Elias's POV
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
Lucian was important to me. We had grown togethere right from when we were children. Of course I wanted to choose him.
But Catherine…
Aldric chuckled. "You are all so predictable, including you, my once perfect creation," he said, and snapped his fingers.
A cruel snap filled the air, like the breaking of bones.
"NO!" Giovanni screamed, but the sound died in his throat.
Because Lucian was still breathing. Still standing. Still alive.
It was Catherine who fell.
The little girl crumpled to the ground like a broken doll, her neck twisted at an impossible angle. Her eyes, wide with confusion and fear just moments before, were now empty and staring.
Nicklaus made a sound that wasn't quite human, a keening wail of grief and rage that seemed to come from somewhere deep in his chest. He moved faster than I'd ever seen anyone move, crossing the distance to Aldric in less than a heartbeat.
But Aldric was ready for him.
