Chapter 18 19
Chapter 20
ADRIANA CROSS
The last few days had been completely quiet. After everyone discovered Sabrina's true identity we'd expected an attack from Nikola at least to attempt to steal the Phoenix sword or try to ensure the curse wouldn't be broken. But to our surprise, there'd been nothing so far.
It was barely a few hours until the Blood moon rose tonight. The witches and I had made sure everything was ready for tonight's ritual, and by the goddess, nothing would stop us from breaking the curse. It had been torture these last few days watching everyone around me suffer from the effects of the blood moon. The wolves' counterparts had become weaker, almost like they were dying, but strangely, Naya felt just fine. But she could feel Ryker's pain. Dimitri had it worse being the Alpha King, and it killed me to see him in pain.
I had just left the witch's quarters after rechecking that everything we needed was in order. I took a quick shower, and right after I got dressed, my phone rang. It was a call from Zoey. I'd visited her yesterday, and the doctors were already prepping her for her surgery tomorrow. It made me so happy to see the hope in her eyes once again, knowing she'd soon get better.
“Hey, Zoey,” I brought the phone to my ear, waiting for her response, but I heard nothing. I was about to speak again when I heard a muffled scream, and I couldn't be mistaken; it was definitely Zoey's, and then the call got disconnected.
I tried to call back but she wasn't picking up. I was about to try again when I received a video of Zoey in a van, and beside her was her caregiver Carrie. They were surrounded by men with black pyramid marks on their necks. They were vampires.
Tears burned my eyes, and to my surprise, someone who should be long dead stepped into the camera. Sabrina. She was still alive. With a nod from her, a vampire sank his fangs into poor Carrie’s neck, drinking her dry.
Sabrina smiled darkly. “If you want Zoey alive and ready for her surgery tomorrow, bring the Phoenix sword. I'll send you a location. And Adriana, if anyone finds out about this or follows you, Zoey's death will be on you,”
And as the video ended, I sunk to the edge of the bed, tears rolling down my eyes. This was Nikola's plan all along. To stop us from breaking the curse and to get the Phoenix sword. And what was worse, I'd be the one destroying my own mate and condemning him and everyone to die. If the curse wasn't broken, everyone would die, and Nikola would win the war once he had the only weapon that could kill him. But I couldn't abandon Zoey. I didn't know what I'd do if something happened to her because of me. I'd never forgive myself.
I got up from the bed and grabbed one of my jackets from the closet, wearing my boots. I knew exactly what to do.
I grabbed the Phoenix sword and snuck out of the pack without being seen, heading to the location Sabrina had sent to me. Once I reached it, I could see Sabrina and a few dark witches and vampires, but there was no sign of Zoey.
“Where is she?” I asked, glancing around the cars parked in the darkness. I couldn't see or smell my sister. She wasn't here.
“I think right about now, she's having a meal with the king,” Sabrina smirked, while I felt my blood turn cold. “You didn't think I'd bring her here did you?”
“You said she'd be here and you'll hand her over once you have the Phoenix sword,” I held up the weapon, flashing it around.
Finally I had her attention. She took a step closer, her eyes unmoving from the Phoenix sword. “I did, but what's to guarantee you wouldn't kill every one of us before leaving here, so I had to improvise,”
“And what's stopping me from killing you all now,” I cocked my head sideways, glancing at every one of them. I was getting impatient and I knew they weren't much of a match, including the dark witches hiding in the shadows.
“Zoey,” The sly witch smiled. “Don't worry, Nikola won't hurt her. He just wants the sword and wants to have a little chat with you. If you come with us now, you'd get to leave with Zoey once you've spoken to Nikola,”
I held her gaze for a second, weighing my options. Frankly, there was none to weigh. The second I made up my mind to come here, I knew the risk I was taking. I knew they wouldn't just take the sword and hand Zoey over to me, allowing us to part ways so merrily. I knew this would happen.
I breathed in calmly, hoping to the goddess that everything went as planned. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to Zoey. I could feel the presence of the witches behind me, their magic was more noticeable than anything. They were trying to take me out. I could easily take every one of them, but this wasn't the time to fight. Instead, I play along because Zoey's life and the success of tonight's ritual to break the curse depended on my every move.