“Your blood healed me from the venom. It might help me regain enough strength to use magic.”
I didn’t know if it was my blood or Evren’s antidote that had healed him, but there was no time to argue. I pushed down my revulsion and offered him my bleeding palm. Our eyes met as he drank from me, and there was something intense and almost erotic about the act. It meant he trusted me, and I him.
Casimir pulled away abruptly, his maw wet with my blood, his eyes narrowed on something—or—someone behind me. Seizing the silver blade from my hand, he stood and plunged it into the throat of an unknown Daemon who had appeared directly behind me.
“No love lost where I’m concerned, Lazarus.” He spat onto the floor where the Daemon choked on his own blood.
“Come on,” I urged him. “We need to help August and get out of here.”
He nodded. We hurried past the recovering Daemons, avoiding their grasping fingers as we made our way toward the dais. Gwen was nowhere to be seen, and neither, as it happened, were Veronika, Evren, or Devereaux. I felt a pang of regret as I noticed that theBook of Ereboswas missing from the table. Obviously, Devereaux had grabbed the Book before fleeing. Had Veronika ushered Gwen to safety as she’d promised, or had they run into trouble?
Casimir’s mouth was tight as he surveyed the bloody scene on the dais. Neha’s large brown eyes were wide and unseeing, her lips parted in a silent gasp. He knelt in front of August to inspect his wound, his large body obscuring the blood and gore. I was grateful for it.
“Hurry,” I said. “We need to get help, we need?—!”
Casimir’s voice was strangely devoid of emotion. “He’s dead, Farrow.”
A surreal numbness settled over me. Augustcouldn’tbe dead, not after everything we’d done these past few weeks to save him from this fate. I’d interrupted the blood ritual. I’d stolen, lied, and plotted with a sprite—I’d evenkilleda Daemon—all in the hopes that August and I would walk away from the Grotto tonight—if not unscathed, then at least alive. The loss of him cleaved through me like a blade.
“No.” I shook my head. “He can’t be dead. He just needs?—”
Casimir seized my hand, dragging my fingers to press against August’s pulse point. No heartbeat behind his flesh, which had gone cold. I jerked my hand away resentfully.
“I’m sorry, Arden. We were too late.”
“No.” It was childish to argue about something as irrevocable as death, but I argued all the same. “We can’t leave him here.”
“Farrow,” Casimir snapped. “We need to go.Now.”
In a daze, I let him drag me down the stairs and into the frigid night air. We made it as far as the campus grounds before a voice broke through the darkness.
“Arden? Arden, please help me.” Cold dread trickled down my spine. I spun around to see?—
Gwen?
Her beautiful burgundy dress was torn at the waist, her eyes wide and terrified.
“Gwen!” I exclaimed. “Thank the gods! Are you okay?” I moved to rush to her side, but Casimir held me back with his free arm.
“Stop,” he ground out. “That’s not Gwen Riordan.”
I froze. And indeed, the familiar taste of metal grazed along my lips and coated my tongue as I watched Gwen approach in the clearing. Not Gwen. Then it must be?—
“Zhara,” I corrected myself. The Morpher. “What’ve you done with Gwen?” My voice trembled from terror and white-hot fury.
“Kindly get the fuck out of our way,” Casimir growled.
She snickered. “Or what?” Zhara’s eyes flashed, a feline smile spreading over her full lips. “You have something that belongs to me.”
My heart sank. Of course. She wanted the Umbra Noctis, the obsidian dagger currently strapped to my thigh.
She watched the pair of us with a predatory gaze as she paced about the lawn, edging ever closer.
“We don’t have it,” Casimir said automatically.
But Zhara ignored him. “Did poor Augustus bleed out already? A shame, I’m going to miss having someone to play with.” She smiled like a Cheshire cat, her sharp teeth gleaming.
My vision went red. The desire to hurt Zhara for whatever she’d done to Gwen to morph into her body, for mocking August’s death, filled me like flames in the hollow of my grief. I wanted to gut her right here in this clearing and leave her body for the crows.