“Did everything go as planned?” Adriel asks, his eyes locked on mine, and my eyebrows scrunch up with confusion.
“Yes, I laid everything out just as you instructed,” Siah tells him, and I try to fight against the panic that starts to rise inside of me at his words.
“Did any of her companions suspect anything?” Adriel presses, and Siah shakes his head.
“No. I put up the right amount of fight for the paladin that took me, and the rest fell into place very easily. She volunteered to trade herself for her family just like you said she would,” Siah tells him.
“Typical Sentinel,” Adriel jeers. “They always play the hero.” Siah and Adriel both scoff at the same time, and indignation burns through me.
“Sorik and his hunters are back there, waiting for my call so they can dispatch the others,” Siah relays nonchalantly, like they’re talking about the weather and not murdering everyone I love.
“Run!”I shout in my head at my Chosen, putting every ounce of terror and urgency I can into the word.
“You motherfucker,” I seethe at Siah simultaneously, and then I leap for him.
He moves like a blink out of my way, and I’m just able to nick him with my longsword as I swing out at the blur of movement to my left. Adriel’s laughter dances around my attack like a tornado, and I pump magic into all of my limbs, demanding they move faster so I can keep up with Siah’s speed. He growls at me and swipes at his side, his hand coming away streaked with crimson. I let go of my swords and flash throwing knives into my grip, pelting every flash of movement I catch with a blade in that direction.
I am a streak of movement just like Siah is, and rage is thundering through me, demanding more blood for his betrayal. Lamia pour out of the ruins like ants from an anthill, and I start snapping blades all around me to keep them at bay. I send pulses of Offensive magic and Sentinel magic out into the gathering lamia, and I smile as I watch hordes of them light up and then crumble into ash. I track the flash that I think is Siah as it tries to circle behind me and spin to keep him in my sights while I send ripples of magic out to protect my back.
Laughter and snarls drown my senses, but I keep my eyes fixed on the betraying asshole, waiting for the opening, for the kill shot that I know is just about to present itself. He’s moving in a predictable way, and I know in just another heartbeat where he’ll flash and my dagger will be there waiting for his heart. Satisfaction bubbles inside of me at the knowledge that two seconds after this dagger sinks into Siah’s chest, I’ll be there to cut off his head. I cock my arm back for the throw, and out of nowhere, something snaps around my neck.
Whatever it is clicks together, and the next thing I know, my throat is being shredded by blood curdling screams, and my body burns from the inside out. My vision tunnels as I become nothing but pain, and I beg for the encroaching blackness to take me.
“There’s my pet,” a deep voice whispers into my ear. “You’re mine now.”
19
Gentle fingers caress my forehead as they brush hair out of my face. I try to lean into the comforting touch as it brushes against my cheek. Too quickly it’s gone, and a strangled groan of protest sounds in my throat. I bring a weak hand up to massage the pain I’m feeling there, but my hand hits metal, and brutal reality kicks me in the chest. My eyes snap open, and I try to sit up, wincing at the incredible pain and fatigue I’m feeling all over.
“Slowly,” a voice commands me, and a cup is pressed to my lips.
I stare into cold, ice-blue eyes, and I have to blink away the hate and betrayal that starts to well up in my own. I clamp my lips shut against the rim of the metal cup, and a flash of something streaks across Siah’s eyes too fast for me to identify.
“This will help you heal,” he tells me gently, but I know now not to fall for that passive tone. “With what the collar did to you, Adriel thinks you’ll be drained for weeks. This will help you recover faster,” he tries again as he presses the cup more firmly against my mouth.
I don’t know what game this fucker is playing at, but I don’t believe for a second that he’s trying to help me. I clench my jaw against his efforts, defiance settling in my features. “Do I need to force it down your throat? Is that what you want, because one way or another, you need to drink this. I know what you think of me right now, and I accept it, but you need to heal and you need to do it quickly.”
I try to pull my head away from him, but as fast as a striking cobra, he’s holding me against his chest, keeping my head still with one hand and pressing the cup forcefully against my mouth with the other. I choke out a protest and immediately call on every weapon I have that I can stab this fucker with. Pain slices through me, and I flinch away from my magic and bite back a pained cry.
What the fuck did they do to me?
I know I didn’t ask the question out loud because talking makes my throat feel like it’s filled with broken glass, but I must be wearing my worry on my face because Siah addresses it.
“It’s the collar. It makes it painful for you to use your magic. You were using so much of it when Adriel put it on you that he thought he killed you. He took out a good chunk of his elite guard in a fit when you collapsed and wouldn’t wake up.”
I huff out a tired breath, and the fight I’m trying to put up goes with it. A tear drops down my cheek, and I struggle to swallow down the frustration and anger that’s attempting to escape without my permission. I want to ask about my Chosen, about Aydin and the others, but I trample my need to know. I doubt he would tell me the truth anyway.
“Drink this,” Siah demands again, pressing the cup against my surrendering lips.
Liquid fills my mouth, and I’m surprised when it’s not the water I was expecting it to be. The consistency is thicker, and the flavor is somewhat sweet. I swallow it down, and Siah forces another mouthful. It dawns on me what I’m drinking, and I try to jerk my head away and close my mouth, but Siah has the cup wedged between my teeth, and I can’t clamp them down all the way. He tilts my head back and forces more liquid into my mouth. I cough and sputter and swallow more of the blood he’s forcing down my throat, and I feel some of it spill out of my mouth and drip down the side of my face.
When I’m choking on the last of the cup’s contents, Siah releases his strong hold and backs away from me.
“Why the fuck are you forcing me to drink blood?” I accuse, my painful, barely there voice not expressing the amount of rage I’m currently experiencing right now.
“Like I said, it will help you recover much quicker. You’ll be able to replenish the magic that was stripped from you faster, and you’re going to need that.”
Like his words just magically ignited the blood I choked down, a tingle works its way through me, and with each second that passes, I start to feel better. Siah gives me a look that smugly communicates anItold you so, but I refuse to recognize that he was right, not when he’s the reason I’m here. He betrayed us. I was a fucking idiot for believing a stranger. With that thought, I push at the parameters of myfeeling betterand try to call on the runes behind my ear. My breath hitches when the pain slams into me, and I quickly abandon trying to contact my Chosen.
