Chapter 373: Powerless
I knew there was nothing I could do against so much blood magic, but no way was I giving up, not now, not ever.
My Sidhe power held her back as Ameline drew in the rush of magic suddenly available to her, flooding the basement with a mist of red stinging my eyes and skin and making my lungs ache. Shaylee cried out, tried to flee from the touch of the cloud as we all, my demon and Sidhe princess and I, realized what it was at the same moment-not just magic, but blood itself, infused with power and suspended and feeding Ameline with every single pinprick of it when it touched exposed skin or reached our lungs.
Which meant it was attacking everyone in the room. Yes, even the vampires themselves, Ameline's so-called allies now crumpling with horrible cries, their skin seeming to weep red where the mist touched them. Piotr collapsed to the damp stone, one hand reaching for Sunny.
She, at least, wasn't down for the count yet, thanks to my shielding, but I was weakening too fast, more and more of the mist reaching us, and I knew she only had seconds.
The door crashed open again, Uncle Frank and Liam storming their way downstairs. Liam's Sidhe power bubbled outward, covering him and the two vampires as Sunny fell to her knees, both hands clutching her damaged face. He was just foreign enough, I could only guess, Ameline without access yet to Sidhe power, that Liam was able to hold off the mist while Uncle Frank sheltered Sunny. But I could also see the strain on his face and knew his barrier of protection was stretched to its limit.
Which meant Charlotte, Mia and I were on our own. Not that I expected much help from the damaged leader of the Dumont coven, not while she sat on the floor, sobbing and muttering to herself.
Shaylee's power finally collapsed, her magic tied too closely to mine, making her vulnerable, leaving bigger gaps in my shields, gaps my demon struggled to fill, her amber power burning away some of the mist. It wasn't until she howled her fury I felt not only the burn and sting of the mist, but the pull of it as well.
Ameline was feeding on me.
The bitch.
And there was nothing I could do to stop her. Not while my demon whimpered and did her best, my witch magic spiraling around me, the family power writhing in its own agony as Ameline pulled more and more free, feeding not only herself, but the very cloud of blood until I could barely see through it, just enough I knew she stood above me now, the outline of her vague, but her burning eyes gazing down on me as though she owned me.
"And now, Sydlynn Hayle," she said in a voice that vibrated with so much power I knew I was done for, "I shall take what is mine, both the Dumont family magic and your own Hayle power, and you and the life forces inside you will feed me, grant me their unique magicks, until you die."
She crouched next to me, fingers running through the cloud of blood, clearing a path through it so I could see her, smearing it over her lips, licking her fingers until her mouth dripped crimson.
Weak, unable to counter her, feeling Gram beating against the connection between us, blocked off by the power of Ameline's blood magic, I refused to quit even though the world began to darken around the edges as unconsciousness threatened.
Until the vampire inside me roared to life with a surge of power. ENOUGH!
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