Travis Spencer. Former captain. Biggest traitor I didn’t want to see coming.
His smile was gentle. "Hello, Aileen. It's good to see you again."
I threw myself against my inner prison. Rage scorched my insides as I contemplated all the ways someone like him could die.
He was one of them. Fae. Scattered.
The only good thing about that was I knew it would take him that much longer to die when I finally got my hands on him.
I lost track of the conversation for a spell, consumed with fantasies of skinning him an inch at a time.
"Right about now, I can guess you’re pretty unhappy with me." His smile was less charming than I remembered. "I'm sorry for the deception."
Not yet, but he would be.
I could rip out his entrails and feed them to him. I bet he wouldn't like that.
Travis was talking again. "You've really got yourself into quite the predicament." His gaze moved over me. "I wish you'd taken the meeting I asked for. It would have made all of this so much easier."
I called bullshit.
If I'd made the meet, the ambush would have happened a little sooner. That was it.
It was obvious now that the bastard had planned this from the start. From his very first call.
"What are we going to do with her?" Astrid asked. "She's not going to be of much use like this."
Travis's eyes never left mine as he smiled. "I can think of a few options."
There was rustling in the room as people I couldn't see moved around.
Travis leaned down, his face filling my vision.
The human version of him had been forgettable and easily overlooked if not for the way he carried himself—with confidence.
The troops had never thought to question his authority. He'd been beloved and respected. The type of soldier you held up to others as an example.
All a big, fat lie.
"You sit tight. We'll be back soon," he said.
He straightened, moving out of my line of sight. I listened, hearing the footsteps of the others and then a door opening and closing.
Someone's soft breathing told me I wasn’t alone yet.
A snake slithered onto my face, raising its head to peer into my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Aileen." For her part, Callie really did sound regretful. "This wasn't how this was supposed to go. We'll reverse this. I promise."
Then, she too, left. I was alone with my thoughts, nothing better to do than stew in this latest situation.
*
When your senses were dulled and the world little more than a dream, time had little meaning.
I had no idea how long they left me in the room by myself with nothing to do but sit and wait.
The inevitable creep of the clock was impossible to track when you had no sense of self, no way to moor yourself to reality.
