Page 136 of Treasured

The bastard.

“You did well. Return to the troops. You will be rewarded for your service.”

He bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

I waved my hand, gesturing for him to leave. Jean-Martin disappeared into the Void.

Then, it was just the three of us. Me, the male I made the mistake of loving, and the blonde human whore he’d replaced me with.

Blood boiled. My nails cut into the tender flesh of my hands. My fangs ached. Red tinged my vision. Wings burst from my back.

The whore squealed like a pig.

Oh, revenge would be sweet.

Kneeling in front of Nicolas, I met his eyes. “Hello, love,” I crooned, scratching his cheeks. “Did you miss me?”

* * *

As promised, Nicolas’s death was not quiet. Nor was it clean or quick or painless. He suffered for months in excruciating agony before I finally sacrificed him to the Blood Ruby.

And the whore he left me for? The reason he joined the rebellion?

Claudette.

A frisson of delight ran down my spine at her memory. I’d kept her for myself. She’d been my first Favorite—the beginning of a long line of mortals who served my every whim.

That night in Ithiar’s temple, she’d screamed bloody murder when I removed the gag. Kicking and thrashing about, Claudette had tried to claw my eyes out the moment I approached her.

The fool.

The moment my shadows had slipped into her, her screams had ceased. A perfect, never-ending silence had overtaken her. Life had left her eyes, and she’d become the most compliant mortal I’d ever met.

And then I’d played with her. Oh, the fun we’d had.

Nicolas cried out the first time I bit her, begging me to stop. When I toyed with her, ensuring he saw everything I did, he yelled, swore, and pleaded for me to leave her alone. “It’s not her fault! She didn’t do this! Take your anger out on me.”

I ignored him. Nicolas had lost the ability to tell me anything the moment he’d betrayed me. Because of him, I learned the most important lesson: Humans were nothing.

Plucking a gray strand from my hair, I sneered at it. Nicolas had died centuries ago, along with the so-called Freedom Revolution. It was high time I reminded Eleyta who was in charge.

With that thought in mind, I left the mirror behind and gathered my shadows around me. Triboulet was dead. Koleta was dead. Ciro was dead. Everyone was either dead or dying.

Not me, though.

I was death.

The Perfect Weapons

LUNA

“Come on, darling.” Sebastian tugged on my arm. “It’s time to wake up.”

Groaning, I buried my head in the pillow. Maybe if I didn’t look at him, he’d go away. It was worth a try. “I don’t want to,” I complained. “I’m so tired.”

Sebastian didn’t take the hint. “Darling, we only have three more nights until the red moon rises. There’s no time for sleep.”

“On the contrary, there’s always time for sleep,” I argued into the pillow.