Page 39 of The Black Lotus (Fatal Florals Duet #2)

THIRTY-TWO

ASTER

I wait a couple of minutes before biting the inside of my cheek, closing my eyes and popping my thumb out of place.

I shouldn’t have waited so long to do this, but I thought Serena would have found me by now, and when Kara started talking about killing her, I knew I was out of time. I needed to act now.

The pain shoots up my arm, my head dizzy even with my eyes closed.

The first and only time I had to do this was when Crumbwell forgot me in the basement and I needed to free myself.

The taste of copper fills my mouth as I strain against the rope, my eyes watering as I pull my hand free.

Fuck, that hurt. With my hand limp and painful, I lean down to free my feet and other hand from the rope.

For someone so smart, she is really stupid with how she keeps her victims tied.

Grabbing some discarded cloth from my shirt, bite down hard and pop the joint back into place, wrapping my hand in the scrap of fabric.

Standing up too quickly, my vision blurs as my body sways. I catch myself on the chair, staring without seeing as the world slowly settles around me. I may be free, but I’m still weak. I slam my fist into the chair, my frustration from how weak I am slipping out of me.

“Took you long enough.”

My head snaps up at the sound of Kara’s voice. When did she walk in? How did I not hear the loud creak of the door?

“What do you mean?” I groan, my knuckles white against the warm wood. I slowly stand, turning to face her.

“You really didn’t think I was stupid enough to tie you down with such an easy way of escaping did you?”

“You wanted me to escape.” I shake my head, not believing her.

She walks into the room, one of her swords skidding across the floor and stopping at my feet. “I wanted to see how long it would take for you to be desperate enough to try.” She draws her sword, staying where she is. “Turns out all I had to do was threaten Serena.”

“Don’t say her name.” I growl, fisting my hands.

A wicked smile flashes in the low light. “Se-re-na,” she says slowly, taunting me with every syllable.

She points her sword toward mine, motioning for me to pick it. I keep my gaze on her as I lean down to retrieve my weapon.

“Let’s see how well you can fight in your condition.”

She lunges, her sword clashing against mine, the sound of metal on metal echoing around us. My arm shakes against her attack, my teeth cracking with the effort I need to hold her back. For someone so tiny her strength is impressive.

We go blow for blow, back and forth, sparks flying around us.

The sweat on my head and chest drips, my blade loose in my grip as my eyes burn.

I want to swipe it away, but that would give her an opening and the look in her eyes tells me this is a fight to the death.

I’m worried this is one fight I might lose, but I know if I want to see Serena again I can’t lose. No matter what.

l position my feet as she jabs and flinch out of the way before her sword can pierce my ribs. Slicing in response, she spins out my way, her kimono swirling as her katana glints in the air around her.

Her sword flashes through the air, grazing my arm, a thin red line appearing. Adrenaline swirls through me, and I swing like my life depends on it. I’ve never fought with a sword before, but I’m finding I’m a natural when it means life or death.

I land a shot on her leg, the slice doing nothing to the momentum she has.

I stagger as I blink, my hazy vision giving her an opening to slice my arm again.

I don’t have time to react, so I shake my head and press forward.

She brings her blade up and I block her strike, crossing my arms above my head.

Her sword slices my other arm, but before she can cut through my flesh I swipe my foot under hers, sending her crashing to the ground.

My chest rises and falls erratically as I step over her and I can see the panic swirling in her eyes. She swipes the air as I smack her sword away with mine, her grip loosening as it goes skittering across the room and I pin my sword to her chest.

“Any last words?” I ask, pressing the blade deeper, blood seeping into her kimono.

She looks up at me with half her face covered by her hair. “Did you know Serena is alone with your sister right now?”

“You’re lying,” I grit out as my grip on my sword tightens.

“I’m not. I’ve been watching them. They have teamed up trying to locate you.”

I scoff. “If that was true, Zephira would have found me by now.”

Her head lolls as an evil chuckle slips past her lips. “The Man-Eater. The woman who matches me in my hacking skills. Well, I thought she did. Until she had to ask your mother who took you.”

Her tongue glides across her lip as if she was tasting my fear. My hand twitches, the grip on my katana loosening. She did what? I search Kara’s eyes for any lies, but find none.

“No,” I breathe out, stumbling backwards.

