The whip struck Niko again, and he grimaced.
“Take off the shirt. I don’t want to get blood on it. Those are your special clothes, brother. We must take good care of them.”
Niko didn’t have to comply—Lykos and Arcadius had already lifted the garment away. Niko seethed. He wanted to fight back, but his team’s lives were more important than his discomfort and pride.
“What are you doing!” Gem shrieked.
Niko snapped his head up to the purple light streaking into the room. “Go in the other room, Gem.”
“You can’t let them do this!”
Cyrus’s laugh was low and malicious. “Foolish girl. He has surrendered himself as my slave, and he is bound to me. A slave who steps out of line must be punished for his insolence. If he chooses to fight, it’s at his own peril. Or yours. Or perhaps that young boy you think you’re protecting. Or perhaps so many others connected to your team. Where should I start first?”
Gem’s light was no longer deep amethyst and silver. The deep blue flutters indicated she was afraid, but she was also angry and confused. Niko could read every detail as her emotions fluctuated, including her strength and determination to win.
“Please don’t do this,” she begged.
The whip struck Niko again. Lykos and Arcadius released their hold, and Niko fell forward.
Gem choked back a sob. “I’ll do whatever you want.Please.”
When Niko heard a slap, he shot to his feet and launched himself at Lykos. It washisenergy that pulsed just moments before Gem fell. Niko struck Lykos with a closed fist and then put him in a choke hold. Niko squeezed the trachea, so much rage powering through him that he would have cut off this man’s head if there had been a sword in his hand.
Gem shrieked, and by the scuffle and grunting, it sounded as if someone was holding her down. Niko lost focus. His eye exploded with pain when Lykos struck him. When Niko fell onto his back, someone grabbed his ankle and locked a metal object around it.
“Hold him still,” Cyrus ordered, his patience wearing thin. “He has no power anymore.”
Niko felt the absence of his core light for the first time in his immortal life. The link that had once been around Gem’s ankle was now around his, and the place deep down that had once held his immortality now felt like an abandoned lighthouse. He had no sense of his energy, and though his powers were only suppressed, it was the first time in almost two thousand years that he felt mortal again.
Vulnerable.
Fragile.
And it was dark. So very dark. His gift to see energy was now gone, thrusting him back in the world where he once lived as a boy.
“Will you do anything?” Cyrus mused.
“I could kill you all,” Gem declared in a small voice as if toying with the idea.
“Including your friend? Do so,” Cyrus challenged her. “Show us your powers.” He erupted with laughter.
Gem had little control over her energy balls and how destructive they could be if not properly formed and launched. Niko had seen the energy for himself, and it was immense. But he knew she’d never be so reckless as to wield her power within a small space. Not only could Cyrus and his men flash out of the way by the time she created an energy ball, but Gem could inadvertently kill everyone in the process, including herself.
“What a shame,” Cyrus remarked. “I was curious what gifts you might be hiding in those tiny hands of yours.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Do you see that feeble man before your feet? If you don’t do as I ask, I’ll whip him more. His wounds won’t heal with that cuff on. I’ll make him suffer.”
Gem gasped.
“Return to your home and bring me the book.”
Niko struggled against the two men holding his arms. “Gem,don’t.”
“I can’t give you the book,” she argued, ignoring Niko. “I don’t have it. I don’t know where to look.”
Niko winced when Cyrus kicked him in the back.
