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Chapter Twenty-Seven - Stefanie Salvatore

Present day

The Hanging Fields, NC

Cristian killed him.

He killed Lyle.

Stef's entire body froze. Suddenly she didn't feel so confident that they could all walk away from this alive. She didn't want anyone to die, not even Lyle, not even any of the Coven. But kill or be killed had now become her reality. She quickly took note of all the positions of her enemies. Because that's what they now were: her enemies. Not her ex-boyfriend. Not the father who always disapproved of her. Not the step-sister who always rivalled Stef for Cristian's affections. Not even the powerful step-mother who tried her best to maintain a middle ground between her and her family. She now had to be prepared to kill them all if necessary. She never wanted this. This wasn't in her nature.

But it didn't take long for her shock to turn into rage.

Cristian studied her. "Something has certainly shifted in you," he observed with intrigue. Then he switched to a more casual tone. "So... I think I'll go kill your friends now."

He moved forward and Stef instantly blocked him, her eyes burning into him.

"Well, well, well," he smirked, stepping back. "You still have your humanity. I guess my little gamble paid off. Question remains, are you still a witch?"

This was it! This was how they were going to walk away from this. Cristian was almost certain that Lyle was not the witch, but all she had to do was not use her powers and maybe she could convince him otherwise.

Cristian lashed a whip of power towards her, which surrounded her like a lasso, pulling taut against her skin and yanking her to the ground. She hit the dirt, refusing to fight back even as the power unravelled from her.

Cristian paced around her, his magic putting pressure on her body, forcing her to remain prone on the ground. "Come on, Stefanie, even as a vampire you're stronger than this."

He was right. She could still resist him without using her magic. Placing both palms on the ground, she pushed against it, straining her muscles against his magic. Almost to her knees, she managed to place one foot flat on the floor, the weight above feeling like it was crushing her. But as she brought the other leg forward, suddenly the pressure left her off balance and she was flung backwards onto the dirt, her back hitting the ground.

Cristian stopped at her feet, looking down at her from above. "I refuse to believe Lyle was the witch, my little ruin. Are you really going to force me to take another gamble?"

Stef didn't answer, unsure what he meant by this.

"Ava! A stake, my dear," he shouted towards his step-sister.

Ava dropped a duffel bag she was holding, unzipped it, and pulled out a wooden stake. She walked over to Cristian, a bruise still prominent against her honey-coloured skin on the right side of her face from where Stef had kicked her. As she handed the stake over to Cristian, she looked down at Stef, her lips twitching upwards in an evil smirk before walking back to the group.

"Hand the rest of those stakes out and keep them pointed over there." Cristian gestured in the direction of Gabe and Zara who had taken a few steps closer, ready to get involved. "Use your magic to fire them in that direction if they move again, I don't care which one of them you hit. Aim for the Vaziris if you must, I'm reaching my last nerve now."

Gabe and Zara stepped back again, flanking Raid and Adam protectively.

The stake in his hand, Cristian came down over Stef's body, his knees between her legs, his power closer now, keeping her pinned to the ground with no escape unless she fought back with her magic. Her face scrunching up from the strain of her hopeless struggle against him, her eyes fixed on the stake nervously.