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Authors: Jeaniene Frost, Sharie Kohler
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woods like the back of his hand, he was only a quarter demon like me. So if I couldn’t see, then he couldn’t see—
The truth hit me right between the eyes, but unfortunately, so did the large overhanging branch that Jack saw in time to duck from and I didn’t.
My last thought before lights exploded in my mind was,
Pureblood…
Chapter Six
Icy water splashed over me. I came back into consciousness with a jerk, my senses sluggish but instinct warning me of danger. Remembering what had happened before my eyes even opened, I reached for my weapons but realized my hands were bound.
“Yep, that woke her,” Jack’s familiar voice noted with an undercurrent of laughter.
My gaze swung around as I tried to orient myself. It was very dark, but I could make out Jack standing several feet away on the edge of a river. I was
in
that river, getting chilled to the bone from the frigid water, someone big holding me in a tight grip from behind.
Must be Rafael,
I realized, the sinking sensation in my stomach increasing until it felt like my gut had descended to my knees. I hadn’t toldJack anything about Rafael that Jack hadn’t already known, because Jack was a Pureblood, too. What if
all
the guards in Nocturna were Purebloods? Hell, what if half the population was, Partials being slowly weeded out under the watchful eye and instruction of its centuries-old ruler?
At least my family knows about Rafael
, I thought with a pang. When I didn’t come back, they’d tell other Partials, too. Enough that even Rafael and his people wouldn’t be able to suppress them forever. It wasn’t the most compelling legacy to leave behind, but it was all I had.
“Best patrolman in Nocturna, huh, Jack?” I said bitterly while Rafael dragged me deeper into the river. I tried not to panic, not to wonder if drowning hurt, because I wanted to die fighting, not begging. “No wonder you were always first to discover who crossed over. You could see in the dark, you filthy Pureblood.”
“Aw, Mara, don’t be pissy,” Jack said in a chiding tone. “I told you to quit coming back looking for Ashton, but no, you just wouldn’t listen.”
“So it’s
my
fault you’re a murdering prick who devours the life essence out of
children
?” I spat, trying to kick even though my feet were bound, too.
I could barely see him now, but it looked like Jack shrugged. “I gotta eat just like you do. Can’t help it if my food is Partials.”
“All this talk of food is making me hungry,” a voice I hadn’t expected purred near my ear.
Every muscle in me stiffened. It wasn’t Rafael yanking me deeper into the river but Ashton!
I looked around again, but all I saw was the two of them. “Where’s Rafael?” I asked, my voice almost eerily calm.
Ugly laughter came from behind me. “Nowhere near here, baby. He doesn’t even know about this barrier, but thanks to you, now we know where another one is, too. Once we get rid of Rafael, we’ll have our choice of a few different barriers to play with. I can’t wait.”
“Get rid of Rafael…,” I repeated, my eyes closing in the agony of revelation. Whatever Rafael had been doing hiding those barriers, he hadn’t been involved with Ashton. Or with Jack, or possibly with
any
other Pureblood.
And I’d used him, tricked him, drugged him, and now set him up with my family to take the fall. Drowning all of a sudden seemed too good an end for me.
What had I done?
I didn’t have long to wallow in revulsion overmy actions before Ashton’s hand clamped over my mouth, pinching my nose at the same time. Before I could react, a horrible crushing sensation enveloped my entire body, squeezing me so hard that my organs ached. I would’ve screamed, but between the pressure of Ashton’s hand and those merciless invisible bands compressing me, I couldn’t even gasp.
Then I was on my back, looking up not at the ceiling of a dark underground dwelling but at a sky the most amazing shade of purple. For a
The truth hit me right between the eyes, but unfortunately, so did the large overhanging branch that Jack saw in time to duck from and I didn’t.
My last thought before lights exploded in my mind was,
Pureblood…
Chapter Six
Icy water splashed over me. I came back into consciousness with a jerk, my senses sluggish but instinct warning me of danger. Remembering what had happened before my eyes even opened, I reached for my weapons but realized my hands were bound.
“Yep, that woke her,” Jack’s familiar voice noted with an undercurrent of laughter.
My gaze swung around as I tried to orient myself. It was very dark, but I could make out Jack standing several feet away on the edge of a river. I was
in
that river, getting chilled to the bone from the frigid water, someone big holding me in a tight grip from behind.
Must be Rafael,
I realized, the sinking sensation in my stomach increasing until it felt like my gut had descended to my knees. I hadn’t toldJack anything about Rafael that Jack hadn’t already known, because Jack was a Pureblood, too. What if
all
the guards in Nocturna were Purebloods? Hell, what if half the population was, Partials being slowly weeded out under the watchful eye and instruction of its centuries-old ruler?
At least my family knows about Rafael
, I thought with a pang. When I didn’t come back, they’d tell other Partials, too. Enough that even Rafael and his people wouldn’t be able to suppress them forever. It wasn’t the most compelling legacy to leave behind, but it was all I had.
“Best patrolman in Nocturna, huh, Jack?” I said bitterly while Rafael dragged me deeper into the river. I tried not to panic, not to wonder if drowning hurt, because I wanted to die fighting, not begging. “No wonder you were always first to discover who crossed over. You could see in the dark, you filthy Pureblood.”
“Aw, Mara, don’t be pissy,” Jack said in a chiding tone. “I told you to quit coming back looking for Ashton, but no, you just wouldn’t listen.”
“So it’s
my
fault you’re a murdering prick who devours the life essence out of
children
?” I spat, trying to kick even though my feet were bound, too.
I could barely see him now, but it looked like Jack shrugged. “I gotta eat just like you do. Can’t help it if my food is Partials.”
“All this talk of food is making me hungry,” a voice I hadn’t expected purred near my ear.
Every muscle in me stiffened. It wasn’t Rafael yanking me deeper into the river but Ashton!
I looked around again, but all I saw was the two of them. “Where’s Rafael?” I asked, my voice almost eerily calm.
Ugly laughter came from behind me. “Nowhere near here, baby. He doesn’t even know about this barrier, but thanks to you, now we know where another one is, too. Once we get rid of Rafael, we’ll have our choice of a few different barriers to play with. I can’t wait.”
“Get rid of Rafael…,” I repeated, my eyes closing in the agony of revelation. Whatever Rafael had been doing hiding those barriers, he hadn’t been involved with Ashton. Or with Jack, or possibly with
any
other Pureblood.
And I’d used him, tricked him, drugged him, and now set him up with my family to take the fall. Drowning all of a sudden seemed too good an end for me.
What had I done?
I didn’t have long to wallow in revulsion overmy actions before Ashton’s hand clamped over my mouth, pinching my nose at the same time. Before I could react, a horrible crushing sensation enveloped my entire body, squeezing me so hard that my organs ached. I would’ve screamed, but between the pressure of Ashton’s hand and those merciless invisible bands compressing me, I couldn’t even gasp.
Then I was on my back, looking up not at the ceiling of a dark underground dwelling but at a sky the most amazing shade of purple. For a
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