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IT TOOK SOPHIE a few seconds to process what was happening. A clawed hand raced toward her and then pain exploded across her throat. She couldn't breathe. Her hands lifted to grasp at her throat but a hand blocked her. Angry green eyes filled her vision, and a raspy voice whispered in her ear.

"You're dead now."

Sophie heard Eli shout. Somewhere behind her, someone screamed. The hand inside her throat moved, retracted. A clawed hand appeared before her face, dripping in dark blood.

Headmaster towered over her. "You're too much like your mother," he sneered. Behind him, a horde of hunters and fledglings attacked. Headmaster glanced over his shoulder at them and smirked. A hand raised, he said to Sophie, "If only I had time to train you, my dear. Then you may have actually learned something."

A wall of wispy red smoke oozed from the earth around them. It created a barrier. Eli crashed against it, his sword raking across the redness. The metal squealed and snapped. A frustrated scream escaped Eli. He lashed out and started to punch the barrier.

"What is this?" Sophie croaked. Her hands remained closed around her throat. She could feel her skin struggling to knit itself back together. Around her, the rest of the world seemed to fade away as the barrier grew thicker.

Headmaster returned his attention to her. His eyes were narrowed, his hands clenched. "This is the power of an original vampire's blood. My demonic power is stronger than yours."

Sophie stared at him, clueless.

"The first vampires were created by a demon named Vladias, better known to the mortal world as Vlad, the Impaler. We were to serve in his army and help him conquer the supernatural world." The Headmaster seemed unable to resist the urge to teach a lesson. He crossed his arms and skewered her with a glare as he spoke. "My parents were part of that army, and I attempted to carry on his plans for domination after their demise."

"Why are you telling me this?" she rasped. Her throat was almost entirely healed now.

His expression hardened. "Because, my dear. I have failed here. I know that I will not survive for much longer. But you will live, and you will carry on in my stead."

Her eyes narrowed. Sophie twisted onto her side and attempted to stand. Her throat ached. Her fingers dug into the ground. "I won't do it."

"You won't have a choice," he purred. He lowered to her level and grabbed her chin. His gaze strayed lower, to her throat. His hand moved. He pressed the pad of his thumb against the hollow of her neck. Fire exploded across her skin, and Sophie screamed. She grasped his wrist and fought to pull his hand away. But Headmaster was stronger.

The flames faded. He wrenched her closer and glowered. "This is my curse to you, girl. You have been infested with my blood, with my darkness. As time passes, my blood will grow stronger. It will destroy your own. Even in death, I will be victorious."

"You can't."

Headmaster gazed down at her, his expression twisted with disgust. "I already have. You were the one who asked for this, dear. You should have accepted my apprenticeship when it was offered."

Sophie clutched at her throat. Headmaster pried her hand away and pressed it against his chest. He sneered down at her. "Now," he purred. "You will kill me."

She sputtered. His hand pressed against hers. It hurt. His bones and muscle fought against their hands as he plunged them deep within his chest. Blood squirted, and a pained expression twisted across his face. Her fingers curled around a wet glob. Teeth gritted, he retracted their hands. Clutched tight within her fingers sat a darkened heart. It pulsated desperately. Several valves writhed like snakes and dripped with blood.

Headmaster coughed. Dark blood trickled down his chin, dripping to the ground. His gaze caught hers. He forced her fingers to curl around it and squeeze.

A blood curdling scream ripped past his lips. His hands fell away, clutching desperately at his chest. Sophie watched him drop to the ground. He squirmed like a worm. Heavy, pained pants escaped him. Nausea swirled within her stomach, and her grip slackened.

Headmaster stopped moving. His gaze shot toward her, the whites of his eyes bloodshot. "Do it," he snarled. "Kill me. You know that you want to."

"I don't...I'm not..."

Sophie's mind was a ragged mess. She didn't know what she wanted. Moments ago, she wanted him dead. She would have ripped his heart out herself. He needed to pay for his actions. He hurt Eli. He tortured Wolfe. He took away her humanity.

It was different now that his life was actually in her hands.

"You're pathetic," he spat. Blood collected at the corner of his mouth. "You're too much like your mother. You couldn't hurt a fly."

