Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

21.3 | Brief and Endless Agonies

A heartbeat after Lu stumbled out of the truck and ripped off the hood, Tatiana materialized from nowhere. She hadn't driven to the camp with Lu and the betas, which was good, considering what Lu did next.

She'd never been a violent person—quite the opposite, really—but her rage was honed into something volcanic as she lashed out at the demon-witch.

When she rallied her power, magic snapped through the air like the strike of a match. Warmth flooded the campsite in a thick wave as Lu focused her anger directly onto Tatiana.

With a gasp, the demon-witch crashed to her knees and bellowed in pain. Blood trickled from her eyes, nose, and ears. A whirlwind gathered around them as Volkari rushed out of their tents or trailers, sleepy and disoriented. Car alarms went off. Flames engulfed a nearby tree. The earth rumbled underfoot.

Lu held out her arms and drew from every invisible current of magic that made itself known. She hurled it at Tatiana. Not a precise, thought-out spell with a chant or ritual. Not a curse with objects and gloomy weather to secure it. It was raw, untamed power, unseen and unheard.

"You gave me your word that she wouldn't be harmed!" Lu screamed. "And you wonder why we think you're savages!"

She stood above Tatiana's seizing body. Those uncanny, blue eyes rolled back into her skull, and the blackened veins webbing out beneath her skin could only be described as death.

"I will never help you," Lu went on. "Any of you! So enjoy your curse, enjoy being hunted and slaughtered for the rest of your miserable lives. And you can all blame her"—a finger pointed at Tatiana—"and your alpha for torturing Nika Dimitrovich!"

The onlookers ranged every shape, size, color, and age. But the expressions they wore were one and the same. Fear—that was fear clouding their eyes, freezing their movements. Fear and awe.

Lu's skin was glowing, her halo amplified in a violent burst of bronze. Her silver hair whipped relentlessly in the wind, and she could have sworn she heard a high-pitched chorus of angels.

The momentary distraction was enough to ruin her declaration.

A pair of arms captured her, pulling her against a solid body. "Stop!" Dante hissed.

She ignored him, thrashing against his grip as orbs of light bloomed in her palms. She didn't even notice it until a Volkari cried out in agony. Lu followed the sound, finding a man swathed in ethereal light. Burning light.

While others rushed to his aid, Lu raised her hand to Dante's face. "Release me, or I'll turn you to ash."

"And that would give everyone a very good reason to kill you." She breathed through her nose, heart slamming her ribs like a battering ram. Dante lowered his voice. "Please. For both of our sakes."

She craned her neck to glimpse him. The handsomeness, the rust-colored eyes, the burnt sienna skin. A predator packaged like a present.

But he was right. Lu's survival depended on her cooperation. So she inhaled deeply, reining in her surging emotions along with the magic.

When the only trace of it was the moans of her victims, Dante set her down, whispering, "Let's go." He nudged her toward the trailer-prison. "Tell me everything."

Recoiling from his touch, Lu allowed him to escort her away from the crowd. Behind them, Alpha Capello was shouting at Tatiana for taking Lu to the cave, and at his own betas for helping. Clearly, he'd known about the plan to torture Nika, and he'd intended to hide it from Lu so she'd behave.

What didn't make sense was why he cared about Asteroth in the first place. Or had he agreed to the heinous idea to appease Tatiana?

When she and Dante stepped inside the trailer, he shut the door and whispered, "What do you mean, torture?"