Page 49 of The Nightmare Bride

C old hit the back of my neck like an icy hand.

Vick smiled, as foxlike as ever. “Well, well. Isn’t this interesting? It turns out I was right about this house having secrets.”

When his eyes dropped to my belt, my heartbeat skipped. My hand found my dagger, as if I could shield it from the cut of those green eyes.

“You know,” he said, “magic like that would be useful in the swamp. Indispensable, even. What could I achieve, with Zephyrine at my disposal? How many people could I help?”

I shuddered. He sounded...hungry.

“This knife’s mine,” I said.

“Not for much longer.” Vick swung his legs off the bed and stood.

But his bearing wobbled. Clearly, the magic I’d zapped into him yesterday hadn’t left him entirely unaffected.

Behind me, the bathroom door opened, and Kai appeared in my peripheral, clad in white. He inhaled sharply. “Vick.”

“Kai.” Vick’s tone was cold.

“Why’re you here? What do you want?”

Vick laughed. “Want? To leave this horrible house, mostly. But to do it with your girlfriend’s dagger. And this book. Imagine what everyone will think when I come back with these.”

My composure frayed. He could not take the dagger. It was my failsafe for Amryssa—the power to protect her, given physical form. “No. Over my dead body.”

Vick’s eyebrows rose, his hand straying to his sword.

Okay. That had probably been a poor choice of words.

Kai stepped in front of me. “If you so much as look at my wife,” he said, “I’ll gut you.”

Vick laughed. “Oh? And with what sword skills? The ones you’ve played at on stage?” He made a few mock slashes and parries in the air.

Kai’s pearlescent tailcoat glinted in the sunlight. “I don’t need skill. I’m taller than you, and stronger. And you’re looking somewhat worse for wear, my friend. Legs a bit wobbly, this morning?”

Vick’s lips peeled back in a snarl. “I never liked you. You always thought you were so special. Swooping in and talking Charley into putting you in charge when we all know it should’ve been me.”

“I know no such thing,” Kai said. “And if you ask me, you want it for all the wrong reasons.”

Vick sneered, but the insult had clearly landed, because a moment later, he charged.

A shriek tore from my chest as Kai surged forward. They collided in a whirl of flexing limbs and labored breaths. Vick swung; Kai swung back. Fists connected, followed by grunts of pain.

Fear slicked my insides. I could hardly tell what was happening, only that Kai seemed to have a minor advantage.

Or he would have, if he hadn’t been so focused on keeping Vick’s sword in its sheath.

Every time the man went for his blade, Kai wrenched his hand away.

Which told me that if the blade came out, this would be over.

I edged sideways and grabbed a candelabra off my vanity. I resolved to whack Vick over the head with it, cause some damage. But they were grappling in earnest now, the fight carrying them out of the room and down the hall.

I dashed after them. Amryssa’s door creaked open as I passed. Olivian emerged, shouting for someone to explain themselves.

At the top of the spiral stair, I slowed, because Kai had Vick’s chest pinned to the wall. “I want you gone,” he growled. “Not just from this house, but out of Oceansgate. I’ll name someone else as my successor. Anyone but you.”

Vick’s expression darkened. Kai took him by the scruff and marched him down the stairs. I dropped the candelabra and followed, my breath a fiery torrent. We would throw Vick out. Tell Merron and the stewards to make sure he didn’t come back.

And it would’ve worked, maybe, if Vick hadn’t halted at the top of the grand staircase, forcing Kai to stop with him. When Vick turned his head, chilly calculation flashed in his eyes.

“Watch out,” I warned. “He’s going to?—”

Too late. Vick flung himself down the steps, taking Kai with him.

They tumbled, limbs tangling. Kai’s coattails pinwheeled as bodies thudded against the carpeted stairs. I winced and bolted after them, coming to a halt when they settled at the bottom.

Because somehow, Vick had unsheathed his sword.

And now he stood behind Kai, his blade pressed to my husband’s throat.