I stepped forward, closing the distance between Gareth and me.
I stared into his face, looked at the man who’d been my only family for my entire life. I could hear his voice in my head, hear his laugh. What I would’ve given to have him wrap his arms around me one last time, to go back to the way things used to be.
As I looked into his eyes, what was left of my heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.
“Gareth.” My voice was low, but he could hear me. “I love you so much.”
His eyes softened and he reached for me, pressing his palm against my cheek. “I love you, Lainey Bug.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, pulling back just far enough to reach the dagger I’d hidden in the bodice of my dress.
When he reached for me again, to pull me close, I yanked the blade from its hiding spot and pointed it at the soft skin of his neck.
The kind face went flat, and my Gareth was gone. The face that looked at me now was one of pure evil, the eyes full of hatred and cruelty.
He grabbed my wrist and pushed the blade in just enough to send several rivulets of blood coursing down his skin, where a brand new triangle tattoo was branded into his skin.
“Do it,” he sneered. “Go on.”
My hand was shaking, and the tears made it hard to see. I gripped the handle of the dagger.
He laughed seeing my struggle and released my hand. “You’re weak. You always have been.”
The Master’s face came into view over Gareth’s shoulder, his eyes alive. He was positively gleeful.
“Poor little Lainey,” Gareth continued to taunt me. “Such a scared, weak little girl.”
Just as I was about to lose my nerve, my fingers already loosening on the hilt, a hand reached out and touched my back. Lainey.
I didn’t hesitate.
With renewed strength flowing through me, I let out a wail and thrust the dagger up under the corner of Gareth’s jaw.
You must strike hard and fast, he had once said in our training session. Never lose the opportunity to take down your enemy. He won’t hesitate and neither should you.
The memory was sharp and clear as a spray of warm blood coated my hands and ran down my arms—the very maneuver he had taught me.
Gareth’s eyes went wide as blood gushed from the wound, the color immediately leeched from his skin. His legs gave way, and he swayed forward.
He would’ve fallen face-first, but I caught him and wrapped my arms around him. I couldn’t hold his weight, so we sank to the floor, blood pooling around us.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered over and over again, rocking back and forth, choking on my own tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Lainey.” His voice was faint, and there was a sickening gurgle as Gareth suffocated on his own blood. I stared into his eyes, and as the last bit of darkness faded away, he was my uncle again. My Gareth.
The room was silent. The crowd stared at me as I held my dead uncle.
Maggie had both hands clamped over her mouth, and tears streamed down her face. Serena was standing a few feet away, at the front of the crowd. Her head was down, but her shoulders were shaking with quiet sobs. Ty stood a few feet away, stoic and unfeeling. I hated him, hated everyone in the room.
I would’ve sat there forever, the whole world titled on its axis, if it hadn’t been for the laughter, such delighted, overjoyed laughter.
I picked my head up.
The Master was clapping his hands, almost doubled over in merriment.
He stood up, whipping his arms out, and addressed the crowd. His smile was so feral the crowd shrank back from it.
“Now,” he said, his voice loud and booming, “how’s that for entertainment?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The words hung in the air like smoke.
No one moved; no one breathed a word. The only sound that filled the room was the rise and fall of the Master’s laughter.
Gareth’s head lay cradled in my lap. His blood—still warm—stuck to my skin. Heat pulsated through me, enflaming the gaping hole where my heart had been.
Time itself seemed to stop. There was only this moment, every detail searing itself into my brain, etching into my bones. Only this.
The Master’s laughter grew louder, echoing in my ears like a drum. I was moving, before my mind even registered the movement. I slipped out from underneath Gareth’s body, laying him gently against the ground, and stood up.
His blood had soaked through my clothes, staining the fabric of my gown. I didn’t care, though. The crimson banner was my war paint now. Inside me, something was taking hold. It was surging through me, eating away at my senses. Green lightning crackled between my fingertips, and I shivered from the flashes of energy and heat that swelled within me.
“You killed him.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It was cold and flat. The crowd had grown restless, but quieted at my words. “You. Killed. Him.” The heat underneath my skin was getting hotter, boiling me from the inside out.
The Master stopped his cackling long enough to plop down in his chair, throwing his legs over the armrest. “Oh, no, love.” He smirked at me. “You did that.”
I could hardly hear his voice over the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears. I was on fire, every cell within my body drunk on the flames that no one could see. Power. Pain. Heat. It wouldn’t take much now. Lighting a match into my endless supply of gasoline. I could feel it rising, and I welcomed it.
“You killed him.” My voice was louder this time, and energy surged through my body, taking hold. I stepped forward, a burning inferno, every part of me engulfed in flames and fury.
“You killed him!” I screamed, letting go of the last ounce of control I had left. I threw back my head and unleashed the magic within me. It shot outward, a massive shock wave of electricity that exploded from my fingertips.
The sconces on the wall reacted first, growing brighter and brighter until they shattered in a rain of sparks. The guests screamed as the lights overhead began to burst, one after another.
My screams grew louder, and I raised my hands over my head, consumed by my own power and magic. I wasn’t in control anymore. There was no Lainey, nothing but the insatiable heat, the conflagration of flames that consumed me.
The crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the ballroom detonated like a bomb, showering the room in broken glass and tiny sparks that danced with a life of their own. They floated through the air like fireflies, setting fire to everything they touched. The tapestries on the walls went first. The flames spread like wildfire, devouring everything in their path. They moved unnaturally fast, and screams filled the room as it quickly turned into a firestorm.
I stared unseeing, as everything began to blur together into hazy patches of gold, crimson, and amber. I couldn’t make sense of anything anymore. There was nothing but the flames. As the last ounce of my strength evaporated, I sank to my knees.