It took Kristoff wrapping his arms around her to break her from her frozen stance. She let out a breath of relief. It wasn’t over yet. The screams had died down to cries for help and painful sobs and groans of agony.
The sight of those mangled bodies would haunt Willa forever.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Willa said, swallowing.
Now that Brute was gone, she lifted her hands, palms up. Dim light emitted from her hands, casting a soft glow around her.
“I'm all right.” She turned back to the ballroom, holding her hands out in front of her. “Stephanie! Zoe!”
“Willa,” Zoe’s shouted from somewhere toward the front of the room.
Willa ran toward her voice.
“Stay away!”
She skidded to a stop at Zoe’s warning. The command of her voice was enough to frighten anyone into submission.
Kristoff was right beside her.
Willa’s eyes zeroed in on Zoe standing there, bodies laying on the floor all around her, frightened party guests seeking cover or escape.
“Josef?”
A gasp escaped Willa’s lips. She covered her mouth at seeing Josef hovering in the air before Zoe, caught in her Cast of Discord. Josef flailed and fought her power, and yet his voice was muted as if he was in a soundproof bubble. Willa had only ever seen that vampire twice in her life, and each time he had a kind smile on his face. Now, his eyes were wild with rage.
Zoe’s fierce gaze turned to Willa and Kristoff. Her hazel eyes now glowed in the dim light of Willa’s power. “This piece of filth has some explaining to do,” she said.
That’s when Willa realized what was going on and it turned her blood cold.
Josef was a spy for her greatest enemy.
Epilogue
ZOE LOWERED JOSEF to the ground. Still encased in her Cast, he tried to run but bounced along the air shield.
Zoe held up her gown’s skirt and went down to a knee.
Josef watched her, contempt in his eyes.
Where was the handsome, charming man whom she encountered at the tube back in London? It was all an act.
Damn, that Lukas. He ruined everything that was good. No one was safe from the dangerous game he played.
Zoe’s voice lowered. “Listen, vampire. I am letting you live. It is a privilege only extended because I need answers. Do you understand?”
Josef glared at her, and then his eyes went to Willa.
Where was that evil before? The look he gave Willa sent chills up her neck.
Willa’s heart beat so loudly that she could feel its pulse and hear it in her ears.
“Where is Stephanie?”
Willa’s eyes widened. Her mouth fell open at hearing Zoe’s question. What all had she missed? She’d let her guard down for a moment, and now her cousin was missing. Tear-filled eyes scanned the room.
Josef’s chuckle broke her from her thoughts.
Before she could think her actions through, Willa threw out her hands, sending red fire to the vampire that dared harm her blood.
The fire slowed at Zoe’s air shield, but like a constant hurricane wind, it pushed through and sent Josef far into the wall at the other end of the room.
Kristoff darted to the fallen vampire, grabbing him by his hair. Willa followed behind, slowly, ready to end his life with another powerful Cast.
“Careful now, Willa,” Zoe called, calmly. “He knows where Stephanie is.”
“I won’t kill him,” Willa said, her hands balled into fists. Two girls ran from beneath one of the tables, their heels clicking along the floor as they shot toward the front door.
Willa watched them, her mind racing. Stephanie. I am sorry.
It was her fault. Stephanie never wanted to come. What would the twins think when their mother didn’t come home?
“What happened, Zoe?”
Zoe stood back up. Sorrow-filled eyes met Willa’s. “Not long after you left, Josef returned. Stephanie and I were talking to that actor she pointed out earlier. We had a few drinks, and in the middle of passed appetizers, that beast came crashing through the party, killing everything in sight. I broke my cover trying to save some of the people, and when I turned my back, I heard Stephanie’s scream.”
Zoe’s voice cracked. She closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath. “I was supposed to protect the both of you.”
Willa stepped to her, pulling her into an embrace.
“Someone took her. They used one of those brace bracelets,” Zoe said. “I haven’t seen one of those used on a witch since the Inquisition.”
“Did you see who took her?” Kristoff’s question brought their attention back to him and Josef.
“Does it matter?” Josef grinned. “Lukas will have her by morning.”
Willa stormed over to him. “What does Lukas want with Stephanie?” Visions of Stephanie crying in the back of some dark van, tortured and humiliated enraged her.
Another chuckle nearly sent Willa over the edge.
“Silly girl,” Josef said. “He doesn’t want her. He wants you, and he will kill everyone you love until he gets you back.”
Silence filled the room. She heard nothing. Saw nothing.
The walls felt as though they were closing in on Willa as she stood there. No one existed at that moment. Red hot rage threatened to make her explode and destroy everything in the vicinity.
She fell to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut. Her breaths came out fast and labored. Zoe put a hand on her back, and Willa flinched, willing herself to resist letting the surge of power free.
Calm down, she chanted inside her head. Calm down.
“Willa,” Kristoff called.
The blood drained from her face when she opened her eyes. Josef let out a cry as Kristoff stuck Josef in the heart with a piece of wood from a broken table.
Before their eyes, Josef’s body crumbled and turned into dust, dust that littered the floor and faded within seconds.
She flickered a look up to the vampire she loved.
“We don’t need him. I know where Lukas is.”
All around her were dead bodies. Her nose twitched at the smell of their souls. She sucked in a breath of the intoxicating scent.
She looked down at her hands as they began to shake. Her palms started to itch with a hunger that she’d never revealed but knew Kristoff would understand. She could relate to the vampires in more ways than one. Immortality was expected of a witch that had reached Grand Caster Elite status through experience, pure birth, and sacrifice. But this—what fought to escape each time death was near, was...unique.
Falling to her knees, she tossed her head back as tall black shadows stepped from her body, multiplying as they did their work. She shook with need, whimpering at the anticipation.
There was one thing that separated Willa’s Caster abilities from Stephanie’s, Zoe’s, and countless witches all over the world. One that hadn’t existed in centuries until Willa was born. One ability Lukas had used against her for so long.
Now, she would use it for more than her escape from him.
Willa would use it against him.
Willa’s blue eyes glowed a bright gold as she lifted both arms.
“Thank you for this gift,” she whispered to the spirits that guided her, and the shadows that served her.
Each soul from every massacred human and vampire that surrounded her was claimed by her shadows, and brought back to her in a funnel of power that absorbed into her pores. She hissed at the sensation that filled her.
Damn, it felt better than sex.
When she opened her eyes, Zoe and Kristoff stared at her in silence, their eyes wide as they watched her glow intensify to a nearly blinding light.
Once it faded, Willa cracked her neck and stood.
A satisfied smile came to her face as she hovered above the ballroom’s floor.
The vampire king of the West may have captured the queen of the witches once before. But he would now pay the price.
Wi
th his soul.
“Let’s go.”
The End
* * *
The second installment in the Silenced series will be released this spring.
Thanks for reading!
About the Author
K.N. Lee is an award-winning author who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she is not writing twisted tales, fantasy novels, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and promotes other authors. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys helping others reach their writing and publishing goals. She is a winner of the Elevate Lifestyle Top 30 Under 30 "Future Leaders of Charlotte" award for her success as a writer, business owner, and for community service.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Silenced. If so, I would be greatly appreciate a customer review on Amazon, or wherever you’ve purchased this book.
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K.N. Lee
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