Frailty: The Darkshine(63)
“By the time I’m done with you, you’re going to wish I killed you. I’m going to keep you around long enough to ensure I am mated with Gaijryc, but after that, all bets are off.”
She wrapped her hand around Helina’s throat so tight that stars bounced in front of her vision. She remembered what Gaijryc said about a DarkShine dying, how aside from cutting off their head and burning them they were unstoppable. Helina thought about that, let it give her strength to stay calm when fear threatened to take her. Lifting her arms, she stabbed her thumbs through Iena’s eyes. Iena screamed and released her, her hands going to her eyes, blood seeping from between her fingers.
“You little fucking bitch. Screw the mating, I’m going to rip your head clean off.” She dropped her hands, tears of blood crawling down her cheeks and making her look like the monster she truly was.
She gave a scream and flew at Helina, hands outstretched, red painted claws pointed right at her. Scrambling back, Helina’s legs gave out and she fell, Iena following her down. She landed on top of Helina so forcefully the air came out of her with a whoosh. Iena slammed her head back against the marbled floor so hard she heard her skull crack. Helina blindly reached for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. She came up empty handed, but it didn’t matter because Iena had already started slamming her fist into her ribs repeatedly. Screaming in pain, Helina reached back, her hand brushing against something hard and cold. Her ribs cracked under the onslaught, the sound echoing throughout the vast room.
Gripping her would-be weapon tightly, she swung it back, wincing in pain, and praying it hit its target. She brought it down hard across Iena’s head, the vampire’s movements stopping immediately as she looked down at her, dazed. Helina used the hesitation to scramble out from under her, poker still in her hand as they stared at each other. That was when Helina saw the thin red line of blood move down from Iena’s hairline, going over her nose and dripping onto her pristine white dress.
“Helina!”
She was vaguely aware of the voice calling out her name, but her attention stayed rooted to Iena. Her bloody eyes stared at her with shock before she fell backwards, the thin line of blood now flowing forcefully from her head and pooling around her. In the next instant Helina was crushed against a hard chest. Gaijryc’s smell surrounded her and brought her back to the present. Suddenly pain slammed into her and noise crashed all around her. Shouts and curses rang out from every direction, but it didn’t matter because she was in Gaijryc’s embrace. He pulled her back and ran his hands over her, his gaze seeming to stop on every part of her body. He crushed her to him again, whispering words in her hair and running his hands over her back.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone. Please forgive me. I couldn’t stand to lose you again.”
Her mind was so frazzled she had a hard time comprehending his words. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He led her out of the room and she looked over her shoulder to stare at Iena’s lifeless body. A man crouched beside the still, bloody form, lifting her eyelids to check her pupils and then assessing her skull. He lifted her into his arms, her body floppy like a rag doll. Helina turned around, her stomach suddenly turning in disgust at what she had done. They stayed silent and she was thankful. The last thing she wanted was to talk.
Helina sat on the edge of Gaijryc’s bed, one of her fingers in her mouth as she worriedly bit at the nail. She couldn’t get Iena’s bloodied face out of her mind, could still see her shocked expression as she slammed the poker down on her head. Turning her head toward the window, she wondered what Gaijryc was doing. Standing, she walked toward the window and looked outside. Although it was night, she could see everything as clearly as if it was daylight. The gouges in her cheek had since healed and she ran her fingers along the now smooth skin. Footsteps sounded outside her door and the knob turned.
The door opened and Gaijryc stood on the other side, his massive form taking up the entryway. He stepped inside and pulled the door open wider. He watched her with a look of almost sorrow crossing his masculine features. Her eyes widened as she saw the person who moved into view. Lizzy stood beside Gaijryc, her face having the similar expression his did. Helina took an involuntary step back, her hand going to her frantically beating heart as she gasped in shock. “Lizzy?” Her name wasn’t anything more than a whisper on her lips as she looked between her dead sister and her vampire lover.
Lizzy stepped inside and Helina pressed herself as far against the wall as she could. Looking at Gaijryc, she pleaded with her eyes for him to tell her what was going on. He didn’t speak, just stepped inside and closed the door behind him.