“Seek him out?” I asked. “What are you saying?”
She looked at me, her expression twisted in anguish. “I told you he’s dead because you must never go to him, Anna. Never.”
My knees hit the floor, and I sank into a seated position. Everything was numb.
He was alive. My dad was alive.
“Tell me who he is,” I demanded, my voice quiet and barely recognizable as my own.
“No,” she said.
Resentment. Anguish. Pain. I wanted the truth. Why wouldn’t she tell me? I didn’t know what emotion to let out first, so they all came at once—as fury.
My skin burned, and my hands shook. A blinding pain flashed through my forehead. I winced as my vision blurred, cradling my forehead in my hand.
“Anna?” my mom called sharply.
A ripping flash as cold as ice tore across my skull.
Falling.
Everything was cold. I couldn’t see anymore. What was this place?
Crack.
A voice, hollow, hoarse; I couldn’t understand it.
Panic. Breathe.Snap. Sickening. Lost. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
BREATHE.
Wrong. Cold. Dark. Stiff.
…and into darkness.
Chapter 11
Your Pleasure, Malakai Blackstone
ANNA
Istayed in my room the next day. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t relax. All I could think about was the moment I’d lost control. My throat ached thinking about it like I was in actual danger. Like he might have killed me in that chokehold.
I sighed.
Which was precisely the point. I knew that. Still, it didn’t make any of it feel good. A little deeper, and that cut could’ve been fatal.
A sharp knock startled me.
“Who is it?” I called, hoping they’d get the picture.
The door opened.
It was Caelan.
He shut the door and came into the room. He was dressed in the same set of armor he wore yesterday. He walked to the window and leaned against it, crossing his arms.
“We have our private lesson today,” he said. “Get dressed.”
