I came rolling to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. My heart hammered, though I was no longer worried. I waspissed.
I groaned and struggled to get to my feet through the ache in the back of my head. I felt completely disoriented. I never managed to stand before I heard the vampire rush toward me.
“Your true love is right here!” she cried, before I felt the heat of the torch she carried coming straight for me.
The torch slammed hard into the back of my head with the force of the vampire’s blow. I felt cinders burn into my scalp, and the world faded to nothing.
When I came to,I couldn’t make sense of my surroundings.
The back of my head pulsed in pain, and my guts twisted with the weight of a heavy sickness. I was sitting upright on a hard surface, some sort of chair, but that was about all I could process.
I tried to move, only to meet restraint. Cold, hard objects wrapped around my wrists and ankles. My heart hammered as I tried to yank free of the shackles, but no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t break free. I tried to pull my magic to the surface, but found it only made the sickness in my gut tighten.
I realized in horror what was going on. These weren’t just any old shackles— they were made of inferichite. Whoever had restrained me had been cautious, because these inferichite cuffs were large and heavy, and there were two per limb. These were nothing like the cuffs the Warden used on us in the Institute. Back then, the inferichite was just enough to keep my demigod powers at bay, but they still allowed me to cast elemental magic. These were more like the cuffs they fitted on us in Cellblock 9. There was so much inferichite that it made me sick to even try casting my Air.
I tried reaching out to Ava or Oberi through our bond, but the inferichite cuffs had shut that down.
I was completely alone.
I turned to my other senses. I could tell I was in a large space, because I could hear a fire crackling from a hearth at the other end of the room. The warmth of a smaller flame flickered a few inches in front of me, like I was surrounded by candles. Various scents surrounded me— all delicious and enticing. The savory smell of prime rib and the pleasant scent of risotto filled my nose. It was strange, because I’d think that if I were to be kidnapped, I’d be thrown in a musty, rotting dungeon. Wherever I was, it was a nice place.
And roses. There were so many damn rose petals around they almost overpowered the scent of the food. They were all over the floor under my shoes, and scattered all over my clothes. What the hell was going on?
I ran my fingers over the armrest of the chair I was shackled to, and I realized the material was smooth, but not cold enough to be stone. Intricate carvings ran up and down the wood.
I pushed a little harder past the inferichite, because Ihadto make better sense of my surroundings, and without my magic, it wasn’t enough information.
I sensed the air swirling around the area, and I realized I was in a long room with a high ceiling. A table that must’ve been able to sit twelve people expanded out in front of me, and I sat at the head of it.
I had to be in some sort of fancy dining room. I sensed someone at the other end of the table, though they didn’t breathe.
“Finally, you’re awake,” a woman purred. It had to be the vampire girl who’d lured me to the cellar. “We can finally eat!”
She sounded more happy than sinister, which was really fucking weird for a captor.
“Forgive me if I’m not hungry,” I said through gritted teeth. There was very little that could keep me from scarfing down such delicious-smelling food, but this bitch had accomplished it. I was almost certain every dish at this table had to be poisoned.
She rose from her chair, and her heels clicked on the floor as she made her way over to me. “You’re not even hungry for some chocolate cake, Charlie? I know how much you love it.”
She ran her hand over my back, and it made my skin crawl. She held a plate under my nose, and the sweet smell of chocolate cake filled my nostrils.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. “Where’s Ava?”
“Back at the palace, of course,” she said.
“She isn’t hurt then? You lied,” I accused.
“Ava was merely taking a nap with thatdogof yours,” the woman sneered. “I don’t know why you care so much about her when I’m around.”
“Who are you?” I growled.
She set the plate in front of me and took the seat beside me. The hem of her silk dress brushed my ankle. She reached out to trace her finger along my arm. My insides curled, but I couldn’t get away from her.
“Oh, Charlie.” She let out an innocent giggle. “Haven’t you figured it out by now? I left you so many clues.”
I tilted my head, but I had no idea what she was talking about. “Clues?”
“Didn’t you get my roses?” she asked. “I wanted you to know I was there in the palace.”
