Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

Until now, she has avoided looking this way. I’m not sure why, but I feel as though it’s partly because of Kimber for some reason, and I really don’t like that feeling.

***

KIMBER

Sadie gazes over at Gage, but she lacks the fear she should have. I’m happy to enjoy the fact she overlooked him.

“Why would I go through all of this to walk you into a trap?”

Gage smirks, and with a subtle maneuver, he places himself in front of me just a little, as though he’s preparing to do something.

“I’m not sure, but usually people with honorable intentions don’t hide their true faces.”

Gage’s lips twitch when Sadie’s eyes give her away. She’s busted and she knows it.

“Don’t try to deny it,” Drackus tells her, smirking as he nods to Gage.

“Fine. Don’t accept my help. Go after them on your own.”

She turns to leave, but her eyes widen in disbelief when her feet don’t move. Gage. He did the same thing to me.

“You can’t hurt me,” she reminds us, glaring at Drackus like he’s the one holding her in place.

“They can’t,” Zee says, letting his eyes flash the glowing blue of a night stalker.

“Stop,” Liza demands, stepping in front of Sadie.

Dice groans while slapping himself on the forehead. “That’s why you were so insistent on keeping her safe,” he sighs. “You’re sleeping with her.”

Thad chokes on air before smiling too big, but Gage seems lost in thought.

“That has nothing to do with this,” Liza says calmly before lacing her fingers with Sadie’s. “Now let her go, Drackus.”

Drackus laughs under his breath while walking over to the other side of the wall. “Funny thing, Liza. I can’t use any magic against her. Believe me, I’ve been trying. I want to see her real face. But, apparently that blood oath had a little more oomph than you let us know. Good thing I always have a backup plan.”

Her eyes move around the room and finally settle on Gage. “You’re not stronger than her. You can’t be. I would have known about it.”

Gage crosses his arms over his chest, still pensive as he stares at nothing in particular.

“Apparently you don’t know as much as you think, Mother,” Dice taunts. “Now, what the hell is going on? Why would we care about hurting a witch we don’t know? What are they talking about with the face?”

Nervously, Liza’s eyes shift toward the frozen-in-place Sadie.

“Because we do know her,” Gage says, dropping his hands to his sides and balling them into fists. “There’s only one witch who would be aware of Kimber and seem guilty in her presence. There’s only one witch we’d all want dead. And her name wasn’t Sadie. But, she does share a striking resemblance with Calypso and Alyssa. Probably because they’re related.”

My whole body trembles, and I grab Gage’s arm when my knees go weak. It can’t be possible. No. She’s supposed to be hiding from us. She’s not supposed to be a threat.

“No,” Drackus whispers before his lips curl back in a snarl.

“And she just spelled you to keep her heart beating,” Gage says evenly.

He reaches back to wrap his arm around me when I lose my footing, and he holds me to his side, keeping me from collapsing.

Her lips tighten in defeat, and within a blink, her true form is visible, shattering the illusion that Gage might be wrong. You can bury memories, but their grave is always shallow. Kick a little bit of the dirt away, and they can surface without much effort.

“The girl has to stay, daughter. I’m sorry, but it’s just the way things are,” the woman in white says.

“She’s too young. She’ll never survive opening the gates of purgatory. There has to be another way.”