you’ve disgusted me every day since. You’re a worm, destined to be food for others.”
His nostrils flared as he took another step forward. The pups pawed the ground—and they weren’t the only ones. Her foot slid over the grass of its own accord.
Growls sprang from every direction.
Gasping, she spun. Hounds were now perched all along the wall. They’d climbed? Jumped? The hairs on their backs were raised, creating lethal-looking spikes. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck were raised, as well. Their tails were uncoiled and sticking straight up, braided ropes hanging from the ends.
Fear radiated from the guards, their hands trembling.
“Hold,” Alek snapped.
In a situation like this, fear had the potential to take over, causing the guards to strike before orders were given.
“Don’t you dare shoot the animals,” she said with a tone sharp enough to draw blood.
Alek glared at her. “Or?”
—Attack?—
“Or I’ll tell them to rip you apart piece by piece.” Mmm. Piece by piece. The perfect buffet. She licked her lips at the thought, only to blanch. Eating an opponent would never be an option.
Pale as a ghost, Alek shouted, “Shoot them. Shoot all of them. No survivors.”
Oh, hell no!
“Attack!” she shouted, launching forward. Halfway, her fangs and claws sprouted fully. She wanted Alek’s throat in her mouth, and she wouldn’t stop until she had it.
Oh, goodie. Eating an opponent was an option.
The first gunshot boomed, many others following. Too many to count. But she wasn’t hit—no, she moved too swiftly, able to watch the bullets fly and easily dodge. The same must have been true for the hounds, who swarmed the yard, beating her to the men.
* * *
Blood. So much blood. A sea of it. A never-ending ocean.
Screams echoed in Katarina’s ears, despite the quiet that had descended over the yard. The bloodlust had left her only a few moments ago. Now she stood in place, her feet like boulders, her legs quaking. Carnage surrounded her.
Here, there, everywhere were severed limbs, heads and organs. The horde of hounds still gorged, chomping on the different body parts.
How many men had she bitten?
Alek lay before her. He was still alive, but that would change at any moment. Or maybe not—he’d regrown the hand Baden had removed. He wasn’t human, and had never been. When she’d bitten him—again and again—she’d sampled the power in his veins. Dark power.
He reached for her, his hand juddering. “Help.” He was missing a leg and his torso was split open, what was left of his intestines spilled out beside him.
“The coin.” How she spoke past the lump in her throat, she didn’t know. “Where is it?”
“Help,” he repeated. “Please.”
“Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll help you.” Just not the way he probably hoped.
A tear trickled down his cheek. “My mother was...fallen angel. My father...human... I was going to die one day...she forced me to kill her...to take the coin and...hide it inside my...body.”
His body. The coin was still in there, perhaps even acting as life support. Which meant, if she removed it, he would lose his life, his only bargaining chip and his new kingdom all at once.
“Help.” He choked on a gurgle of blood. “P-promised.”
“You’re right. I did.” Steeling herself for what needed to be done—no other way—she dug inside his chest cavity, searching for the coin. “Don’t worry. Your pain will end.”
He fought her with what little strength he had left. Too little too late.
In a chamber of his heart, she encountered something hard, cold and round. She had to tug to remove it, breaking a few of his ribs, but his protests ceased, and his head lolled to the side.
He was dead. Once and for all. She felt no relief.
She stared down at her bloody palm, at the quarter-size piece of gold Alek had killed and died to possess. How could something so small and pretty cause so much trouble?
She couldn’t allow anyone else to find it or use it and perhaps aid Lucifer. Or Hades. Not even Baden. He’d grown to like Hades, and even she had to admit he was the lesser of two evils. The beast was trainable; Lucifer, who wanted Baden to embrace darkness, was not.
The problem was, Hades had once eradicated hellhounds. He couldn’t be allowed to take another shot at them.
Maybe...maybe she could use the coin to protect the dogs? But what if he punished Baden for her daring?
Then again, if she used the coin to save Baden, severing his tie to the king, Hades could punish the