The dark energy slammed into the room like a black wave. Everyone hit the ground hard, except for one guy.
Liana stood in the middle of the chaos, completely untouched. Her red eyes glowed brighter as she looked around at the fallen bodies.
"Well, that was dramatic," she said, brushing dust off her dress.
Aria pushed herself up, her head spinning. "Liana? What are you?"
"The better question is what I'm not." Liana's fangs gleamed in the dim light. "I'm not your friend. Never was."
Selene clambered to her feet, the obsidian stone cracked in her hand. "Vampire. I should have sensed you."
"You should have done a lot of things differently." Liana circled them like an animal. "But you were too busy playing puppet master to notice the real threat."
Magnus groaned as he sat up. "How long have you been working together?"
"We haven't," both women said at the same time, then glared at each other.
