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Tommy bristles, and Talia squeezes his knee to calm him. He’s been a sore spot between the two since Talia’s been using him to gain information.
Talia glares at her brother, a silent war brewing beneath the surface. A test of loyalty. “Stephen is one of us, not one of them. We need to keep him alive. Without him, I won’t have access to the trust.”
Tommy shakes his head and stares out into the night.
A few seconds go by, followed by a few more, and finally I say, “I’ll do it.”
All three of them stare at me, and Talia curls her lips into a smile. “There’s my sexy little sacrifice.”
“On one condition,” I add.
Her head tilts, and her eyes narrow at my defiance. “And what is that?”
I run my hand over Remy’s muscled leg, and he grabs my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. “It’s over for this generation. No more death. And we can be together without issue.”
She pauses, considering my words.
“Done.”
“Swear it,” I say, matching her serious tone. “You believe in your blood oaths so strongly. Swear to me with your blood, Talia.”
“Dammit,” Tommy barks, but I ignore him. He glances at Remy, who sighs deeply.
“Let the girls work this out, man. You know we must do this. What choice do we have?”
A shadow passes over Talia’s eyes. The emotion hits her with such force that it seems to burn her very soul. She turns to me, her soft dark hair falling in front of her face, the dark emotion now contained. “Do you have your knife, Didi?”
“Yeah,” I breathe, my heart rate accelerating at the way she is looking at me. I’ve already told her I’d do anything for her, but I need this.
She extends her hand. “Give it to me.”
I shift away from Remy and pull out the knife hidden under my clothes.
Talia grabs it from me and, without hesitation, slices her palm open. She reaches with her other hand and grabs mine.
“Your turn,” she says softly. “Then it’ll be done. You’ll be one of us, Diana.”
I squeeze my eyes shut as the cold steel of the blade slides against my palm. I flinch, anticipating the cut, the release of blood. It feels like I’ve lived my entire life for this, for this moment of selling my soul. Like I’ve endured everything to make this promise.
Tears sting my eyes, and I look at her as the van continues to drive into the darkest part of the night. “After tonight, no more darkness.”
She nods and cups my cheek. “No more darkness.”
Before anyone can stop me, I slice my hand open, hissing from the pain. Talia nearly purrs with excitement, and she grabs my hand, mingling our blood together. “You made the right choice.”
She reaches over and grabs a handkerchief out of her bag, wiping the blood off me and, for reasons I can’t explain, I feel lighter.
Tommy’s thigh is shaking frantically, so I crawl over to him, climbing on his lap, but his body bristles and he keeps his head down.
“Tommy, look at me.”
I squeeze my thighs around him, ignoring the pain and blood on my hands, knowing that will not be the last of it tonight. This is only the beginning.
“Tommy,” I whisper, and he lifts his head a little. His sad eyes meet mine, and his hands slide down my sides.
“Firefly,” he says, swallowing down a bubble of emotion. “What did you do?”
I cradle his face and kiss him with more passion than I ever have, and when he pulls away, I see a new, unfamiliar look in his eyes. He no longer sees me the same way he did.
