Page 27

DON’T LET THEM MOVE

GRACE

S ebastian is moving faster than he ever has with me in his arms. It’s nauseating, the way the world spins, colors blurred and noises distorted. I’d expected him to wrap my hand, to say something irritable. Instead, he’d thrown me over his shoulder and run without uttering a single word.

I press my face against Sebastian’s back, bloodied hand gripping the crisp white of his long-sleeved shirt. It’s too disorienting to watch the space around us, and I study the way my blood spreads over his clothes. I can’t remember a time I’ve bled like this.

“No!” Sebastian screams, slamming to a stop. If it weren’t for his grip over my legs, I would’ve flown right off his shoulder. His voice is unrecognizable, more of a roar than anything else. “Don’t you fucking?—”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his command. Something slams against his chest—and my legs. Sebastian doesn’t move, but I do. I fling to the hardwood floor, landing hard on my hands and knees.

By the time I rotate onto my butt, too much has happened for me to comprehend.

All I know is a vampire lies across from me, his head separated from his body.

The vampire’s eyes are bloodshot, the skin around his mouth and eyes pale, almost translucent.

Even in death, they’re staring at me, as if desperate for a taste.

Sebastian stands over the man, his mouth and throat coated in dark blood.

Dead. Sebastian just killed that guy, and it was undoubtedly my fault.

“I’m sorry—” I start, but Sebastian doesn’t let me finish the thought.

I’m already back in his arms, and we’re moving again. This time, he holds me bridal style, between his arms, as we sprint once more. I realize I still don’t know where we are. I should have looked, should have paid better attention.

“I’ll kill you!” Sebastian screams, pausing again. “Another fucking step, and you’re all dead.”

I tense, curling myself tighter against his shoulder. All ?

“Master,” a voice says. Feminine, light, but unfamiliar. “Please?—”

“Go!” he roars.

I bury my face into his shirt and cover my face with my hand. The blood smears over my cheek, warming my skin, taunting me.

Do something , I beg myself. Don’t just sit here, waiting to die.

I don’t know how many vampires we were originally up against, only that we are far outnumbered now. Three in front of us, blocking the way toward my cell. Behind us, there are at least two more. Sebastian shifts his stance, keeping both within our frame of sight.

“Don’t make me,” is Sebastian’s final warning .

Somehow, even before a single one has moved, I know his words are in vain.

I focus on the three in front of us. A pale woman with brunette hair, twisted in ringlets. A dark-skinned woman with braids. A man with a buzz cut and a dramatically broken nose. As I study them, I channel my magic to my palms.

The brunette woman moves first. I twist in her direction, throwing my hands, palms out. I even close my eyes, channeling Cora’s advice.

It doesn’t stop her.

That’s Sebastian, who somehow holds me with one hand and catches her neck with the other. I open my eyes just in time to see his teeth sink into her throat. Her blood splatters across my face, mixing with my own.

“Put me down,” I tell him. “I can help!”

I expect him to resist, to pull me closer.

Instead, he drops me immediately. I’m shaking hard enough my knees fail, and I stumble onto all fours. Sebastian stands in front of me, putting me between him and the wall.

The woman’s lifeless body would be enough to keep any sane person from attacking, but the remaining vampires don’t hesitate. They charge forward, all at once now, eyes wild and locked on me.

My heart beats painfully against my ribs. It feels as though I’m being punched from the inside out. I don’t let myself dwell on the fear or the pain or anything beyond keeping myself alive.

To their knees , I tell myself. Drop them to their knees, and don’t let them move.

Sebastian is overtaken. I don’t look at him, only at the ferocious vampires clinging to his arms and body. The dark- skinned woman is clawing his chest and throat. Her eyes are on me, so distant I’m not sure she’s fully aware of what she’s doing.

I start with her. I focus on those dead, distant eyes before closing my own. Magic pulses beneath my skin. I can feel it—not just its presence, but its shape, as if my adrenaline has sharpened it into something tangible.

My arms shake as I push the magic toward the woman. She releases Sebastian, letting out an animalistic grunt as she slams to her knees. Her brow scrunches, and a pathetic wail pulls at her lips.

It takes everything, every ounce of concentration, every strained breath, to keep her on her knees. She’s bowed before Sebastian’s feet, as if praying to his altar. And with one hand still aimed at her, I do the same to the man with a buzzcut. He’s harder to contain, especially one-handed.

He is a rabid dog, ripping against my magic like it’s his chain.

Blood splatters.

Another man’s head hits the floor, and seconds later, it’s joined by yet another. They must be the two from behind us. I don’t recognize their faces, but their eyes are as haunted, as empty as the two still alive.

“Fuck,” Sebastian growls. “Good job, Grace.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

The man is dead before I finish the question.

“Master—”

The woman is dead before she finishes hers.

We’re surrounded by mangled, decapitated corpses. Five of them. Six if you count the one from minutes ago.

Six lives, vampire or not, are gone because of me .

“I’m sorry,” I say again. Back to trembling, cowering, even though I know it wasn’t my fault, not really .

“Come, little witch,” he says.

I’m back in his arms, eyes closed, only opening them when I hear Oskar’s voice.

“Hells!” he shouts. “What happened?”

“Get Cora!” is Sebastian’s only response.

He hauls us into my cell. Slams the door. Falls back against it. I’m still in his arms, but I don’t try to get down at first, and he doesn’t loosen his hold.

“Sebastian,” I whisper finally.

My feet hit the floor, but his hand lingers around my side, fingers brushing the sliver of skin between my shirt and shorts.

Maybe it’s the adrenaline.

Maybe it’s the near-death experience.

Maybe it’s the stricken look on Sebastian’s face, like he was terrified for me .

It’s stupid, to believe it had anything to do with me. I know what I am to him: a device. A weapon. A curse breaker.

None of that keeps me from grabbing his collar. From pressing my bloodied hand to his hair, pulling his mouth against mine.

There’s a momentary pause, when Sebastian’s lips are motionless, hard. Just as I’m about to pull away, he breaks.

He surges forward, slamming me against the wall. It is only his hand that keeps my head from hitting stone. He shifts, cupping my face with both hands, tipping my chin the way he wants. He kisses me like he’s been waiting his whole life for this one moment.

I may have started this kiss, but there’s no doubt who’s in control now.

Sebastian growls—literally, freaking growls—into my mouth. His tongue dominates mine. Exploring. Tasting. Claiming. All the while, he’s pressing closer, one hand wandering down my side, skimming over my breast, until it reaches my hip. His hand lingers there, tracing the exposed skin.

A pathetic moan vibrates my lips, and I’m too desperate to feel embarrassed.

Sebastian grunts in response and shoves his thigh roughly between my legs.

It’s instinctual, unavoidable, the way my hips seek his.

I’m shamelessly grinding against his leg, moaning and trembling, like I’ve never been touched before.

I let out another breathy moan, and Sebastian’s mouth trails from mine to my cheek, to my jaw.

I lean into him, only for him to slam me back against the wall. This time he doesn’t catch my head. I open my eyes, stunned, expecting to see a mocking grin, for him to taunt me and my pathetic desperation.

Instead, I am alone. He’s gone, and I am alone, trapped with my racing thoughts and a bleeding palm.

I stare at the place he stood only moments ago, and finally, the realization of what I’ve done crashes into me.

Embarrassment and shame flood through me, chilling every inch of my body and settling into the deepest corners of my heart.