Queasiness settles over me. There’s a large tear in my dress. Did I get that before or after I blacked out?
Not daring to breathe, I turn away from the bars, checking for any sign that he kept going while I was unconscious. Finding nothing, I shudder and breathe a sigh of relief.
Hopefully, being down here means Leon has finally given up on forcing a bond. Maybe I can rot in this cell for eternity.
Of course, the moment I let myself hope, a bang reverberates through the prison. A thin rectangle of light appears at the very top of the cave – the exit.
A lone figure enters. The light is too dim to make out their features, but I already know who it is. Dread curdles in my stomach as I track him.
Leon is coming.
My palms feel clammy, and I scramble backward until the chains snap taut. As terror rolls through me, I can’t help but shake my head at how far we’ve come from the man who lay in my bed just to keep me warm.
“Oh, pet,” he taunts when he’s about halfway down. “Are you awake yet?” His question is answered by a deep, menacing growl. It rolls out from somewhere below me, causing small pebbles on the floor to vibrate.
What in the actual fuck was that?
Leon’s answering laugh mixes with a series of metallic clangs. They echo through the prison, and the growls go silent. He’s rapping a baton against a thin, metal bar. Squinting, I realize it runs horizontally across the wall between each cell.
The growls don’t come again.
I blink, feeling slightly dizzy. When I look at my door again, Leon is there, staring down at me with a sinister smile.
Either I’m starting to lose time, or he just apparated in front of my cell. Since apparating within the Council walls is impossible, and I’ve collected a few more head injuries, I’m going with option A.
My body locks up, even as I glare at him. I refuse to let him think I’m afraid (I am). But then I spot the strip of bloody gauze taped to the side of his head.
His ear hasn’t grown back yet.
I grin wide, hoping his blood still stains my teeth. A flash of annoyance crosses his face before he masks it away. He leans against the bit of wall jutting out beside my door, looking amused.
“Well, well, well. Look at how far you’ve crumbled,” he tuts in a mocking tone.
Since I’m in no mood to interact with a rapist, I decide Lilanthara really was a role model. After all, she taught me how to look like an ice-cold bitch. Rather than wasting more energy on Leon, I examine my cuticles. Blood is caked under my nails, and I think my finger stub has grown back a few millimeters.
Honestly, I’m digging this look. If I’m going to rot down here forever, I think it’s important to make a good impression. I definitely look like a badass.
Leon laughs darkly. “How sweet. You think you can ignore me?”
I don’t acknowledge his existence. This might be a tiny space, but there are bars between us, and I’ve never been more grateful for a barrier.
There’s a slight shuffling noise, followed by a metallic click. My attention snaps up, and I once again realize I’m the unholiest jinx in the joke that is my life.
Leon opens the door.
This is still because I broke that damned mirror, isn’t it?
He grabs my hair, causing familiar pain to streak across my skull.
I try to punch him in the balls, but Leon twists at the last second. My hit glances off his thigh, and black dots explode across my vision as he slams a knee against my face.
I’m momentarily stunned, and Leon takes advantage. He drags me to the end of my chains before shoving my head against the ground.
The cuffs bite into my wrists, and just as I start to crawl forward, he straddles my back. I struggle, but he hums contentedly as he wrenches my head to the side, forcing me to look at him. He looms over me, and excitement dances in his eyes.
A familiar panic wells up inside me.
I ignore it.
