There’s a venom inside of us that only releases when a victim is close to…dying. It’s involuntary, a product of our true nature as predators and it’s the only thing that can transform a human…
These circumstances were far from ideal with near-death on the agenda, but what choice did they have?
Ginny bucked and twisted in his arms, drawing more laughter from the High Order. Elias came forward, as if to get a better view of Ginny and Jonas, but he was pulled away by three guards. Past Larissa.
Larissa.
It didn’t seem possible that her flighty stepmother had been the figure in the crimson robe that appeared in her dreams and was now working for the High Order. That her prediction had nearly been the catalyst for Ginny’s murder.
Twice.
It made sense now, why Larissa never seemed to age. Although…why had she tried so hard to convince Ginny to leave Coney Island with her? To keep her away from Jonas, and thus the wrath of the High Order? Had Larissa been truthful about loving Peter Lynn? Ginny hoped so. Badly. The wool being pulled over her own eyes was one thing, but Larissa duping her sweet father was unacceptable. Ginny couldn’t think of that now, though. There was too much on the line. Her future with Jonas. His life. Hers. And she could only keep up the pretense of struggle for so long before the High Order realized she’d been acting.
“Look at him. Suddenly back to being so noble.” The king’s disgust was palpable. “Thank goodness the prophecy has amended itself. This council would never have survived under his weak leadership.”
“You are stronger than anyone I’ve ever known,” Ginny whispered, pushing up to speak right against Jonas’s ear. “Jonas. Now or never.”
They locked eyes briefly and she tried her best to communicate her total confidence in him. How rock solid it was. How much she loved him. He must have translated her look correctly, because he took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, as if soaking in her words in as deeply as he could.
When he opened them again, they shone like emeralds.
Whereas minutes ago, he’d been ashen, barely able to stay on his feet, he resembled a determined warrior now. Fierce. Unbeatable.
He tilted Ginny’s head to one side and leaned down, pausing with his fangs an inch from her neck. “Please forgive me for the pain. Stay with me through it all. Stay with me.”
“Eternally.”
His fangs slid into the thick vein of Ginny’s neck and her limbs turned limp. She gasped at the ceiling, recognizing the difference instantly in the way Jonas took her blood. It was fast and ferocious and purposeful. He’d been afraid of killing her before, but now…in a way, killing her was the point.
Dizziness assailed Ginny, her eyelids growing heavy. Jonas’s hand twisted in the material of the hotel maid uniform Elias had stolen for her to wear, pulling her ever closer, his gruff sounds of satisfaction turning into desperate growls. This was it. The change he’d told her would come over him—his true nature as a predator. She wouldn’t be around for much more of it, because her vision was already growing dim and she couldn’t feel her feet, her hands, her lips.
Her head lolled backward and she caught sight of Larissa creeping backward into the shadows, pulling the hood back over her head. Maybe Ginny’s lack of blood had her imagining things, but she swore the seer gave her a quiet nod.
“Enough,” said the king, but of course, Jonas didn’t listen. At being ignored, Clarence’s fist rapped off the throne and made Ginny’s head pound. “Enough.”
Whispers rose like a funnel cloud in the hall.
He’s turning her.
He’s turning her to circumvent the rule.
A searing pain ripped into her neck and Ginny bit down on a whimper, but it wouldn’t be contained and it turned into a full-fledged scream. Jonas almost broke away then, but she somehow found the strength to reach up and hold him fast. With a choppy sound of alarm, laced with definite hunger, he pulled deeply of her blood, taking her all the way down to the floor and quite simply preying on her, his full weight pinning her to the carpet.
The pain in her neck dulled.
Everything dulled.
A light appeared in front of her eyes and helplessly, Ginny followed it—
Jonas’s weight left her suddenly and in the hazy distance, she heard a loud crash. Someone picked her up and wind licked at her skin, before she was set down once more. When she managed to crack open an eyelid, she found herself at the bottom of the wide staircase she’d come down…hours ago? Minutes?
The numbness inside her dropped out and the pain lashed back in, holding her organs hostage in a clenched fist. Her mouth opened on a silent scream and she started to shake. Was this it? Was it happening?