A Shade of Kiev 2 by Bella Forrest Page B

unbelievable they became. Not a single one of The Shade’s vampires had fallen. And I knew that Matteo’s people were no weaklings.
    Matteo . I couldn’t get his last words out of my head.
    “For being fool enough to believe my sister’s killer could ever be redeemed.”
    They played over and over, like a needle piercing the same nerve each time it struck.
    What is my life?
    Everything I touch seems to turn to poison.
    Poison. I caught sight of a bottle of liquor on a shelf near the window. Long ago, I had made a vow never to drink alcohol. Because it made me lose the little control I had over my actions. I remembered what I used to end up doing on those nights I would get drunk to drown out the pain. I shuddered just recalling how much more blood I had on my hands the morning after. How much further I had allowed myself to sink into the darkness, if that was even possible.
    It had been one of the few promises I’d managed to keep to myself.
    Until now.
    Now seems to be as good a time as any to break it. I would break it anyway. Because everything in my life breaks sooner or later.
    I reached for the bottle, unscrewed the cap and downed a gulp. Then another. And another.
    With each gulp I took, the screaming in my head dulled. The images of Matteo’s men, my comrades, strewn on the ground. Brett’s terror. Saira’s disappointment. Matteo’s words. The waste of all the years of work into building that island up into a place they could inhabit. All seemed to fade like an old painting.
    I got up, walked out onto the balcony and leaned over the railing, the bottle still hanging from my hand. It was then that I noticed Julisse and Arielle sitting in the courtyard by the lily pond, deep in conversation.
    Those bitches… They ruined my brother and sister.
    As I stood there looking down at them, I remembered something that Clara—of all people—had once said to me when she was trying to convince me to do some kind of abominable act.
    “ If you’re going to accept a dance with Darkness, dance full swing.”
    I downed the last of the bottle. Then, smashing it against the floor, I ran out of my room and along the corridor until I reached the stairs. Extending my claws, I raced down them—too fast for my inebriated state. I missed a step and crashed to the bottom of the stairs. I swore as I staggered to my feet.
    “Kiev?”
    Celice .
    She walked toward me cautiously, eyeing me like I was some kind of animal.
    “Your sisters,” I grunted, “are bitches. Heartless bitches.”
    Celice’s eyes widened as she stepped back.
    “You’re drunk,” she said. “Kiev Novalic, I don’t like you when you’re drunk. And I needed to talk to you about something important.”
    “I don’t—”
    “Kiev.”
    My sister must have heard all the commotion and she came running down the stairs.
    “You’re a wreck,” she said, frowning as she looked me over.
    “I think it’s time,” another female voice called from the doorway across the main entrance hall. I looked up to see Julisse and Arielle standing there.
    “Bitches,” I muttered again.
    As soon as I said the word, Helina’s hands wrapped tightly around my mouth, choking me.
    “I don’t care how lost you are to alcohol, Kiev,” she hissed into my ear. “You must never insult our witches. Do you understand?”
    I refused to nod. Why shouldn’t I call them what they were? She kept her hands around my mouth. Then she blocked my nose so I couldn’t breathe at all.
    “Kiev. Brother, please. Tell me that you promise.”
    Her change of tone had shaken me, and even in my drunken state, I decided to heed her words. If only to not cause my sister distress. I nodded slightly and she let go.
    “Never forget that, Kiev.” She looked at me, her face contorted with worry. “Never forget that.”
    Barely had she finished speaking the words than Julisse and Arielle reached us from across the room.
    “It’s time,” Julisse muttered to Helina, eyeing me disapprovingly. “I