Pretty When She Destroys (Pretty When She Dies #3)(56)

Aimee set her hands on the open pages, bright specks of magic stirring under her palms. “Therefore, I’m going to ask a simple question.” She looked first to Amaliya and then to Samantha. “Amaliya, have you drunk from Samantha since her transformation?”

“Eww, no.” Samantha flinched at the idea.

The question surprised Amaliya, but it also made an immense amount of sense all at once. “No, I haven’t.”

“I think you need to drink her blood. And she probably needs more of yours. I have a feeling Samantha is in mid-transition. Not fully a phasmagus. Also, you two are connected. Once Samantha has all her abilities, she will be able to instantly attune to the dead.” Aimee’s gaze shifted back and forth between them. “I think once Samantha is at full power, it will allow you to be at full power, too.”

That surprised Amaliya. “You don’t think I’m at full power?”

Aimee shook her head. “Not yet. Maybe if The Summoner had kept giving you his blood you would be, but he abandoned you and your connection with him dimmed. When you accidently made Samantha into a phasmagus, I think your connection with her kinda took his place. Your powers feed each other. They’re complimentary. I’ve been doing a bit of experimentation with the blood both of you gave me. When used together, the results are always much stronger.”

“So I have to drink her blood. And she has to drink mine?” Samantha gave Amaliya a revolted expression. “That’s all sorts of gross.”

“Maybe,” Aimee said. “But once at full power Amaliya may be able to summon the dead without spilling her blood on cemetery graves. She may be able to pull them straight out of the earth like The Summoner.”

Falling onto her back, Amaliya stared up at the night sky. “Fuck me. That would be brilliant.”

“That would be...good.” Samantha’s voice was hesitant.

Amaliya felt a little overwhelmed. Aimee’s words rang true. Her magic was always lashing out, trying to find stability. With Samantha, she felt more focused and powerful. Whenever she was around The Summoner, she felt her magic responding to his, which was quite dangerous.

The witch sat in silence, waiting for one of them to say something more.

Amaliya rolled over to face her, one hand cupping her head. “Will this help with the blood bond?”

With a sad look, Aimee gave her head a little shake. “He’ll still be a huge magnet to you, but it may help lessen his hold a little. All my experiments failed. You’re infused with his power and blood. I can’t remove that without killing you.”

“We should do it,” Samantha said abruptly. “We need to do it. There’s no room for discussion. I need my powers. You need yours.”

Amaliya observed the blonde’s pensive face and sympathized. They had started off as adversaries and were now friends. Their magic demanded even more of them now, and it was a little frightening. It was another form of commitment. Up until recently Amaliya had run away at the mere hint of committing to anything.

“It might get all sexy,” Amaliya teased.

Samantha’s face paled a little. “Eww.”

“Aw, it’s fun getting all sexy with another girl,” Aimee said with a sly look.

The phasmagus’s pallid pallor was abruptly altered to bright red.

“She’s giving you a hard time,” Amaliya assured Samantha.

“I just like my sexy times to be with only Jeff,” Samantha muttered.

“It’ll be fine.” Amaliya sat up, crossed her legs, and took Samantha’s hand.

Instantly, their magic intermingled, darkness and light. Both women promptly relaxed, their earlier prickliness dissipating.

“See,” Aimee said triumphantly. “Complimentary.”

“What’s in the basket?” Amaliya asked.

“Things to make it less sexy,” Aimee said, her gaze amused, her tone mocking.

“I’m all for that.” Samantha perked up significantly.

When the witch withdrew a dagger and chalice, Samantha deflated. Amaliya didn’t care how they exchanged blood. She could quickly heal. It would be more painful for the human with the dagger than with Amaliya’s sharp teeth.

“I’ll leave it up to you, Samantha.” Amaliya offered her an encouraging smile.

Closing her eyes and thrusting out her arm, Samantha said, “Bite me, bitch.”




The kitchen smelled of magic and some awful human food. Cian tried to block out the stench and concentrate on the human seated across from him at the kitchen table. Jeff’s nervousness was obvious. He kept running his hands through his hair and avoiding direct eye contact with Cian. To unnerve the mortal further, the vampire sat with his arms folded across his chest, head slightly tilted, and his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. Cian was feeling agitated and Jeff’s hem-hawing around the topic he wanted to discuss wasn’t helping his mood.

“...so I’m trying to keep focused on keeping the group unified, you know?” Jeff was saying.

Cian inclined his head.

The house was empty. Cassandra, Baptiste, and Eduardo were patrolling the city, checking all the perimeter spells, while Benchley was visiting Alexia at the electronic command center at Cian’s home. Cian could clearly see Amaliya, Samantha, and Aimee through the windows. The three women were seated on the lawn and having an animated conversation. He’d rather be hunting than dealing with Jeff, but the man was anxious to talk to him.