by J. N. Colon
But if I didn’t, my sister would have a fate worse than death.
Bile oozed up my throat, and I crawled to my feet. “You’re right to hate me. I am a murderer. I’m no better than the one that killed your parents.” I darted away, running toward the prison as tears pooled in my eyes. This situation was so much worse than I thought. Time was running out, and I just realized I had to slaughter an innocent guy. One that I—
“Sloane, wait!” Viktor cursed. “Get off me, you little monsters.”
I glanced back to find small creatures with pointy hats climbing up his legs. It would have been comical if my heart didn’t feel like it had been jammed down a garbage disposal. I pivoted and sprinted toward the door.
My body slowed as I stepped through the thick, shimmering air and returned to Earth. The concrete and metal halls of the prison were as cold as I felt inside. I trudged down the corridor, waiting for a guard to appear. I didn’t know how to get back to my cell from here.
I felt him before he stepped through the doorway, that connection snapping into full force and squeezing my center.
“Sloane!” Viktor grabbed my arm and whirled me around. “You’re not like the other seelie-daes. You’re not a trained assassin. You did what you did to protect yourself. That’s not the same.”
“I am like them.” I yanked out of his grasp. I couldn’t take him defending me while I plotted his murder. “Don’t you see? There will always be someone out there who will need my special services,” I motioned to him, “even you. You might not be asking for murder, but a day will come when someone will.” It already had. “Maybe I won’t have a choice.”
“That’s bullshit. Of course you’d have a choice.” He stepped closer. “I’m not forcing you to help me. And I’m protecting you.”
A humorless laugh slipped out. “Protecting me from all the Fae that want to hurt me just because of what I am.” I shoved him. I wanted Viktor to hate me. This would be so much easier if he did. “You were right there with them not long ago, Vik. Maybe if you hadn’t shown so much revulsion, they wouldn’t have bothered with me in the first place.”
His brows slammed down. “You don’t think I regret that? After getting to know you, I feel like the biggest asshole for letting that happen.”
“I don’t need your pity,” I snapped. “Most of my life has been shit, and I’ve gotten through it. I’ll get through Wayward Fae Penitentiary too. Just go back to detesting me.”
Viktor’s nostrils flared while a wild look crossed his features. “I wish I could go back! I want to hate you, but I can’t.” He roughly grabbed his chest. “You’re always in here, ever since I gave you my blood.” He pulled up short, snapping his mouth shut.
My breath hitched. “You lied. You can sense me.” When he turned away, I grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Tell me the truth, Viktor.”
“You know the truth, Sloane.” He jammed his fingers through his hair. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You weren’t supposed to be like this, but you ruined it.” His fists clenched by his sides so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Or I ruined it when—”
The prison alarm suddenly screamed through the air.
Viktor’s fingers fastened around my wrist and he yanked me close, his gaze darting around the hall.
“What is that? More wraiths?” My heart slammed against my ribs as I imagined a swarm of the dark creatures busting through the door.
“I don’t think so.” Viktor glanced back to the doorway. “They don’t come out in the daylight.”
Pounding footsteps echoed, and Officer Garrett barreled around the corner. “You need to get back to your cells. The prison is going on lockdown.”
“What’s happening?” Viktor asked.
“Daemons are attacking light Fae in the seelie block.”
Viktor cursed. “It’s Faolan. He’s up to something.” He released me, dragging his fingers over the stubble starting to form on his jaw.
“Why would he attack the seelies?” My hair stirred, and a prickle slithered across my scalp.
Hands suddenly gripped my shoulders. “Hello again, little seelie-dae.”
I’d recognized that daemon’s voice anywhere.
My gasp bounced down the concrete just as the hall began to disappear.
“Sloane!” Viktor reached for me, but those familiar magic tingles had already crawled over my body. His panicked face was the last thing I saw before Eros and I vanished into a swirl of shadows.
Chapter 28
My body met cold cement as someone tossed me onto the ground, then a blast of pain ricocheted down my side. My magic sank deep inside as a goblin cuff was secured around my wrist.
