The Assassin's Bride

the night like a

phin

r. Red light pulsed with each rotation of the siren, bathing the hallway in the same color as her fear. Shouts rose behind her-

eless. Everything about her screamed Dante's wife. The way she was dressed.

ust had to make

them, she might-mi

ning against the glare of the floodlights that ringed the courtyard. The place was alive with m

stone chips exploded near her ankle. She yelped, stumbling, but pushed harder

hed in the dark. Most belonged to Dante's men. But one-one sat slightly

n neat military precision. It angle

in her ears as sh

e, pl

softest click. Seraphina slid inside, her body curling instinctively i

s outside dulled to shadows and muted shouts. She pressed a tremb

the driver's

ood we

t the spill of light from the compound. For a single ter

nd a voice slid through the

are

t at her. She pressed back against the leathe

y audible, her throat burning. "

in composure, eyes hidden but locked on her all the same. She could feel it-the weight of his gaze p

. The noise out

interior shifted around his presence, a sudden

. The engine, already alive, gr

's breath

m along the edges of the compound where the shadows thickened.

as a bowstring. She'd thrown herself into a stranger

ice came again,

al

er vision blurring with pan

eact

ge. He caged me. Used me. Paraded me like some..

aint reflection of his eyes caught in

ut. Guards, cameras, checkpoints. He made sure no one could get in or out withou

ght to his men. He said my father has meddled too long in his business, that he was done with

bled. "They ca

fted in the d

A tilt of his head, a s

ing for weeks on how I'd escape. I couldn't figure out the perfect time. But then today I heard one of his men tell him Viper had

le

with the back of her hand, her voice splintering. "You do

ly turned his

saw his eyes clearly. Icy. Glacial. Not cruel, no

s your

most people ju

His voice threaded the air like smoke. "Yo

ay to slit your throat vertically so you'll bleed out faster." She said without looking up

curved. Not much. J

st amus

nny at a tim

cking. It was quieter, heavier. The

ng sharper behind. He looked at

voice came again, quite. Cold. "My name

ealization creeping

he asked, even though deep dow

ear him over the thundering of her own heart. "The