“Yes!” she cackles, getting to her knees as she stands. “She told her my name. But lucky for me she never knew my true name.” Her eyes go wild as her hands fly through the air. “Without that information, no one can find me. No one can save you.”

I slam my hand to her chest, pushing her up against the wall and angle the sword to her throat. “If that’s true then why hasn’t she used my kidnapping to her advantage? Why hasn’t Zephira tried to kill Serena?”

She wraps both hands around the blade as blood drips down her arms. “She isn’t allowed to.” I press the blade deeper, the tip of the sword disappearing into her flesh. “Your mother has plans for Serena. Plans I won’t tell you no matter what you do to me,” she chokes out.

I pull the sword away from her neck, her hands falling at her sides as she laughs at me. What does my mother have planned? I step away from Kara as negative thoughts plague my mind of what else my mother is capable of that she hasn’t done already.

Kara uses the distraction to her advantage as she runs towards me with no weapons, shrieking.

I quickly lift my blade and silence her scream by piercing her stomach, the steel sliding smoothly through her flesh.

She wheezes, spitting up blood. “I knew you’d be the one to kill me one day,” she coughs with a sad smile, “Tell your mother to go to hell.”

I push the blade all the way through, watching her eyes flutter before she falls over. I bring two fingers to her neck, needing to check that her pulse has truly stopped.

“She will meet you there,” I tell her dead body before looking around for anything to clean my DNA from this room.

Limping to the door, I find a room full of screens. She wasn’t lying. This place wasn’t random; it’s her lair. One screen has my breath hitching when I see Serena and Zephira sitting at a laptop in the living room looking like they’re bonding.

I touch her face, the image distorting under the pressure. “I’ll be home soon,” I whisper.

Serena looks up, like she heard me and I gasp. The other screen shows the room I was in. She really was always watching me.

I find a cloth and gloves and walk back into my cage to wipe my fingerprints off everything and place Kara’s hands around the katana piercing her stomach, making it look as if she’d taken herself out.

I pick up every piece of shredded clothing I can find, then find a broom to clean up anything I missed.

Looking at the blood stains on the ground, I walk back into the room, searching for any type of cleaning supplies.

After what feels like forever, I find a small bottle of bleach. Thanking whichever god is listening, I go back and scrub away all of the evidence, taking small breaks in between to catch my breath. My body is exhausted and I need rest, but I also need to push through.

Once I’m satisfied with my work, I look for an exit but find none. If she’s anything like me, there must be a secret doorway. I start clicking buttons, moving things around but find nothing.

I plop into the chair as exhaustion begins taking over me, placing my elbows on my knees to rest my head on my hands and catch my breath.

No, I need to find a way out. Getting up once more on shaky legs, I look at the ground and notice scuff marks by a bookshelf.

Wrapping my one good hand around the frame, I pull as hard as I can, watching with relief as the shelf slowly drags open revealing an opening.

I stumble through, a living room greeting me.

This is a house, her secret location was in her own house.

She really wanted to be like my parents .

I pass a long hallway with several doors I don’t care to go into, heading straight for the kitchen.

Relief floods me as I open the fridge with my gloved hands and find a shelf full of water. It could be poisoned, but with how thirsty I am, I twist the cap and down three bottles back-to-back.

Once I’m satisfied, I look for keys. My legs wobble the more I search, my body on its last leg. I can’t rest. I can’t give up. I need to make it home.

Stumbling to the front door, I see a little hanger full of keys. Should’ve looked here first. I grab the set that has a little fob and click the unlock button, listening for the sound of a car. I hear it further into the house which tells me the car is in the garage.

Slowly, I make my way back down the long hall, clicking the button again and noticing a door I failed to see the last time. Relief floods me as I swing it open to find the garage and Kara’s car.

Getting in, I slam the door and look at the GPS to see where I am. I don’t recognize the name of the city I’m in, but, according to her home address, I’m still in Massachusetts.

Instead of punching in my address, which the cops could trace, I type the address of somewhere I know I can get home to by heart.

The little voice tells me my estimated time of arrival is two hours. I smack both of my cheeks to shake away the drowsiness begging to pull me under as I grip the steering wheel and pull out of the garage and speed onto the empty road.

Hang on, Serena, I’m coming.