Lost Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 4)

Her entire body goes rigid as a few people suck in surprised breaths, me included. No one can ever stick around as long as the two of them when the powers are colliding too brutally.

We’re forced to retreat, while they remain. Because they’re the strongest... the deadliest... And apparently also the most fucked up.

And since when does Slade wink?

“Kya,” Slade says, still staring down the princess—er, I mean, Ella.

“She’s staying here,” Chaz tells him.

Slade looks to me, and I know what it’s like to feel torn. I want to be with Chaz, but Slade has been with me since I was a child. I owe my life to him, even if Chaz has somehow infected the heart inside me I didn’t know existed.

“I’ll see you back at bunker four,” Slade tells me, arrogantly casting one last taunting glance at Chaz before disappearing.

I feel like I’m stuck between a dagger and a sword right now. No matter which direction I move, I’m going to be cut. It’s just a matter of how deeply.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Chaz says as he turns to face me, his gold eyes daring me to say otherwise.

It seems like he’s tapping into his Lokie power to restrain my magic, because I can’t dematerialize right now. Not that I’m trying to leave, but I’m testing my theory.

“I have to tell him some things that you told me last night.”

He narrows his eyes.

“About Ella,” I add.

While trying to soothe me and take my mind off the misery going on in my stomach, he explained all the new information they had, which wasn’t much more than we already had. Except for that one part.

He tilts my head back, studying my eyes. “Good thing you have a phone and can text him.”

I’ve always been alone, with the exception of Slade at my back. It feels like a betrayal to leave him on his own right now. It also feels like a betrayal to leave Chaz.

“Just let me talk to him. We’re stronger together—all of us. We shouldn’t be going after the same enemy on separate sides.”

“He’s a fucking psycho, Kya! He’s the one who keeps ripping the alliance apart. Not us.”

I frown, trying to think of ways to excuse Slade’s behavior. Saying he’s not so bad once you get to know him is kind of lame, not to mention very inaccurate—he’s just as bad. But he’s less... Who am I kidding? He’s terrible. However, he’s also the best ally to have. And there’s more to him than just hatred.

“The enemy of my enemy is no longer a friend,” Gage says, glaring over at me. “He’s too unpredictable.”

“Hashtag—savage,” Dice agrees... in his own weird way.

What’s a hashtag anyway?

“Why isn’t Alyssa here?” I ask Chaz. She should be the one making these decisions. They keep acting as though they have the right to decide things like this in her absence.

I’d never make a decision like this without Slade’s permission. Which is a reminder this isn’t my place.

No one answers me, furthermore solidifying that fact.

This is their group. I have my own. Chaz and I are on opposing sides until we find a way to work together—at least until this is over.

After this is over... If we survive...

“Where is Alyssa?” I ask again, noticing the way everyone tenses and averts my gaze.

They don’t trust me. I get it. But Chaz should. He has no reason not to.

My gaze trains solely on him, putting my faith in his hands that this time he’ll answer and prove all my other assumptions wrong. For whatever reason, they don’t want me to know, but he’ll tell me if this thing between us is real.