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A hoarse laugh burst out of me. “Protection spell? I don’t need a spell. I’ll just kick your ass like I did Ziva’s.”
Taunting her about her dead sister was not in my best interest, but the insult rolled off my tongue.
Venna rushed toward me, her blonde hair flying behind her. As she reached for my arms, I twisted to the side and then pivoted back around, crushing my fist into her cheek. The demon shuffled away before charging me again.
My heart crashed against my ribs as I ducked the talons that sprouted from her nails, and I rolled across the ground, snatched Logan’s empty glass from the table, and smashed it in her face. Black blood oozed out of the cuts, staining her platinum strands.
The shifter magic within me had seeped forward, sharpening my reflexes and senses. My pupils had probably thinned to slits too. I only hoped the Infernal Sol stayed tucked far below.
She picked a piece of glass out of her cheek and tossed it over her shoulder. The leather ensemble made her look like a supervillain. Or a dominatrix. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a whip.
“You are out of your league, little girl.”
I inched closer to the table, my hands reaching for a chair. “Really? I’m not the one bleeding.”
Venna shoved the table aside, the top shattering when it hit the hardwoods, and she dove for me. I yanked the chair between us to force her back like a lion tamer. She was definitely deadlier than any jungle cat.
“Your sister came after me.” I hit her with the chair. Damn. I could really use a sword right now or a knife dipped in Demise. “Ihadto kill her.”
“And I suppose that brute of a bastard Fane had to kill Lord Karn to save you.” Her long fingers wrapped around the base of the chair, and she snatched it away, tossing it behind her and almost over the balcony. “Looks likeyouare the common variable.”
I crouched and rolled to miss her talons, but when I jumped up, her fingers coiled in my hair and yanked me back. A scream bubbled in my throat, more from frustration than anything. The dark power hiding within me stirred, begging to be unleashed.
No, thanks. I wasn’t desperate enough to let that thing out, especially in front of a royal demon. If Venna sensed what lurked inside of me, Ruin wouldn’t be the only demon lusting for the Infernal Sol.
I twisted, slammed my heel into her knee, and punched her chin. The demon princess staggered back, but she was on me in less than a second. The next thing I knew, I was airborne.
My body hit one of the couches, and it fractured, sending wood, leather, and springs flying.
I tumbled onto the ground within the debris, coughing as my skull and spine throbbed. The music faded while blood thundered in my ears, and black spots popped along the edges of my vision.
Venna’s boots appeared on either side of my head, the colorful lights bouncing behind her. Before I could move, she dropped and pressed her knee into my chest as she grabbed my throat again, careful of the tattoo on the left side.
A fiendish smile pulled at her crimson lips as she traced a finger around the tattoo. “Looks like Fane really marked you. Would he feel it if I flayed the tattoo from your neck?” A manic laugh spilled from her mouth. “I could frame it and send it to him. He’d definitely seek me out after that. And then I’d rip him into tiny pieces to feed my pets.”
“I doubt he’d come just to avenge me.” Part of me, one I tried to ignore, knew that hewouldgo after Venna if she killed me. Maybe because he thought he had some claim on me.
Some of the pain faded, and tendrils of wicked fire swept through my bloodstream as the Infernal Sol’s magic mixed with the shifter inside.
Shit.
“Those eyes… Fane gave you those too.” Venna forced her knee into my throat when I tried to shove her off. “Perhaps I should make you watch while I torture your boyfriend, cut his limbs off, flay his flesh—”
My lips curled back from my gritted teeth. “Good luck imprisoning him,” I choked out. “Even if you could lure him in, you couldn’t keep him.”
Her laughter made my stomach churn. “Ziva was the soft one. I, on the other hand, favor torture and violence over everything. I can and will keep Fane. I will have that hybrid begging for mercy while I make him suffer until nothing is left but a broken, bloodied husk.”
Goose bumps spread over my skin at the images the royal demon forced into my brain. Fane was sprawled on the cold, stone ground in a puddle of blood, bruises and cuts covering him, eyes vacant and body motionless.
Dead.
Gone.
Nothing.
Lava erupted in my center, and I couldn’t shut the door on the dark power fast enough before some of it surged forward. A savage snarl burst out of my mouth, and Venna’s head yanked back.
“Well, that’s—”
