Blood. So much blood. The scent invaded my nostrils, reminding me I probably had flecks of it on my skin. I reached up with my zip-tied hands and tried to swipe at my cheeks. A few red streaks came off on my fingers, which meant I’d just made it worse. The coppery stench was everywhere, though, as if I’d never be able to scrub it off.
Why had my father trusted a man like Thorin Glass?
Why had he betrayed me?
My heart ached. I’d never get the answers—not the real ones from the man himself. Because he’d bet on the wrong person, and Thorin had murdered him in cold blood once he’d outlived his usefulness.
The zip ties dug into my wrists and ankles, and my whole body ached as if someone had smacked me repeatedly with a two by four. I had no idea how much time had passed, but the silence out there made it feel like it had been hours. It was just me in here with my thoughts, which was the worst place to be.
And I had no idea when Thorin would return or demand my retrieval. Once I was sent to Spectacle, or wherever in Glacier Industries he planned to keep me, I was beyond fucked. Yet, what could I do? I’d left the people who would’ve defended me, and I’d placed my trust in the wrong person. Cillian seemed to have his own hornet’s nest that this had inspired.
My heart ached. I just wanted him to be okay.
The pale white of the wall swirled before me, and I stared up at it until my eyes ached, until I let them flutter shut. The moment I did, my eyelids turned to granite, and trying to open them again became impossible.
My breathing evened, and a dizzying swirl of darkness claimed me.
Ugh.
I blinked my eyes open, an ache behind them, my mouth dry like I’d slept for hours. The room around me was the same pale white office as before. My stomach sank. It hadn’t all been some terrible nightmare. Heaviness weighed down my body, even though I’d clearly fallen asleep. I had no idea how much time had passed, but I was relieved to have spent it unaware rather than conscious.
A thump sounded beyond the door, and I straightened up, rousing to attention.
Someone else was here.
The doorknob rattled.
Chapter 29
Ibraced my shoulders for whoever was about to enter.
As much as I’d been defeated and beaten today, I could fight here and now. Because if they managed to drag me off to another location, I’d be doomed.
My body was tensed. I’d launch my weight at whoever entered the second they got close enough.
The doorknob rattled again, and a second later, it flew open.
Two people I worried I’d never see again stood in the doorway. Amelia was dressed in all black, her silver-threaded hair pulled into a tight bun, and her features bled with a different sort of seriousness than normal—battle ready. And Theo stood by her side, similarly attired in all black. A little bit of his wolf had crept into his features, his fangs poking down, his claws extended, and his ginger hair trailing onto his cheeks.
The relief punched me so hard in the chest that I sagged forward.
I thought I’d never see any of them again, yet Amelia had been as good as her word.
At least someone had.
Bitterness at what I’d lost corroded inside me, clashing with the gasp of necessary air that their presence delivered.
“How?” I asked as they stepped in. “Wait, there are guards in the warehouse.”
Amelia snorted. “They were the furthest from professional. I’ve fought harder foes in my sleep.” Relief thundered through me. How had she and Theo dispatched them while I’d slept? The lethality they employed only confirmed how dangerous both of them were. She fixed her gaze on me. “You’re the reason we found you.”
My brows drew together, and I followed her stare, which was locked on the golden bracelet around my wrist.
The one she’d given me for protection at the gala.
Understanding crashed in.
“I wasn’t sure if its use had worn off,” I murmured.
