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***
"The wind whispers tales of unseen tragedies. The clouds cry with sorrow as they watch us shatter."
***
His breath is close to my neck, almost as if he is breathing me in. The vibrations in his deep voice travel down my spine-chilling every bone in my body. It's not the kind that I feel from Valentine but one I recognize from being around death. Of course, I would be the first person he would go for. Valentine is too busy killing off Datura's minions to go after him right now.
Lucius' fingers are only inches away from my neck before I twist my entire body to evade his touch. His eyes have turned black, making the hollows of his eyes look more sunken than usual. His evil soul can be identified through the flares in his eyes – a sad, broken and tar-filled nothingness is all I can see.
"Are you ready to die, Saphira?"
He attempts to swipe at me and claw at my neck but I quickly dodge him and kick him in the chest with enough force to send him flying a few feet back. I smile inwardly as I hear a satisfying crack in his chest. I groan in frustration as he swiftly recovers and rises back to his feet. You cannot kill a darkling, they say. Then what happens if I chop his head off?
Lucius lunges at me and a gargled scream tears out of my throat as he managed to break my jaw, almost ripping it off of my head. I bite back a moan from escaping my lips as an intense pain travels through my head and neck. I glare at him before popping my jaw back into place and prepare to attack once again.
"Go to hell," I curse. Somewhere in the distance, I hear the indefinable scoff of the Demon King. I roll my eyes at his lack of maturity and bring my focus back to my current opponent.
The former Vampire King chuckles as he circles me. "You know, I never liked you," he spits. "I don't know what Valentine saw in you."
I grind my teeth and narrow my eyes at him as a warning that I will soon engage in combat.
"Our parents never did approve of any women we brought home but at one point he almost persuaded father. But my parents were heartless creatures with no sense of love or consideration so they cast them out and forced them to find refuge with Augustine. Then, well, I guess you know exactly what happened then, right?"
"I know the damn story, bloodsucker," I reply in vain, still not able to forget the demeaning word I've used countless of times to define their biology. "I'm not sure that you know mine. I was created to kill your kind and tonight, I'll be the first to kill a fucking darkling."
With the last word, I launch myself forward with sword in hand aiming straight for his neck. It was a close call but he quickly moved his feet to evade my attack. I accompany my swings with grunts, bringing a lot of attention to us. I ignore the raging battle around us and make it my solid goal to kill Lucius, even if it takes all night because, without him, Datura is nothing.
I pull back with force and point the tip to his blade right in the hollow of his neck. He gulps deeply as the sharp blade scratches the base of his throat.
"I hope you burn wherever you're going," I snarl.
He frowns at me then starts to click his tongue in a way that makes me want to cut that off too. I don't know what Datura found so appealing about Lucius. Yes, he is just as handsome as his brothers and just as dominating, but there is a trait he possesses that makes you think twice. I push the blade further into his throat and he coughs as his bones dig into his throat, restricting his breathing.
"Why don't you join me so you can see for yourself?"
I dig the blade further into his neck, tearing his flesh and causing blood to spill out and stain his collar.
"Amy, watch out!" I hear to the right of me.
Amy, a girl with Raven hair and olive skin, is knocked over by a Fae's shadow causing her to topple down on me, sending me flying to the side.
The hard impact to on my side knocks me down for the second time tonight. I fall to the ground tasting the dirt in my mouth along with strands of my hair. I spit it out and at the same time attempt to push myself up. A hand helps me up and for a split second, I am grateful that someone was brave enough to get this close to us but once I see their face I immediately regret everything and recoil.
Datura's cold, stiff hand wraps around my wrist, refusing to let me go. I look to where Lucius has stumbled and sigh in relief as Valentine has found his way to him and is on the verge of ripping is head off.
'We can do this, sweetheart.' I remember what he said, what he promised me. I can hear his voice in my head once again and that piece of our connections helps me focus.
"Let go of me," I cry trying to pull my hand away. I push my free hand against her shoulder and pinch down, wanting to crush her whole body under my hand. The longer I am with her the more I am being submerged in darkness and death but I don't let it get in the way. With the negative energy coming out of my body, she grows stiff and releases my hand from her death grip.
Almost immediately, I curl my fingers around her neck and squeeze until her breathing is constricted. "You know why I haven't killed you, Saphira?" She croaks.
"Save it for someone who cares, witch."
"Now, now, darling. I saved you from death. I raised you from your horrible fate. I am the only reason why you are alive – the only reason why you even had the chance with Valentine was that of me," she says, not even caring or even feeling that I have dug my nails into her neck, breaking the skin.
My eyes turn black from her words. I hear a loud and painful grunt coming from behind her and see Valentine being pushed to the ground. I gasp as Lucius takes the same sword I was holding and strikes him in the shoulder, causing Valentine to curl up and grab it. I can see his blood spurt out from the wound and feel my own pain as Lucius twists the sword.
Datura notices my distress and laughs loudly. "He doesn't love you, Saphira. He loves Scarlett. You're just a lost soul that was lucky enough to get her body. Tell me, how does a wandering spirit, like you, manage to gain a body? You must have struck a handsome deal with the devil."
I gulp down her words as if it was sticky syrup and try to search my brain and her face for any reason why she would say that. I find nothing and I almost choke on my words.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She places her cold hands around my wrist. "Of course, you do," she cackles. "Where do you think your soul came from?"
I am rendered speechless by the serious expression o her face and the nagging thoughts in my mind. Is it true what she says? Where did my soul come from? How the hell did I get Scarlett's body?
"I've had enough of your lies, Datura." For some reason, my voice was breaking, indicating my current emotions. I feel my dark power buzz from underneath my fingertips telling me that it wants out. "I'm going to enjoy seeing you defeated."
"No wonder you two got along. You're both so very stubborn. You are darkling, Saphira," she whispers, letting her eyes flash with a bright hue. "I can make you drop back to your grace just as fast as I made you rise."
Without notice, she mutters a curse under her breath and it hits me harder than a car crashing into a wall. It's as cold as ice, sending shivers down my skin. He dark magic travels from the curve of her dark lips to every living cell in my body. It causes my knees to buckle under my weight. I collapse to the ground on all fours, heaving from the pain she's causing to circulate throughout my body.
"Datura," a strong, masculine voice interrupts. "Stop what you're doing or his head comes clean off." Valentine's voice is full of power and dominance as he gives her a threat to kill her beloved husband.
When I focus my eyes on Valentine and Lucius my expression turned into shock. They are both covered in blood, from head to toe. Noticeable rips in their clothing are telling tales of cuts that have already healed. Lucius us both and vampire and a darkling, which makes him strong and extremely hard to kill. Valentine has his arm locked around his brother's neck, holding him in place.
She forces me to let go of her neck and see the red marks I was able to make in her flesh.
"You wouldn't dare," she counters. I half-expected her to release me but her hand remains on my arm, channeling all her dark magic into keeping me still.
Valentine sighs exasperatedly and tightens his hold in Lucius. I am held captive by her magic, which I can feel throughout my entire body. This may be the turning point in this conflict. If we make threats as big as hers, she just might halt this fight, even if it's just for a minute.
"I won't ask again, Datura," he says in his deep booming voice.
"Then kill him," she says blankly.
***
TO BE CONTINUED...
The suspense is killing you, isn't it?
Hahahahaha, jk.
Part 3 is being uploaded in a few hours. You get a double update today. :D