Shit. My chances of escape just shrank by more than half.
Recognizing the basement where Viktor’s underground club was held, I climbed to my feet. Tension, hunger, and anticipation swirled through the shifters crowding the space.
“Please try and run, seelie-dae.” Eros’s silky-smooth voice contrasted with the terrifying expression cutting into his face. Sharp teeth began to descend while his cheekbones grew more prominent. He’d yanked me right out from under Viktor’s nose.
“Good. The star of the show has arrived.” Faolan appeared on the balcony above flanked by two large shifters. “Nice to see you without your bodyguard, Sloane.”
My airways constricted. This was bad. “What do you want, Faolan?” The others standing close could probably hear the frantic rattling of my heart. “You know Viktor will find me.” Because of his blood, he could feel when I was near.
My molars ground. I couldn’t believe that jerk lied about that this whole time.
“I’m counting on it.” Faolan slowly descended the stairs, shooting prickles across my nape. “I’m going to use you as leverage to get Viktor to divulge the names of his suppliers from the Otherworld. I’ll be taking over his business and with it the rule of Wayward Fae Penitentiary.”
“Viktor isn’t going to give up shit for me.” It would be too risky, and compared to his brother, my life wasn’t worth it. I was smart enough to know that.
“Viktor wants something from you, something important enough he’d kill for.” Faolan stood so close the tips of his boots touched mine. “I’m also betting he’s gotten a little attached to you, as ironic as that is.” His chuckle had ice shards forming around my esophagus. “Prince Viktor Hale and a seelie-dae. How pathetic.”
The shifters encircling us laughed. They were all dochars. I could sense it. I hadn’t been able to do that before Viktor’s blood.
“He won’t fall for this,” I said. “He’ll never make a deal with you.”
Faolan grabbed a lock of my hair, twisting it around his fingers. It took everything I had not to punch him. He’d only punch back harder. “Wrong again, Sloane. He’s already spoken to Henrick, and he just relayed Vik’s message.” He tapped his temple.
Were shifters able to communicate telepathically?
“The unseelie prince is on his way and ready to make a deal.” An eerie smile twisted his lips.
I couldn’t have heard him right. “W-What?”
“Lizzie,” he called out.
A girl sporting a long, very Lara Croft-like braid appeared, clutching a steel box. A guy who could have been her twin pulled something out of it. Metal clanked together.
The scent of it hit the air before I saw it. My nose wrinkled, and moisture zapped from my mouth. Faolan took the heaviest set of iron manacles I’d ever seen from the other dochar, wincing. The outside was coated in a protectant, but the iron was too potent to dampen all the effects.
My breath hitched. If he got those around me, I was screwed.
And that was exactly what happened. The alpha shifter moved too fast, clamping the iron around my wrists before I had a chance to fight back. Sickness rolled through my gut, and my knees hit the floor. My cry echoed through the cavernous basement as weakness stole through my muscles. Faolan’s laughter only made it worse.
Th
e alpha shifter kneeled in front of me, harshly grabbing my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Viktor will give me his contacts, but I’m still going to kill you.”
I tried in vain to shove him away. The iron’s effect had already zapped my energy. “Screw you.”
“Maybe we can have a little fun first.” He shoved me hard, slamming my back against the concrete.
A faint tingle zipped in my blood before the door opened so forcefully it sounded like it had been ripped right from the hinges. A low snarl rumbled through the room. My body hummed as Viktor stormed in with Henrick close on his heels.
“Get those shackles off of her.” Power laced his voice, forcing some of the shifters away.
I swallowed hard. He came. Why did that idiot come?
“I can’t have her going anywhere,” Faolan said. I could hear the smile in his words.
“She’s surrounded by shifters, and she’s got a goblin bracelet. She can’t go anywhere.” When Faolan gave no response, Viktor continued. “The iron’s killing her! It’s too much.”
