Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

The woman in white circles her, anger resting within her eyes. “If there was another way, I would have already taken it. Don’t forget your place, girl. You have one job. Can you handle it, or do you want to go? This is your only chance to walk away.”

The daughter’s eyes meet mine, and her regret fades into determination as she faces her mother once again.

“I’m in. You know I’ll do anything for you.”

“Gage, don’t!” Liza yells, snapping me out of my trance just as Sadie drops to the ground and cries out in pain.

I look over to see the dark smile on his face as Sadie curls into the fetal position, but suddenly, a wave of pain sweeps through me, folding my body as effectively as Sadie’s. I’m screaming out as my bones crack and pop, echoing her pain as though it’s my own, and I’m not the only one.

“The fuck?” Dice asks, not affected by the unexplainable phenomenon.

“Damn it,” Gage growls, scooping me up just as the pressure ceases. He cradles me to his chest as I gasp for air. The pain is gone, but the effects are lingering, taking their sweet ass time to heal. “She fucking bound them to her. That blood oath was more than a simple promise.”

Steadily, the pain subsides completely, and I look over just as Sadie staggers back to her feet. Drackus climbs back up, too, as well as everyone else. Ella is the slowest to get up, and I shove at Gage to put me down so I can go to her.

He doesn’t release me right away, but he finally understands and lets me go.

“You didn’t say anything about that,” Liza says to Sadie, but I’m too busy searching Ella’s crisp green eyes for any sign that she’s still hurt.

“I’m fine,” she scolds in a whisper. “This is her, isn’t it? The one who helped lock you away? The one Mom spared?”

Slowly, I nod once, my jaw tensing. And now we’re bound to make sure she stays alive. We’re all idiots. Especially me.

“I may not can kill you, but I can sure as hell make sure you regret being alive,” Gage says, taking a menacing step toward her.

“I spared your life!” Alyssa yells. “After all you did, I saw good in you and spared your life. And this is how you repay us?”

Deke grabs Kane when he threatens her, and Sierra goes to help him when he can’t hold him back alone.

“There’s nothing you can do, Dad,” Ella tells him. “We walked right into it.”

Sadie looks over at Drackus and Kane, eyeing them hard. Her dark hair is a stark contrast from the blonde she wore in here. She was trying to look harmless then, but now we all see the devil.

“I didn’t want to do this. But I knew you’d try to kill me the second you discovered who I was. It was insurance. Insurance I obviously needed. I’m trying to repay you by finding these innocent people and setting them free. I swear I’m here for the right reasons!”

Her chest heaves for air as her tears start to trickle, but I’m not buying the sob story or the quest for redemption.

Gage looks over at me, and I make my way back to his side. For some reason, just his presence seems to make bearing this possible. I never thought I’d be face to face with one of the people who locked me away.

Gage takes my hand in his, but his attention stays on the wicked bitch of my past. I can’t stand the sight of her.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Dice tells Gage as his jaw ticks with fury.

“I’ll find something to do.” The low threat in his tone almost gives me chills.

There’s no one I want to see suffer more than her, but I would rather focus

on freeing the enslaved as opposed to finding a way around our blood oath. And though I really hate to admit it, she’s powerful and can do things other witches can’t. I’d rather use her than kill her.

“Just let it go,” I say reluctantly, but he turns an icy, I-can’t-believe-you-really-just-said-that glare on me. “You’re only pissed because of what she did to me, but this isn’t about me right now. This is about the numerous others that are still locked away. Hundreds of innocent immortals need freedom. I have mine already. If we can use her, let’s use her. It’s her spell. She still has to translate the map. And we could use some extra fire power when we go to break the seals.”

He reaches over and cups my chin in his hand, tilting my head back.

“You don’t leave my side until this is over.” His eyes tell me not to argue, and I don’t, but only because he’s hot when he’s being protective. Then he turns his attention back on the bitch witch who now calls herself Sadie.

“You’d better not be fucking with us,” Kane says to her in warning.

She glares at him as though he’s the one in the wrong. “I’m atoning for the crimes of my past. There are plenty of people in this room who should understand the need for redemption. Considering you’ve spent time as a bloodthirsty night stalker sired by Castine, I assumed you’d be a little more empathetic.”