Her teeth grit. She shook her head and stared at the heart in her hands. "I'm not going to murder you," she said. "You will be soon enough, my dear."

A switch flipped inside Sophie. Anger boiled deep inside her, and a hurricane churned within her chest. "I am not like you."

Her hand tightened around the thrumming organ within her hand. It squelched like wet mud. "I'm not like you. I don't destroy families. I don't torture people." She watched his chest arch and his claws scraped at his skin. He screamed and laughed, the twisted sound echoing within the barrier.

Sophie clenched her jaw and squeezed harder. If it weren't for him, Aelia would have never left her father and her father wouldn't be an alcoholic. If it weren't for him, Wolfe would be okay right now, and Aubrey would be happy. If it weren't for him, Eli wouldn't have been brainwashed. If it weren't for him, hundreds of humans wouldn't have been forcibly changed into vampires. He hurt her friends. He hurt her family. "You're right, Headmaster. I do want to kill you. And you deserve to die."

The heart in her hands squished between her fingers like putty. His hands twitched against his chest and then dropped. His body convulsed as his eyes rolled back inside his head. His lips parted around another soundless scream. Then he fell slack.

Sophie blinked. Her smile slowly vanished and the barrier around them disappeared back into the earth. She dropped the heart. It thudded against the ground and rolled. When it stopped, the heart dissolved into dust.

Her gaze remained focused on the dust, and she watched as a gust of wind carried it away. Her mind screamed. Her chest ached. She felt weak, as if she were about to faint.

She'd just killed the Headmaster, and liked it.

Eli appeared first. He dropped his dagger and threw his arms around her. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered.

She shuddered and buried her face within his chest. A sob broke free from her lips. "He's dead. I killed him."

"It's okay," he assured her, stroking her hair. "He was a horrible creature. If you hadn't, someone else would have. You did the right thing."

Unwillingly, Sophie pushed Eli away. She looked around. The army of hunters and fledglings all watched them, their weapons held ready. Most were panting heavily, as they had attacked the barrier as well.

Aelia stood closest to them. Her sword lay discarded on the ground, its blade shattered like Eli's. She walked closer and reached out to Sophie. Her expression looked bewildered. "I've never seen that kind of magic before," she whispered.

"No one has," Eli said. "I didn't even know it was possible."

Several other supernatural creatures murmured their agreement. Sophie wiped furiously at her blood-caked hands. Eli snatched them within his own and squeezed tight. "It doesn't matter," he announced. "It's over. We defeated the Headmaster. We won."

"Did we though?" Sophie whispered. The words came out too soft for anybody to hear. A flash of flames licked at the base of her throat. Her hand pulled away from Eli's. Her fingertips brushed against the base of her neck.

Her skin felt rough and scarred.

As she lowered her hand, Eli's hand shot out. He gently pinched her chin between two fingers and tilted her head back. Her eyes shot open wide as he peered closer at her throat. "What?"

"Your neck," he said. He sounded bewildered.

"Let me see," Aelia said. She stepped closer and leaned in, her eyes widening. "What's on your neck?"

Sophie scowled. "Skin, hopefully."

Eli shook his head. "It looks like you have a tattoo. It looks kind of like...a teardrop. It has these weird, intricate squiggles around it."

All that crossed Sophie's mind was the moment within the barrier, when Headmaster pressed his thumb against her throat. It only confused her even more. She opened her mouth to mention it to Eli but found that she couldn't speak. A flash of pain erupted from the area in which the teardrop sat. It muted her words.

Eli watched her face. His expression softened and he cupped her face within his hands. "Sophie, it doesn't matter now. You're okay. The Headmaster is dead. He can't hurt anybody anymore."

"I know," she managed to whisper.

He leaned closer and pressed his forehead against hers. All of her worries, her thoughts, her concerns started to melt away. His fingers caressed her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "We're okay."

"We are."

A smile tugged at her lips. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her heart swelled with warmth, with love. He grinned boyishly down at her and pressed his lips to hers. "We're okay," he repeated softly as he pulled back. He pressed another gentle kiss to her forehead.

And for now, they were. 

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