“I. Said. Crawl to me.”
She looked up through her hair, the strands loose around her face. Very slowly she crawled forward, conscious with how her dress moved. When she arrived at Augustine’s knees he lay a hand on the top of her head, gentler than she expected.
“Good. Now, who was it?” It was almost a whisper, his fingers moving down to grip her jaw. “Who did you feed from?”
“I don’t know who it was.”
“Liar!” Hana cackled, her eyes were bright, excited as she leaned closer. “You picked a little blood whore there, Augustine.”
Augustine raised a single brow, and then Eva heard a harsh slap, followed Hana’s pained cry. “Let me repeat the question,” he said directly to her. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know,” she repeated as she tried to pull back, but his grip tightened until her head was immobile. “I didn’t ask for a name.”
“But you fed from them anyway.” Augustine’s smile was dark, his fangs descending as he opened his lips. “When I find out who it was, I will make sure everyone is witness to what I will do to them. Nobody touches what’s mine.” He released her so suddenly, Eva flinched, but remained unmoving.
Dutch’s laugh filled the cabin. “Didn’t think you would have such defiance with a fledgling, did you Uncle?”
“Defiance is something that can be beaten out of them, it makes their submission all that much sweeter.” His hand settled on the top of her head, gently stroking the strands of her hair. “Despite her little rebellion, tonight was a success, it’s making me feel almost generous, maybe I’ll only strike you over my knee.”
Eva breathed through the anxiety.
“But she disobeyed you?” Hana whined before Dutch wrapped his hand around the back of her neck.
“Shhh, little faerie,” he whispered against her cheek. “The big boys are talking.”
Hana’s fingertips sparked, but she smiled when Dutch brushed his hand beneath her dress. Eva watched from the corner of her eye, noticing how Floyd kept his gaze squarely on her, his thick brows lowered in barely contained anger.
She could make out the animal behind his irises, a large predator hidden behind the face of a man.
Augustine tugged on her hair, forcing her attention back to him. “In a few days we will be celebrating, my little fledgling, and the Vipers will rule the undercity once more.”
Eva nodded as much as she could.
He smiled, his irises expanding to the point they encompassed the whole eye. “You should be on your knees more, it’s how to correctly present yourself to your Master.”
Eva bit back her reply, not wanting to aggravate him when she seemed to have gotten off so lightly. Instead she read his hunger, tilting her head to give him access to her throat. She braced for his fangs, closing her eyes as he took great pulls. She wouldn’t fight, not this time because she was no longer lost. People knew where she was, that she was alive.
She just had to survive a while longer.
Chapter18
Kace
“There’s better ways to kill yourself, you know?” Lucy mumbled as he leaned on one of the mirrors in their underground gym, Poe wrapping himself around his feet. “Working out for several days straight seems pretty stupid when you can go out in style.”
Kace ignored the annoying Daemon, and the cat as he continued with his very precise crunches. His stomach killed, the ache a distraction as his beast rocked at the edges of his mind. He couldn’t use the cages, not when he was so close to getting on to the sands. He needed another way to control his violent urges, especially considering he had already worked himself through everyone except Lucy.
“Like lighting a firework up your arse. That’s a pretty funny way to die.” He reached down to Poe, his multi-coloured eyes looking up at the Daemon with a meow.
Kace growled, trying to remember why he decided not to fight Lucy again.
Oh yeah,he thought as he exhaled past the intense burn of his muscles.Because in this mood I’ll probably fucking kill him.He had too much pent-up frustration, his beast raring to tear and shred. He knew he would never go too far with his brothers, because his beast saw them as brothers too. But with Lucy it was different. Kace was built to destroy his kind, and right then he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stop.
“You sound like one of those dogs, the ones with the flat faces, but with asthma.”
“Fuck off,” Kace warned, frustration deepening his tone.
There was a reason he was distracting himself, stopping his anger from festering into something heinous he could no longer control. He needed that control, and with Hunter he knew he would be on the sands, fighting. Eva, on the other hand, was a complete clusterfuck.
