Wicked Love - Michelle Dare Page 0,239

she can. This is a fun little exercise for her. See if she can rile me up. Well, she can’t. Because I’m thrilled she took me and not my mate or someone else in my family. Though I’m guessing she had Sol since we couldn’t find him. I hope he’s okay now.

The cloth is ripped off my head. Harsh light temporarily blinds me. I quickly realize she’s using her magic to create it. Then the female comes into view. She seems a little more frazzled than when Ari saw her.

“Got a problem?” I ask. No reason to stay quiet. She obviously knew enough to capture me.

“You’re not going to be as chatty as your brother, are you?”

“Why didn’t you kill him?” I try to keep my tone indifferent, even though there’s a rage slowly boiling within me. I hate that she took him. I want to kill her where she stands.

“Please. If I wanted him dead, I would have completely severed his head. I only got as far as his spine then stopped. I decided I wanted to play a little more. You were my target all along. The baby of the family. The one I’ve heard Eloise talk about over and over to others.”

“Huh?” When did my mother ever go on and on about me? Yes, she loves my brother and me, but I can’t imagine her out there bragging about us unless it’s how we’re great fighters. Or that Sol finally gave her a grandchild. Mom is super critical.

“You don’t know me, do you?” she inquires.

“Should I?”

“Your mother didn’t tell you tales of her accomplishments?” She says the last word with extra emphasis on it.

“I hate to break it to you, but even if she wanted to offer up her stories of blood and gore, I’d have to stop her. While she may have led an exceptionally long life, I don’t want to waste mine hearing about it.”

“Are you all this conceited?”

I shrug one shoulder. Only a little since my hands are restricted and my movements limited. “You’ve obviously met my mother. The fact that you have to ask that question is a little baffling to me. We’re the best vampires there are and you’re questioning if we’re conceited? That’s not conceit. It’s fact. Completely proven.”

The next thing I know, a knife is hurled toward me and plunges into my chest, narrowly missing my heart. “That was on purpose,” she seethes as she comes toward me. Her hand grips the blade and she turns it ever so slightly before ripping it from me. I hiss at the sting from it leaving my body. Blood drips down the knife and onto my clothes.

“That was uncalled for! You see how good I look. This is vintage! Granted, it’s not mine and I can have one of the fae clean it for me, but that’s so not the point.”

“You’re just like your brother.”

“If you’re trying to insult me, there are better ways to do it.”

The female lets out a loud scream. “You’re infuriating. If your parents would have been easier to catch, I wouldn’t have needed you or your brother to lure them in. I wouldn’t have had to spend so many hours stalking them. And right now, I truly regret not killing him.”

“I’m getting mixed messages here. If you want to hurt Mother, then you were right taking Sol and me. But to let him go? I’m confused. And why not just kill both of us? She’s going to come for you either way.” That I know with certainty. My mom is extremely loyal to her family. And when she gets the information from Sol, she’ll know I was taken next. That is, if Sienna doesn’t tell her first.

The anger coursing through me is raw and palpable but I don’t let it show outwardly. The female keeps trying to read my mind. Her eyes narrow and she focuses on me. However, she can’t get through the wall I built to keep everyone out. I may not have the strength in this area my parents and brother do, but I'm no weakling. And what I lack there I make up for in other abilities.

“What’s your name?” I ask. “Maybe I have heard of you.” I highly doubt it. If I can get her talking, it gives my family more time to show up. Because no matter how hard I try, there’s no breaking what I assume are the magical handcuffs on me.

“It’s not my name you should know. It’s my brother’s.