Page 108 of A Half-Blood’s Escape
She slapped me ... hard!
My head whipped to the side, and fuck, that stung. My god, was my head even still attached to my shoulders? I wasn't sure, but as I slowly rolled my head back, it was confirmed I still had my head. She had certainly not held back though. She had probably wanted to slap me for a long time.
"So," I said, moving my jaw back and forth, really trying not to cry right now. "Am I expecting your father as well?"
I looked behind me and saw two vampire goons behind me. I swallowed hard, wondering if they were just some kind of protection or ... if they were going to do something to me as well.
Ah fuck, where are you, Dominic?I thought to myself, as I slowly turned to Arianna again. She just continued to smile and look so superior.
"No, it's just us girls," she said.
What did that mean? Just us girls ... Did the council not plan this? Weren't they the ones wanting to get rid of me? Why was Arianna here? I couldn't understand why people so uptight and loving to uphold old traditions where the men took care of the tough things, and the woman should just sit around and be pretty, would allow Arianna to handle this on her own. They had to be here. She must just have snuck in because she knew where I was kept, and wanted to pay me a little "visit". Yes, that had to be it.
"Okay, then, how about you release my hands, and we can fight how girls really fight," I suggested.
That made her smile, but then she shook her head.
"No, this is quite an expensive outfit, and I don't want blood on it."
I wanted to roll my eyes but didn't.
"So, are you going to kill me yourself, or will these people handle it?" I asked and nodded towards the big goons.
She seemed to almost think about it as if she didn't know the answer just yet.
"I am here to give you a choice," she said.
"A-A choice?" I asked.
Arianna started to walk around me, letting her fingers lightly graze my shoulders as she took her time, circling me like a predator would prey, and I really didn't like being the prey, but I kept my mouth shut before it got me into more trouble.
"You see, this really didn't have to be this way," she said and ran a finger down my burning cheek.
I hissed, pulling away, and she just smiled cruelly, as she stopped in front of me again.
"You could have been free."
"I am free. I am freer than I ever have been," I said.
"Really? You like this world? You like the world that Dominic lives in? Come on, you were never meant for that world. You are a little thief with a drunk stepdad who is drowning in debt."
I swallowed hard, my heart aching as she spat all that truth right in my face. Maybe there was an explanation as to why I had stolen ... but I was still a thief. I had still made the choice tosteal, and there was no way I could excuse that.
"I ... I see you have done your ... research."
It was starting to get hard to talk, as a lump formed in my throat.
"Well, I always liked to know my enemies."
"E-Enemies?" I asked. "You said it yourself, I'm just a half-blood, how big a threat am I really?"
I laughed uncomfortably, trying to lighten the mood a little because I was so damn scared. This was what I had always feared, from the beginning when I met Dominic, I feared someone would take me and threaten me or kill me for trying to have the king all to myself. I was a half-blood, and I knew people didn't think I deserved him. It was why I had tried getting away from him so fast ... or one of the reasons. I knew people would come for me. No one liked us half-bloods, but I had made another choice, and now I had to live with that as well. This time, though I didn't feel bad about my choice. I wanted Dominic ...
I loved him.
It was clearer now more than ever what he meant to me. I had fallen in love with him, and if Arianna wanted me gone, then she really did have to kill me.
"I thought not a very big one," she admitted. "But it turns out you were much worse than any of the others."
