“Don’t fret, Rawlings,” Reese said, flashing the captain a quick, greasy smirk. “Aiden and I will get her there, all snug an’ in perfect health.”
The captain hummed, tugged his damp shirt off his shoulder, and slipped it over my head. Buttons already fastened, he reached beneath the damp material and worked my arms through the sleeves. Inky gaze avoiding my eyes, he said, “Orders are orders,” under his breath, then rolled the excess fabric until the cuffs of his dress shirt were cinched around my elbows.
“Captain Rawlings, sir,” the smooth-cheeked elite stammered. “You can’t wear…thatto a meeting with the general!”
Lifting his shoulder, the captain said, “Then hand over your shirt, Collins, and let’s be on our way.”
The boy’s face flushed a blistering shade of red, and with trembling fingers, he reached for his collar to do just that.
“Oh, for shit sakes!” Reese snapped, giving the younger man a shove. “Stop by the captain’s residence on your way to HQ.” The burly elite stepped up to my back, slipping one hand around my elbow. “Priestess.”
I swallowed, fighting the urge to shuck his touch, to look to the captain for guidance—to beg forgiveness if it meant I might be saved from the ravenous hunger whipping at the back of my skull before something came of it. Trying not to let the shock of revelation show on my face before I’d had the time to sort through my thoughts.
Instead, I ground my molars. Fists clenched at my sides, I clung to what little remained of my pride.
And said nothing.
Sasha would have the answers. She could wade through the confusion of foggy lust lingering between my temples.
She could fix the shield and give me the power I needed to be free. Only she could give me distance from a man who could take at will, wielding the might of a priestessandan elite without a hint of strain or effort.
For if not her, who?
The Head Priestess of Tritan faith, a woman made of secrets and dressed in power, who could teach me to counter the captain’s attacks without succumbing to the infection of elite energy and the fury squirming in my heart.
A beast named empath.
It had been left to starve, awakened by the captain’s petty cruelty.
Without a backward glance, I turned to follow these new elites.
Dazed.
Ravenous.
Dressed in nothing but the captain’s shirt and a wet towel, I shivered with the weight of inky, black eyes tracking me through the thinning crowd, but refused him the satisfaction of seeing my confusion.
Every step bought distance.
Each breath I took a cleansing of my soul, despite the masculine scent clinging to my shirt or the slick glide lingering between my thighs.
None of it was mine.
Manufactured to manipulate, an artful lie I hadn’t seen before it was too late.
It wasn’t long before the Tilcot manse came into view. Before I was once again padding through the illustrious halls of white marble lined with stolen art. This time absent a guide, we headed toward Sasha’s office in silence.
And when I saw the Head Priestess’s drab, unassuming door swing into view I stifled the urge to bolt. To throw priceless Eloran art to the floor and sprint to my destination for no other reason than I hadn’t the strength.
Instead, I waited for Reese to open the door. Ushering me inside with a nod to the woman inside, he closed the door with a gentle snap.
“Mila,” she said, voice a soft croon that drew a rush of heated shame to wet my lashes. “Welcome.”
I wasted nothing for subtlety, forcing, “Help me,” through the points of my canines. “Sasha,please.My shield. It didn’t work. He found it and—”
Standing in a rush, she rounded the corner and cupped my cheeks in palms that were soft and warm. “Take a breath. That’s it. Nice and deep.” Brushing heated skin in a sweep of her thumbs, she wiped away the salty wetness so I might see the deep, furrowed lines bunched between her brows. “Have a seat.”
I sat. Unfurling the cuffs of my borrowed shirt, I twisted the gloomy fabric between my fingers. Drawn in by her touch. The soothing promise in soft skin. My mouth watered at the precious hint of priestess energy oozing through her palms, where she cupped my cheeks and probed me with a tiny spike of soothing purity.
