As I thought he would, he placed the dagger to my wrist, a bead of blood forming where the blade broke my skin. Without a word, he dragged it across, an angry stream falling to the floor. The pain was nothing compared to what I had already endured, barely a wince passing my face. “In the name of Katia, Keeper of the Benevolent Saints.” The brothers repeated the sentiment. The room vibrated. He lifted my chin with a spindly finger, urging me to rise.
Then, without severing his gaze from mine, he pulled my wrist to his mouth and closed his lips around the wound. Horror wrapped its fist around me as I watched him suck the blood from my veins, his pointed fingernails caressing the back of my hand. The brothers were silent behind him. My face heated at the violation, the familiar all-consuming fury pounding against my broken ribs. I was unable to move, unable to pull away.
Ludovicus dropped my wrist, throwing his head back as my blood dripped down his chin, tiny droplets splattering at his feet.
His head dropped forward again, eyes slowly fluttering open. The onyx had somehow grown darker, layers of obsidian and ink and the deepest pits of Hell swirling like a midnight storm. The veins in his eyes swelled until there was no white left — only the colors of death.
“My darling Petra,” he whispered, his voice thick with my blood. “It’s you.” He closed the gap between us but I jumped out of his reach. The brothers were closing in around me as the wound on my wrist oozed. “It’syou.”
My brain swelled with fear as they closed in around me. I scanned all of my escape options, my vision red as I blinked the blood from my eyes that dripped down from my scalp. What had the soothsayer said?Your blood will spill, girl, from your eyes like they’re hoping.
Shit.
I needed to get the dagger, but my skirts were so thick and heavy with blood that I didn’t know if I could raise them quickly enough to grab it. I could attempt to break through the circle of brothers, but I was sure I wouldn’t make it far before being killed or captured. I could attack and hope to injure one severely enough to throw off the others. But then where would I go?
“We’ve been waiting a very, very long time for you, my dear,” he hissed, a crooked smile exposing his blood soaked teeth. “We did it, brothers,” he purred. “And we’ve found you while you’re still human. Absolutely delightful.”Still human?How the fuck could I get this dagger into my hand, into his chest–
All seven doors to the throne room flew completely off their hinges with an ear splitting crack, the wood splintering as the doors hit the floor. Dozens of masked men sprinted in with bows and swords drawn and ready.
A bellowing voice cleaved the air. “Get the fuck on the ground!”