“Where’s the rest of the video?” My teeth clench as the two disappear behind some trees. Minutes of no movement pass.
“Shh!” Valen says. He taps the button for the volume and replays the last bit. The part where only the bare branches wave in the winter wind.
“There…Listen.”
We all lean toward the speakers and strain our ears. Even Landon joins us.
“A car door,” I say.
Valen switches to a camera view of the front gate. The country road winding in front ofThetaManor’s entrance.
A white car tears past the camera. My wife slumps in the passenger seat.
My chest caves in.
Heart sinking.
Air—gone.
Like something inside me just…stopped.
“She’s gone.”
Lan’s voice chokes as he lifts his tear-filled eyes to mine.
“We’ll never find her now.”
forty-four
“It’s so fitting, my Pandora.”
A voice echoes through my mind, and I can’t tell if it’s real.
“So fitting. Your dress. The veil…”
Something covers my eyes, making it even more difficult to see the room and the black, flowy figure in front of me.
My throat burns raw, like something clawed its way down and never left.
“I’m thirsty,” I whisper.
“I’ll fill you up soon. But I need to make sure the timing is right.”
“Timing?” The tip of my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
It feels as though my arms are glued to a chair. When I glance down, I make out leather straps holding them in place. I blink rapidly as a small straw is shoved into my mouth.
“Drink.”
With the first squeeze of chilled water, I moan and squirm against a stiff wooden chair. No, not achair. I’m lifted into the air like…like on a throne.
“That had something weird in it.”
“Iron. Just a hint. So very observant.” The cloaked man’s finger taps the end of my nose. “So clever.”
“G?” I ask, trying to remember what happened in Aiden’s office before I got to wherever I am. The room is dim. Only lit by a few candles. It appears to be underground. There aren’t any windows, and the stench is…horrid. Dust and rot.
It smells like Sanguine Manor, but worse.
