Alston said something in his language, and suddenly Sally was standing. She hadn’t made the conscious decision to stand, nor was she in control of the fact that she was now walking toward the creepy electric-chair-looking seat. It even had one of those things that went on your head.
“What are you doing?” She despised the fear she heard in her voice.
“Like any hypothesis, this must be tested.” Alston walked around until he stood in front of her. Sally felt her body being pushed down with invisible hands until she was fully seated.
She looked up at Tenia and saw that the female’s eyes were wide, and she was leaning forward but couldn’t move. Alston had bound her. “You said this chair wasn’t for me,” Sally pointed out.
“I lied,” Alston said with absolutely no remorse. “Are you really surprised? If you pick up a snake, can you be shocked you get bitten? You knew what I was when you walked into this room.”
“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” Sally bit out as the straps on the arms of the chair began to wrap themselves around her wrists, moving up her arms until she was held from wrist to shoulder. As soon as she felt herself beginning to panic, she did the one thing she promised she wouldn’t. She slammed the bond shut. There was no way she was going to let Costin go through whatever it was that Alston had planned for her. She had to hope her mate would keep himself together because Titus was in his care and needed him.
The straps wrapped themselves around her legs all the way up to her thighs, continuing up until they crisscrossed her chest. Then a strap came across her forehead, slamming her against the back of the chair. Why on earth would she need this many restraints? Was this actually an electric chair? The helmet-looking thing moved of its own accord, floating up until she could no longer see it. But a moment later she felt it lowering until it completely covered Sally’s head.
She swallowed several times and took slow, deep breaths, trying to calm down. If she didn’t get herself under control, then no matter how tight the bond was locked down, Costin would feel her.
Alston reached behind the chair and retrieved a bundle of clear, open capsules, the size of her fingers, attached to thin tubing. He put one on each of her fingers.
“What the hell are those?” Sally growled.
“Much of your power comes through your hands because that’s how you heal. I decided that would be the best place to begin the syphoning.”
“I’m sorry, did you say syphoning?” She stumbled over her words because she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Sally wasn’t able to see where the tubes ran because her head couldn’t move, and she could only look down so far.
“Exactly,” Alston said, looking oddly pleased at the sight of the tubes on her hands. Then he turned to Tenia, and his eyes narrowed. “You will stand here and monitor her. You made a promise to her that you should not have. Who are you to say whether she will remain unharmed?”
Sally watched the female’s face harden as she stared back at Alston. Tenia stumbled forward when Alston seemingly released her from the bind he’d had on her.
“I have eyes and ears everywhere, female,” he said to Tenia. “You’d do well to remember that and where your loyalties lie. If you help her in anyway, I will kill you myself.”
Alston then turned and looked at Sally. He held out a hand and said something else in his language. Sally’s back bowed away from the chair as a bolt of blinding white pain shot through her. It started at the center of her body and then exploded out through her limbs. The capsules on her fingers felt as if they were trying to suck the bones from her hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus on keeping the bond closed, picturing a steel door between her and Costin. The pain intensified, and her mouth opened to scream but nothing came out.
When she opened her eyes, they were watery with her tears, but she could still see Alston’s face. He shook his head at her. “I can’t have you screaming up a storm and getting everyone all excited. This is a compound full of predators, healer. They would love nothing more than to make you their prey.” He chuckled as if he’d made a funny joke and then, without another word, he left the room. The two male fae followed after him like good little puppies.
Sally’s eyes shifted to Tenia. The woman looked as if she was in as much pain as Sally was.
“I’m sorry,” Tenia mouthed, though no sound came from her.
Sally wanted to ask why she was apologizing. Did she really expect anything less from an organization that wanted to take over the world? If this female was so compassionate that she was apologizing to her enemy, then why on earth was she working with the Order? Sally couldn’t focus on her questions simply because the pain was intensifying, and it was taking everything inside of her to keep from crying out to her mate.
She squeezed her eyes tightly closed again, shutting out the female fae, and focused on every good memory she could think of. She tried to separate herself from the pain and almost smiled when she remembered the first time she saw Titus's little face.
She could do this. She could survive and come out whole on the other side. Of all the things she’d endured, this would not be the thing that broke her.
Chapter 8
“I’ve decided we should use the volcanoes all over the world as lakes of fire and throw all the Alstons, Ludcarabs, and the like into them. Also, I’d like to record their cries as their bodies hit the burning liquid and use them as my ringtone. No, none of this hell has affected me at all. I totally don’t need counseling.” ~Jen
Jen heard a loud thud against the wall she and Costin had been using for morse code to communicate. She glanced at Thia, who, by the grace of the Great Luna, was sound asleep. Jen hurried over to the wall and started knocking on it in a pattern to ask her question. She knew Sally was going to give her a ton of grief later because Jen had learned morse code and neither she nor Jacque knew about it.
“What’s happening over there?” Jen tapped out on the wall. She waited. And waited. Just when she was about to tap again, she got a response.
“They took Sally,” Costin responded.
“Mother of ducks,” Jen growled as she realized that Costin was probably about to completely lose control of his wolf. His only saving grace was Titus.Wait. He still has Titus, right?They might have taken Titus to get Sally to cooperate.
She tapped out her question.
“Titus is safe with me.”
