Chapter Two
Kyella
The moment I made the decision to let loose my abilities, it felt as if fire blazed through my entire body, tingling all the way down to the tips of my fingers. My physical form felt invigorated with the renewed energy of my determination, allowing me to hyperfocus on what needed to be done. It helped that my knee seemed to have completely healed, and while my cheek and tailbone were still a bit tender, the slight pain wouldn’t hold me back in this fight.
The time to act was now.
Clenching my hands into fists, I strained against the ropes binding my wrists and gave one sharp tug. An unpleasant burn and scratching sensation accompanied the ropes falling away, but it was minor. As Gregory and Frederick came within a foot of me, my attention fell fully onto them.
My chest rose and fell with my short, quick breaths as my heart beat wildly.
Let them get closer.
The few seconds it took them to close the short gap between us felt like an eternity as I waited, stomach fluttering with anxiety.
I had to believe in my strengths and abilities—I had to believe inme.
As they each grabbed for one of my arms, I finally let my upper lip curl back in a feral snarl, revealing the fangs that pushed from my gums, begging to be used. Before they could register my weapons, I surged forward in a quick burst of speed, grabbing the side of each of their heads and smashing them together as hard as I could with my newfound strength.
Crack.
They fell like heavy sacks of potatoes at my feet, crumpled together. I didn’t think for a second the bludgeoning would kill them, but I hoped they’d stay unconscious long enough for me to handle Holmeth one on one. I’d deal with them after.
The big bastard let out a hiss of fury before he raced toward me, utilizing his enhanced speed until he was nearly on me. Ducking under his outstretched arms, I grabbed the two daggers from the slumped figures of Gregory and Frderick, the same ones the fuckers had stolen from me. I loved the strength the daggers imbued in me as I closed my fingers around the hilts. Hearing the scruff of feet behind me, I crouched and whirled on the balls of my feet to whip both daggers through the air in front of me. They sliced cleanly through the wood hilt of an ax Holmeth had procured from somewhere in the room. The heavy metal of the ax head thunked into the planks beneath us, embedding itself deeply into the split wood.
“You little bitch,” Holmeth gritted from between clenched teeth as his nostrils flared with rage.
Just as I pushed to my feet, planning to spring away to put distance between us, two bruising grips latched onto my ankles and swept me back off of my feet. For a brief moment, I felt weightless as I sailed through the air before I crashed to the floor. The back of my head cracked against the wood, splintering the plank from the force. I let out a cry of pain but tried to push past it in order to clear my head of the temporary distraction.
I needed to focus and get back on my feet. There wasn’t another option—this was do or die.
I forced my eyes open in time to see a cloth descending toward my mouth before it clamped down tightly over my nose and lips, forcing me to breathe in a sweet-smelling odor before I could stop myself. Thrashing with violent strokes aimed toward the arm holding the rag over my mouth, I willed my daggers to make contact with anything.
Snap.
Snap.
White-hot pain scorched through my wrists as they broke, hands curling and loosening my grip. My daggers clattered to the floor as I howled in pain. The cry of pain forced me to take a deep breath of the poison, and a wave of dizziness came over me. A fog encompassed me, entirely invading my brain.
My temples and the area behind my eyes thrummed with dull pain as my eyes fluttered shut.
No. Fight. Stay awake.
The rough cloth was pulled away from my face, and I gasped, trying to clear my head by inhaling fresh air. Just as I forced my eyes open, I saw a fist flying toward my face and winced as it cracked against my jaw, whipping my head to the side with the impact.Holy shit, that hurt.
My senses felt dulled from the poison I’d been forced to inhale. Between my wrists and jaw, I was drowning in blinding agony. The taste of copper filled my mouth, and I spit the blood on the floor before rasping a ragged breath.
Fingers trailed along my chin before yanking it sharply up. “Look at me, bitch,” Holmeth spat, spittle flying from his mouth and onto my face as he hovered above me. As my eyes locked onto his, he grinned wickedly. “Malakai warned us that you might have been turned into a vampyre during your stay here. Why do you think we tested you with those ropes? Goaded you? You aren’t very smart.”
What?Why would he tell them that? Without a doubt, Malakai knew what I was. It was why he’d orchestrated the killing of my family and devised a plan to try to emotionally manipulate me to willingly be on his side. He wanted me under his thumb. So why not tell them I’m actually a dhampyr? If he did, then these three would know about my venom and…
The force with which the answer came to me nearly knocked the breath from me.
This was his way of preparing his lackeys for my abilities without giving away the closely guarded secret of dhampyrs and our power. That fucking bastard. Throwing his underlings to the wolves, of course. He told them just enough to explain my strengths, but he didn’t want them getting any ideas about trying to gain any power from me. Onlyhewas allowed to do that, it seemed.
My face must have shown a fraction of my shock because Holmeth threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, this is just too fun. Now that we know exactly how rough we can be with you, the real games can begin.”
They were testing me the whole time…All the while, I thought I was being rational and smart. They played me like a fiddle.Shit.
