When he appeared in my line of sight, I felt my muscles loosen. He wiped a hand over his face, which smudged blood over his lips. “Have a nice sleep?” he seethed, slamming his palms into the stone. “I had a nice chat with your mates.”
My blood ran cold, heart dropping. But I couldn’t bring myself to respond. Blood rushed in my ears, matching the pounding beat of my heart.
Dante leaned in closer, blood darkening his lips, and he bared them. “Quick to turn on one of their own, it seems. I wonder how long it’ll take for them to completely betray one another.”
Bile rose in my throat. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of an answer. I knew my mates; they wouldn’t betray each other. Not when the stability of all the realms relied onthem to be the team I knew they were. Not when I needed them to stay together for my sake.
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from replying. The only thing I could have mustered was a giantfuck you, which I doubted would go over well considering the rage dancing in his blue eyes.
Dante pulled back enough to look at someone standing behind me, but I didn’t take my eyes off him. “Take her to the cages.”
Cages?My vision flashed across my mind as I tried to shake my head. But no words would pass my lips.
Dante didn’t even look at me as he straightened.
I felt the presence of another nearby. One that sent shivers down my spine.
“Only bring her back when she’s not so combative. I want to see what the Seer is hiding.” Dante stepped back, eyes flickering down to meet mine. “Busy, busy witch indeed,” he sneered.
I tried to pull at my binds, but the collar only tightened the more I fought. My breaths became laboured, harsher in my ears.
“I need to speak to the Order,” Dante said, his voice so low I knew I wasn’t supposed to hear him. I looked back to the carving, finding the male staring at it. “Emris needs…” Dante trailed off, walking away with no one around him to listen to his commands.
His departure forced me to take in my new captor. The one who would take me to thecages.
Dead, unfocused eyes looked at me without actually seeing me. Dark eyes I once thought I could fall into because of how rich they were. Eyes that’d drawn me down a path that led to him breaking my heart repeatedly.
Hawk Nash stared down at me, almost unrecognisable.
The vampire beside him sneered. “Finally.”
I said nothing. I wouldn’t give either of them the satisfaction. I just prayed I could go back to the dreamscape again before the worst arrived.
18
Hawk
Ishivered at the proximity of the prisoner. Where my hand touched her arm, there was electricity. A fire that would not be quenched. It took away the pain momentarily. Made the agony less intense. The fire that burned with her presence was nothing like the fire that raged through me when she was in her cell.
The creature that smelled like blood walked on her other side. She stumbled each step, forcing us to carry her. The prisoner could barely walk.
My vision blurred every time I tried to look at her, but not the familiar creature.
He kept a snarl on his lips as he maintained a harsh pace towards the cages. I matched his strides, but part of me hated it. Hatedhim. The rage-filled storm within me wanted to explode when he was near. It only grew darker, more vengeful the longer I was with him.
The hallway leading to the prison was wide enough for several soldiers, but we were otherwise alone with the prisoner. She didn’t try to speak, or if she did, I couldn’t hear her. For some reason, she angered the other male. He wanted her dead.
But I couldn’t bring myself to feel the same way.
The wide doors leading into the cages opened, revealing more soldiers within. They eyed the prisoner with hunger,dragging their eyes over her body like she was their next meal. Something about it made the rage rise sharply within me. My hand tightened around her arm possessively, but the prisoner made a sound.
The bloody creature laughed. “Maybe soon, he’ll let them have their fun with you.”
Again, the rage built, climbing up my throat. It coiled around my heart with a fierceness that should have made me stop. And yet, it didn’t feel wrong.
But I couldn’t open my mouth to tell the prisoner it wouldn’t happen.
We crossed into the prison, where cages lined the floor. The smell of blood, shit, and piss thickened the air, overwhelming compared to the rest of the compound. Here, the beasts and other prisoners were kept. The overseers passed with guns and whips, still eyeing our prisoner like a scrap of meat.
