“She won’t,” Samuel said, smiling. Now that his brother was none the worse for the wear and Damon and I were entirely at his mercy, he had no reason not to be happy. “In fact, I think she’ll look back on this as the day she truly came into her own.”
I kicked the air, my foot hitting Samuel in the shin. “Impudent,” he said, scowling down at me. “Both of you. You’re dying twenty years too late.”
Violet was deadly serious as she pulled the stake back. Her elbow was steady, and I felt a tremor of fear in my heart. Was this it?
“Think about what you’re doing,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You went to the dark side. But you still have a choice. If you kill me, you’ll remember it for eternity. And trust me, you won’t be able to handle it. It will destroy you.”
For a fraction of a second, she seemed to hesitate. Summoning all my strength, I pushed her away, wrenching the stake from her hand and pinning her to the floor. I knew I had to push the stake deep into Violet’s heart now. She was too far gone, a lost cause. This was the only mercy I could give her.
But before I could strike, Henry blindsided me, knocking me sideways. He pushed my back against the wall, smiling and cackling maniacally.
“We meet again, Stefan,” he said. “I think, with our history, it’s only fair I kill you, not Violet. Don’t you agree?” I kicked at him, trying to escape.
“Damon, kill Henry!” I hissed urgently. In a rush of adrenaline and strength, Damon broke free from Samuel’s grasp, twisting Samuel’s wrist almost clear around in the process. Samuel staggered back in pain as his bones started to right themselves. Damon took those brief moments to rush over, a candle clutched in his hand. Without hesitation, Damon brought the candle down to Henry’s shirt. Already weakened from his previous brush with death, the flame took to his damaged flesh immediately, igniting him like a human torch. He stumbled back, trying to put out the fire that was steadily engulfing him.
“Get Cora!” Damon yelled sharply. “They might have accomplices!” I pushed past Henry and raced into the hallway, grabbing Cora and pulling her close to me. Now everyone, including Samuel and Violet, stood staring in horror at Henry. The flames were consuming him, seeming to grow exponentially with each of his pained cries.
“Help him!” Samuel shrieked, pushing Violet toward the flames, but it was too late. Henry fell to the ground, motionless, his body completely ablaze. Samuel must have known he was gone. I heard Damon’s long, low chuckle.
Samuel’s face contorted with grief and rage. He lunged at Damon, tackling him to the ground, and pulled the crossbow bolt from his abdomen. With a scream, he stabbed Damon in the chest. Cora clung to me while Violet approached Samuel and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. He shrugged her off.
Before I could move, Samuel slung Damon over his shoulder and stalked past me. Damon was still breathing, but he was gravely injured.
In the hallway, Samuel turned.
“Because of you two, Henry is dead,” he said, each word slick with rage. His eyes were hollow and bloodshot, and each word sounded like a curse. “Your brother will suffer for this. And then he will die,” Samuel said, as though relaying a prophecy. “Mark my words.” He pulled one of the hawthorns off the wire and plunged it into my chest just an inch from my heart.
“Stake him,” Damon whispered, barely conscious. I grasped wildly for the stake Violet had dropped, struggling as I felt the effects of the hawthorn course through my veins.
But by the time I had the stake in my hand, Samuel was gone, with Damon and Violet in his grasp. I sank to the ground, left with Cora’s cries and the acrid stench of Henry’s burned body. In the distance, I heard Samuel release a ragged wail, mourning for his brother.
We were in this battle to the death. Either Damon and I would live, or Samuel would finish us both. There was no other option. Either he’d join Henry in hell, or we would.
I didn’t know how the next battle would play out. All I knew was that I had to get my brother back.
EPILOGUE
I’d spent the last twenty years on the run, always wishing I could stay in one place. Now, I was bound to London, the dark, dank city where blood ran into the Thames and creatures of the night made their home in its monuments. I was bound to Cora, to Samuel, and to a complex web of deceit, blood, and threats. We were all entangled until one of us—be it by strength or spells or intelligence—broke free.
And most of all, I was bound to Damon. But it was about more than brotherly bonds. Now, it was truly the age-old battle between good and evil. Except it wasn’t that simple. Because all of us had sins that could never be undone.
This wasn’t a battle to be won by force. This was a battle to be won by intelligence, by Power, and—I realized more and more, as my mind kept returning to the impossibly blocked door in the Asylum—magic.
No rules. No limits. The only certainty was death.