A tingling along her flesh began in earnest, and a spark of energy rushed through her veins. Her eyelids fluttered, and one thought crept into her head.
Juilan.
The edge of her mind railed against the darkness, and her vision began to blur as she struggled to breathe. Her hands gripped his shoulders in an effort to push him off her. He was too strong, too filled with hate-fueled adrenaline.
Her clan tattoos burned in earnest, and she struggled to hold on, a guttural cry escaping from between her lips as her frustration spilled out.
Jakobi lowered his head until he was inches away, and his whisper caressed her flesh as he smiled. “I haven’t had this much fun since the last time I saw your mother . . . alive.” He pressed his thumb into her esophagus, and she closed her eyes against his madness.
“And we’ve only just started.”
The pressure increased, her mind filled with crimson, then suddenly, his hands loosened and fell away. She clawed at him as her lungs expanded painfully, and she drew in great gulps of air.
Surprise was mirrored in her father’s eyes, and she pushed him away, not understanding until she was able to slide from beneath him.
Her brother, Degas, stood inches from her, a malicious smile resting upon his face as Jakobi leaned against the shelves in an effort to hold himself erect. Jaden staggered away, her mind confused as she took in the scene before her.
Her dagger was embedded deep within Jakobi’s back, put there by her brother’s hand. She knew by the position, the charmed blade had cut through to his lungs, maybe even nicked his heart if he still had one.
It was a fatal blow.
Her father slowly turned though he fell to one knee as he looked up at Degas, cold fury etched upon his features. He opened his mouth to speak. Blood was already pooling at the corners, and nothing but a wheezing sound escaped.
“You taught me well, Father. I’ve been waiting patiently for the right time to take my place at the head of this family,” Degas said calmly. He used his foot to push Jakobi to the ground, then he turned to Jaden, his tone flat. “And then there were two.” Laughter slid from between his thin lips as a smile lifted the corners. “But not for long.”
Jaden eyed her brother carefully as her father’s lifeless body toppled over inches from her. She had seconds.
Shadows played hide-and-seek around them, and the ominous evil that she’d sensed earlier was fully awake, feeding from the madness that surrounded her.
It was now or never.
She exploded into action, ripping the blade from her father’s flesh, ignoring the thick feel of it as it slid from his body. Anticipation was her friend, and fresh adrenaline fueled her limbs as she rose into the air and kicked outward, her heel connecting with Degas’s chest in a vicious blow.
She knew that Benicio was on the move and whirled around, her dagger at the ready as the large cat rushed toward her. A guttural roar erupted from the darkness, and Benicio stumbled as a new player entered the game.
A flash of gold cleared her vision. It was a jaguar.
Julian.
She had no time to process any of it.
Degas slammed into her, his large frame taking her to the ground with him. Jaden’s only thought was to hold on to the dagger, her fingers aching with the effort it took to achieve that, and still, it slid from her grasp.
They rolled along the concrete, a mess of limbs, curses, and determination.
Jaden squirmed beneath her brother, her claws ripping into his chest. She knew only one of them would survive. Degas outweighed her by over a hundred pounds, most of it muscle, and tears pricked her eyes as she continued to struggle. Even with her warrior strength, he was too strong.
His head crashed into hers, and a dull whack sounded as her skull connected with the hard floor. Stars floated in front of her eyes, and she blinked rapidly in an effort to clear her vision. She saw the dagger, it lay just out of reach. Fuck!
His hands slid up the side of her skull, and he bent down so that his eyes were inches from hers.
“Ready to join Father?” he asked.
Jaden’s heart broke in that moment as she lay beneath a brother she once loved. A brother who’d taught her to ride a bike and had stood up to Alphonso, the neighborhood bully.
So many things had been lost as the fragile thread that made up her life lay in tatters.
She bucked wildly, and her body slid a few inches. She was close. Her fingers clawed along the wet pavement until she found the prize. She would not give in. Degas had made his choices, and now she must as well.