Elise froze for a moment, stunned by the rejection, before her expression twisted into something vile and contorted. Her eye pulsed. Her teeth gnashed in crooked rows as a bubbling snarl built in her throat.
"You dare scorn me?" she rasped. "You're just the bastard child of one of my pathetic brothers. A mistake. A stain. You think this means anything? You think you're safe?"
Her mangled hand shot forward.
Penny didn't flinch.
She braced herself, one arm shielding Moku. She was ready to die standing on Adam's side.
The hand never reached her.
A gunshot cracked the night.
Elise's head snapped sideways as a bullet tore through her temple, spraying black slime against the stone. Her body twisted from the force. Then another shot rang out. The other side of her head burst open. Her eye bulged and twitched.
Lily was walking toward her. Steady. Silent. Her rifle raised.
She fired again.
The top of Elise's head peeled back like rotten fruit. More slime. More rot.
