“Neither did I. Obviously. It was not until we...”
“Fucked?” A dry laugh escapes his lips at my shock. “Being an angel does not stop me from swearing. Or fucking, to be honest. Not that I have in centuries.” He shakes his head and fixes his golden eyes on me. “I am the revealer of truth, the bringer of justice, and the interpreter of the Almighty’s plan, and I swear to you, Sinclair.Thisis not what I signed on for. I cannot do a damn thing about your banishment to the earthen realm. Nor do I think you want me to. But Icanhelp right the wrongs visited upon you and—?”
“Zoe. She is Zoe now, and will be forever more if I can find her in time.”
Gabriel rises and offers me his hand. I do not hesitate to take it. He nods as he pulls me to my feet. “We will find her. Save her. And see Thorn and his lover brought to justice once and for all. But we may need a little help.”
Thirty
Zoe
My stomach twists in on itself. I’m so hungry. I don’t know how long I’ve been here. At least a full day. Maybe two. I haven’t seen anyone other than Thorn and his human automatons, but I can hear the other women scream.
Dion’s cries are the worst. My only friend. She’s here because of me. Because Thorn and Regina needed a way to get to me so they could get to Sin. She broke hours ago. I heard it happen. She doesn’t curse him now. She begs. Pleads for water. Food. Mercy. IfI’mstarving and so dehydrated my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, she must feel so much worse. Her body needs twice as much food as mine, and Thorn isn’t giving her anything.
I can’t hold out much longer. He’ll sell me soon. To some vampire who’ll drink my blood, glamour me, or turn me. I can’t let him.
So many centuries ago, he auctioned me at least a dozen times. But I was less powerful then. I remember now. What I’m supposed to do. What I was supposed to do back then. I can get into Thorn's mind in much the same way he can enter mine.
Before, my power was weaker. Seraphiel believed it would take weeks to destroy the incubus. But now, I can trap him in an instant. When I do, my own mind, my entire consciousness, will be shackled to his. My physical body will die, and our souls will be sucked into the void, consumed by the Underworld for all eternity.
Every time he comes for me, I think I should just get it over with. But when Thorn dies, all the women caged down here with me? They’ll die too. My connection with Thorn's mind offers me insights I didn’t have last time. He holds the keys to the cages and the thick iron gates leading to the surface. Regina won’t free them. Her mind is so far gone, so tied to Thorn's, she might not even survive his death.
No one knows where we are. Hell, I don’t even know. These tunnels and caverns are old, but not as old as the ones in Italy. Maybe a hundred years? But we’re very deep underground. I can’t hear any traffic above us. Can’t even feel the rumble of cars or trucks or cable cars.
Soft footsteps approach, and light floods this old, crumbling space. Regina. My heart races, and I try to shield my mind, but while I can fight Thorn—for a time—I can’t resist the Fae.
“Bring her,” she orders, and Gregory unlocks the cell, grabs me by my ankle, and yanks me out. I lunge for his hands, but I’m too weak and slow. “You will not fight back, my dear. You want to obey. To please me, yes?”
No!
“Yes, Regina.” My voice holds no emotion, like I’m suddenly two people. The real me, and the mindless shell she controls who only wants to do her bidding.
“Pick her up and follow me,” she says, and Gregory throws me over his shoulder where I hang limp, unresisting, even as my mind struggles to break free from her control.
Regina hums as she walks, a tone I remember from my first life here. “Tie her down next to the other one,” she says when Gregory stops moving, and two sets of hands maneuver me face down on a hard, cold block of stone. My wrists and ankles are each bound to a corner, and Gregory presses my left cheek to the rough slab, while someone else buckles a leather strap around my head so tightly, I can’t move it at all.
A few feet away, Dion sobs quietly, bound just as I am, and our gazes lock. So much fear and pain churn in her amber eyes. She’s in her fully human state, and along with the bloody wounds on her back that mirror mine, there’s a strange symbol drawn on her forehead. My powers aren’t limited to Thorn, and I reach out and try to connect with Dion’s mind.
Oh, God. I understand now. That symbol is a rune to stop her from shifting. She’s trapped in her most fragile form, unable to heal herself, unable to use her enhanced strength to fight back. And she’s hungry. So hungry.
“Zoe,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry...”
“Not your fault.” My eyes burn, but I’m so dehydrated, I can’t cry.
Thorn's heavy footsteps make us both flinch. “What’s happening?” Dion asks, and I don’t want to tell her. I can’t. If I do, he’ll realize there’s more to me than he knows.
“It is time for you both to stop fighting,” Thorn says, his voice full of anticipation. If I could see him right now, he’d be smiling. I’m sure of it.
The hiss of the blowtorch pulls a whimper from my lips, and the sudden burst of heat in the otherwise frigid room makes goosebumps prickle all over my body.
He waves the faery brand between us, the metal already glowing red hot. “I have perfected this over the centuries, my beautiful toys. Enchanted ink, the right amount of heat. This mark will bind you to me forever.”
I should end him now. Stop him from hurting Dion any more than he has. Maybe someone would find her? Sin has to be looking for us. For me. Fuck. I’m so scared.
“See her fear, Zoe,” Regina says, her voice close to my ear. “You will feel it, too.”
Thorn chuckles, and his influence prods me, tries to connect me with Dion, but he doesn’t have to. Regina’s words are enough for my own power to take over. I can’t focus enough to reach Thorn's mind, and Dion starts to scream.
