t deny a direct question from either Varro or Dominic, she could make them work for an answer. It meant Varro was annoyed and that Dominic frequently summoned pain for her. It didn’t matter. Not if it meant they’d know less about the Chains.

There was also another thing distracting her. Fear. Not her own, but Evie’s. For the past several hours, Evie had been terrified. Now, she was so scared it was impossible to ignore.

“Are you done?” Dominic asked, playing with the knife. It was obvious he didn’t know how to wield it properly. “I have questions of my own.”

Varro started pacing. “I don’t like not being in the know.”

“We are of similar mindsets. Why do you think my first summon was a being of Envy?” Dominic looked at Natalya. “Lust, how many fiends are at the Court of Chains?”

She knew the exact number. She didn’t want to give it to him. “A few.”

Dominic narrowed his eyes. “Be specific.”

“Specific for when? The number changes frequently. Fiends come and go. I don’t know which number you want.”

Dominic’s glare turned into a scowl. He waved at her again, and she fell back, screaming against the pain he instilled in her. They’d talked since nightfall. Several hours. She’d been in pain for most of that time.