“You have to leave now,” Abram said, already taking my hand.
The instant my blood touched the floor, he changed. It wasn’t fear as much as determination. He had made a promise to my father. He had likely made a promise to himself. And judging by the way he now pulled me toward the door, he clearly intended to keep this promise.
But I was intent on something else. I pulled my hand free. “No, Abram.”
He turned to me, panic reaching his eyes, sighing too loudly for me to miss his clear exasperation. “I understand your penchant for being infuriatingly contrary might be hard to control, Charisse, but now is not the time to disagree with me. That blood you just spilled will act as—”
“A beacon. I know. It’ll draw that monster here.” I shrugged. “Isn’t that what we wanted? To draw the bastard out?”
Abram narrowed his eyes at me, his hands clenching into fists. “That was what you wanted. I thought we agreed to go about things another way. Or were we giving your blood to Satina for the hell of it?”
“What’s done is done, Abram. That monster is going to come here now, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”
“I understand that, but ideally you would be out of harm’s way when that ‘bastard’ got here.”
I shook my head. “What good would that do?”
“It would go a long way in not getting you killed.” His nostrils flared.
“That won’t be a problem,” I quipped, pointing to him. “You already told me you won’t let that happen.”
“I did,” he conceded, as irritated as I had ever seen him. “Now you need to let me do what I need to keep you safe.”
“There’s a cost in keeping me safe.” I glanced back to Satina, remembering what she said about costs. Maybe there was a cost for everything in this new world I had stumbled into. “The girls who look like me—”
“Are already dead,” Abram said. “Joining them won’t help anything.”
“And what about the others?” I asked. “If I leave now, and that monster—” I found myself choking up. “More girls will be in danger. Ever curvy brunette in a fifty mile radius will be fair game to this son-of-a-bitch, including my best friend.” I swallowed around the knot tightening in my throat. “People always used to think Lulu and I were sisters. That’s how similar we are. How much longer before this monster targets her? She has a family. I won’t put her in danger like that. This ends right here, right now.”
He stared at me, his eyes narrowing even further. “I won’t lose.”
“Then we don’t have anything to worry about,” I said, moving closer to him and making sure he knew that I could be every bit as hardheaded as him.
“I don’t understand you,” he said glumly. “You’ve been trying to sacrifice yourself ever since you learned about all of this.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“That’s different,” he said. “I’m different. My life doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” I said, surprised to feel tears burning behind my eyes. “Do you really need me to spell this out for you?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, I knew he did. Damn him. “I don’t want to leave you, you jackass. I will not leave you here to fight this thing alone. And if you pull me out of this house, I’ll come marching back.” Reaching him, I stuck my finger into his chest. “You’re not in this alone, Abram, no matter how much you want to be. So suck it up, big boy. I’m here to stay.”
“You’re unbelievable,” he answered, but his tone said he was just as impressed as he was concerned.
“As touching as all of this is, it’s unnecessary.” Satina’s voice, stronger than it had been before, echoed from the background.
Abram whipped around. “What are you talking about?”
“I can shield us, all of us,” she answered. “Wasn’t that the whole point of enlisting my help? The spell is complicated, and I’ll need a bit more of your blood and one of my hands to be unshackled. But I can scramble the draw that’s leading the other monster here. It will buy us some time. Though, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing him. His form is a trademark of mine, and I’d like to see what changes he’s made to it.”
Her eyes flickered over to me. “If you would be so kind.”
I marched over and extended my hand. Running a dead, cold palm across mine, she soaked what blood remained on my skin. Like it did with Abram, the blood glowed and turned a bright golden color. Though, unlike with Abram, it seemed to invigorate Satina, lighting her up.
“And my hand,” the Conduit said, rattling the shackles on one side.