“Are you still in my body right now?” I all but screamed, but my mouth didn’t move.
My body sat up, and Faye turned as she saw me. Or us, I supposed.
One chain, then the next, popped, the bedposts coming with them as I stood.
“How?” she asked, glancing toward the smoke bombs they’d placed in every corner.
My nostrils flared, breathing in the scent and then expelling the smoke in one long huff.
“My vessel is formidable, it seems,” I said, only it wasn’t my voice. It was deep, ancient, and his.
Well, that would have been a nice compliment if he weren’t currently trying to own me.
Faye drew two daggers and sent them sailing toward me. One minute we were across the room, the next in front of her, moving at a speed I’d never known before. We wound the chains around her neck, tightening them against her throat. She scrabbled at the metal as the daggers dug into the wall with a hum. Her face turned an alarming shade of red as he held her tighter, the metal cruelly robbing her of air.
The door burst open, and two more daggers sailed toward my head. They sang as they, too, hit the wall behind me. I hadn’t even felt myself move. Holy fuck, how fast was Gathrriel? The man standing in the doorway glared at us, but stopped short when we tightened the chains around Faye, holding her painfully tight as she choked. Fear filled his eyes, and I knew that fear far too well. Watching the life leave Gabby’s eyes had broken me. I didn’t know who she was to him, lover or brother or friend, but I saw the horror as he realized he was about to lose her, and I couldn’t allow for it to be at my hands.
“Please,” the man said, reaching out as if he could stop what was happening. “Please don’t hurt my sister.”
“Gathrriel, stop!” I snapped, yet my hands only tightened. The muscles in my back pulled taut, and my insides twisted as I raged and snapped at whatever I could, trying to gain control.
My hands slipped a fraction, and the chains loosened just a bit, but I heard Faye’s gasp for air, and her lungs expanded.
“Why do you fight for lowlife bargain killers?” Gathrriel asked, and her brother’s eyes widened. It was obvious by the voice that it wasn’t me speaking. He remained quiet, watching us carefully, seeming to realize Gathrriel was talking to me and not him.
“I lost a sibling before. He won’t recover from it. I didn’t, and I refuse to be the one to cause that kind of pain. Not anymore.”
My grip did not change, but something inside me did. My vision clouded, the haze that had lingered at the edges turning murky and dark before everything went bright and clear. I was me again, in control of my own body. Instantly, I released the chains and tossed Faye at her brother’s feet. She sobbed for air, both of them staring at me in shock. He reached for more daggers, but Faye croaked and put a hand up to stop him.
The overwhelming scent of their fear assaulted me, rousing my beast. “Don’t,” I said. “I have no idea how long he will be gone, but you two need to be. Now.”
“What just happened? Why would you do that? Why would you let us go?” he asked, his eyes blazing with fear-induced rage.
So they hadn’t heard what I’d said to Gathrriel. They hadn’t heard my reasons.
“Maybe I’m not the mindless killer you all seem to think I am.”
Faye rubbed her throat and pushed to her feet, her brother gripping her arms to steady her.
I felt something roil inside of me, pushing against my skin. “Listen, I am sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re not taking me wherever you think you are. You both need to leave and take whoever else you have here.”
They looked at each other, then at me. “We must. What lives inside you—”
“I’ll deal with it, but I need to find my husband first.”
Faye’s eyebrows furrowed when I mentioned Samkiel, and she looked at her brother, some wordless exchange passing between the two.
“Go!” I snapped, wondering why they were still staring at me. “What are you waiting for?”
Faye sighed, and her shoulders slumped. I relaxed just a little, knowing I had won. Her brother met my eyes and gave me a small nod. I knew that look, and I heard what he didn’t say. It was more than gratitude. It was a promise of a life debt. Holding his gaze steadily, I inclined my head in acknowledgment. Dark smoke curled at their feet, and then they were gone. I blinked, momentarily surprised, but I didn’t have time to dwell on the mystery of it right now.
I hurried to collect the daggers embedded in the wall. It was unclear how much time I had, and I needed to find Samkiel before Gathrriel took over again. I grabbed one of the smoke bombs and shoved it into my pocket before leaving through the broken door. At the end of the hall, I found a small staircase. The wooden steps creaked beneath my feet, and when I reached the bottom, I found myself in a small inn. Several townspeople sat at tables, but all had stopped eating and were staring at me as if I would set the place on fire any second.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I called out. “I just had a quick meeting upstairs with a friend. Nothing to see here. Please, enjoy your meal.” Their eyes caught on the chains still hanging from my wrists and dangling toward the ground. “It was a very kinky conversation between friends, but here we are.”
I shrugged and headed for the door, not sparing any of them a second glance. Outside the small inn, sunlight blazed down on me, and I squinted against the bright rays. I raised my hand, shielding my eyes. Light caught on the metal chains, and I lowered my wrist, snapping them off one by one and dropping them to the ground. People wandered in and out of shops, laughing with their companions. Smoke curled from a small tavern, the air laden with the scents of meat and wine.
I rubbed my hands over my face as I walked, attempting to clear the residual effects of the smoke from my mind. I needed to figure out where I was, then get out of here and find Samkiel before Gathrriel took over again. Maybe he was at home, nose-deep in some book, trying to figure out how to find me, but my gut told me he was just as stubborn as I was, and he would be out looking for me. A smile curled my lips at just the thought of him, even as the sun seemed to beat down on me harder. A slow throb started in my head around my temple, and I raised my hand to soothe the ache.
