Nebula

Twenty

[camera obscura]

Tessa felt her pulse hammer away through her veins, the edge of Vinny's blade pressing too close to her carotid artery. One wrong move and she'd be dead, and she doubted that her uncle would bring her back to life again. She grit her teeth, forcing herself to remain calm as she watched the scene before her play out.

            "Get them," Vinny said tiredly from behind Tessa. She could feel the resonations of his voice, the pulse of his own heartbeat. It made her sick, but at the same time, she wished that she could take her own blade and pierce it right through the son of Victoria's heart.

            Vinny's henchmen moved forward, and her friends sprang into action. Sophia leapt towards one of the goons, slashing her blade at him. However, the man was too fast, and apprehended her in a similar way to how Tessa had been. Reese strung arrow after arrow, firing at the man who blitzed him, but with a well-executed kick, Reese's golden bow clattered out of his hands and skittered across the floor. The only one left standing was Kaden, his golden sword in his hands and a deadly look in his glittering green eyes.

            "How are you, Kaden?" Vinny asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Heard they made you praetor. Think you'll be able to handle the job?"

            Kaden didn't so much as blink. A muscle in his clenched jaw twitched, and Tessa noted how as his grip on his sword tightened, the angry look from his eyes melted away. "Let my friends go, Vinny. It doesn't have to be like this."

            "Oh, but it does." Vinny said breathily. "And I'm afraid that your little girlfriend here is wanted dead or alive. I should take her prisoner just as I did that daughter of Pluto."

            Sophia gasped from within the grasp of her captor. Her pale blue eyes shimmered with rage and sorrow, and she struggled against her captor's embrace. Tessa knew in that moment: Vinny had captured Alexia. That's why she wasn't at camp.

            Kaden's face paled a bit, but he recovered. "Don't hurt her," He breathed, desperation in his visage.

            "You mean like this?" Vinny said, an amused tone in his voice. Tessa felt the edge of the blade dig into the skin of her neck, and stars danced before her eyes at the sudden stab of pain. Trickles of blood ran down her neck.

            Kaden's eyes flickered with a deadly fire. "If you hurt her, I swear to the gods that I will kill you myself."

            "You're just a son of Venus, Kaden, what harm can you possibly do?" Vinny drawled.

            "What harm can I do?" Kaden looked almost offended. "You said it yourself, I was made praetor. I defeated the drakon. I've fought a whole lot of monsters and baddies in my lifetime that I bet you can't even fight yourself. Besides, your little friends aren't attacking me." He glanced at the goons surrounding them before gazing back at Vinny. "I'd say they're afraid."

            Tessa took a sharp breath, trying not to dwell on the blade at her throat. She tried to meet Kaden's gaze, but as he continued to speak, she felt her heart leap.

            "Face it, Vinny, deep down, you don't want to hurt me. Or my friends." Kaden said, his voice taking on the lacy quality of his charmspeak. "You must be so tired of following orders. First, Kaya and Alex, and then Orion and the Regiment."

            Maybe it was Tessa's imagination, but she felt Vinny's grip on her begin to loosen.

            "You're so tired and angry and all you want's gotta be having people you can count on," Kaden continued, slowly taking steps forward. "I left you and the others, and I'm sorry."