I bite my tongue, forcing a placid tone. “As much as I can do without ever actually meeting your mate like I've been telling you from the beginning. But this,” I lift Myles’s cube, “Will attune to her energy signature and-”
“Yes yes, I don't need all the technical jargon,” he waves off. “It'll work, though?”
Don’t punch him in the face, don’t punch him in the face.
“Absolutely.”
Just not the way you're hoping.
He grabs my arm and hauls me up the stairs and through several hallways before gently rapping his knuckles against a door, not waiting for a response before he enters. “My love, I have a surprise for you!”
Dark hair falls in silken waves to her shoulders, pillows propping her up in bed as Sophia lowers her book slightly. I meet her eyes, pleading, and watch as shock transforms her face upon seeing my collar. “Dane…” she says, eying me with trepidation. “What’s going on?”
She sets her book aside and struggles to sit up. He rushes over to help her, sliding an extra pillow behind her back. “I found a mimic willing to help you.”
Her gaze darts between us as she slowly asks, “Did you? Because that looks an awful lot like a shock collar.”
He goes rigid. “Yes, Ever agreed to help. I paid her handsomely for the privilege.”
The privilege of being a slave. Right, that’s totally what happened.
Snagging my wrist, he drags me closer, ignoring my hiss of pain. “And if she can’t help, she can always bond the phoenix so your treatments will be effective again.”
She tucks a lock of dark hair behind her ear, nervously glancing between the two of us. “What the heck are you talking about? Dane, you can't force people to bond. Andkidnappingpeople?! I can’t,” she shakes her head, fighting against the blankets and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “No, I don't want any part of this.”
She makes it to the closet and despite her struggling, manages to pull down a suitcase, and I watch nervously as Dane’s mask doesn’t just slip. Itshatters.
Fury flashes across his eyes. “No.”
“I’m sorry?” she asks, walking an armful of clothes towards her bag.
He yanks them out of her hands, putting her clothes back up on their hangers in their closet with unwavering resolve. “No, you’re not leaving me.”
She sucks in a sharp, annoyed breath. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Like hell I don’t. You’re mymate.”A dark shadow takes over Dane’s countenance, glowering between the two of us likewe’rethe problems. “Now sit.Down.”
Sophia reluctantly drops to the edge of the bed, watching him warily.
“You’re sick, darling. You don’t knowwhatyou need.” His fingers dig into my already bruised arm with cruel force. “Butmimics are known for their abilities to level up mysts. Ever can heal you, and everything will go back to how it used to be.”
Shoving me in front of her, I take a second to talk myself off the ledge before I try to pop out his eyeballs with my thumbs. Tempting, but not a long term solution.
Or is it?
Shaking off my murderous thoughts, I force a smile for Sophia’s sake that she can clearly tell is strained. “I’m going to need you to keep this on you at all times, okay? If you’re lying in bed? It’s sitting beside you or on your end table. Go to the bathroom? It better be sitting on the counter. This cube needs to be within arm’s reach for at least twenty-four hours, understood?”
Read between the lines, Soph.Please.
“Okay,” she eventually drawls, and I press the cube into her hands, flipping the switch on the bottom and whispering in her ear, “Dane’s lying, Cyrus has never stopped looking for you, and hedefinitelyhasn’t moved on.”
She sucks in a sharp, shaky breath. Locking eyes with Dane over my shoulder, she barely moves her lips as she asks, “Are there others?”
“Six, including me.”
She screws her eyes shut. Louder, she declares, “Understood. Cube glued to my side until further notice.”
I offer a gentle squeeze on her elbow and murmur, “Then I need you to play along even when this wears off, okay?”