Choking back a whimper as I rolled over, I met the unseelie prince’s eyes. My chest tightened. He only came because he needed my help to destroy the stone. That was it. But staring up at him, I could almost feel his panic.
“Do it, Faolan, or I’m not telling you shit.” Viktor’s muscles strained with the effort it took to keep some semblance of composure.
The alpha sighed and waved his hand. “Someone, remove the shackles from Sloane.”
A pair of boots appeared and when I looked up, dread constricted my heart. Maria. She wanted her pound of flesh for that beat down I gave her. A menacing smile split her mouth wide.
Shit.
Her foot lifted, slamming into my torso. A crack echoed and searing pain ripped over my side. The air expelled from my lungs with the force of a shotgun. That bitch broke my ribs!
Maria’s feet disappeared as she sailed over the ground, smacking into a wall.
“I am not playing games, Faolan.” A storm brewed within Viktor’s wild eyes. I could sense it even from down here. His control teetered on a thin sheet of ice. When it shattered, I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wintery fury. “Hurt her, and I swear you’ll wish you never stepped foot in this prison.”
“So dramatic.” Faolan turned to the shifters below. “Henrick, take those off Sloane, and someone check on Maria.”
Henrick slowly descended the stairs, his dark gaze traveling my body in a way that made me want to cover myself. He bent and flashed a threatening smile before yanking the shackles off. He tossed them into the box and slammed the lid shut. “Better, seelie-dae?” His fingers stroked my cheek.
“Touch her again, and you’re going to lose a hand—for starters.” The air in the room chilled to freezing levels from the prince’s power.
Henrick stood, lifted his hands in surrender, and backed away.
Viktor studied me until he was sure I was still in one piece before turning back to Faolan. “I’ll pass along my contacts if you follow me alone. I’m not announcing them in front of everyone here.” He jerked his chin in my direction. “I’ll kill you if she’s dead when we return.”
Faolan’s jaw ticked. “Fine.” He glanced at his second. “If I don’t come back in thirty minutes, kill her.”
The crack of Henrick's knuckles ominously reverberated. “Sounds fun.”
Viktor’s gaze found mine again. Something stirred in my blood, pulling on the connection between us.
There’s a key in the bottom of your left boot.
I twisted, staring up at him. What. The. Hell. Did Viktor just talk in my head?
Cealaigh dóiteán. Say those words after you unlock the goblin cuff.
My heart thundered as time slowed. Suddenly, Viktor and I were the only two people in the world.
Let your daemon side take over and suck the energy from a shifter to heal faster.
I shook my head. I don’t know how.
You will. You’re a survivor, Sloane. You can do this.
I bit my lip and nodded. I could do this.
“Are you serious?” Faolan spat, breaking the spell between us. “You two can stare into each other’s eyes later.”
Viktor turned to Faolan. “Let’s get this over with.” He and the alpha shifter marched out of the room.
My body instantly felt the loss of Viktor’s presence. It wanted him back. I wanted him back.
I shook myself. Get a grip, Sloane.
It was a little hard to get a grip when someone else’s voice had just popped into my head. Even more problematic, that voice belonged to Viktor Hale.
The effects of his blood ran deeper than I’d thought. How long had he been able to do that? How did he even discover that little ability?
I remained on my side and curled into a ball to reach my boot. I pretended to be in pain—which I sure as hell was—from the hit to my ribs while I pried the bottom off. Sure enough, a tiny key like the one around Viktor’s neck rested inside.
When had he hidden the key?
I whispered the words and maneuvered the bracelet off, slipping it into my pocket. Fire seared my ribs. I’d have to heal a little bit if I wanted to get up without screaming in agony, but how did I draw energy from someone?
Henrick cursed. “The panthers and pookahs lost sight of some daemons near the gate.” He tilted his head to the side as he listened to someone in his mind. “I’m going to go check. We can’t have those dazed idiots getting killed while they try to escape. We need strength in numbers.” He began barking orders, and as if my prayers had been answered, the shifters departed except for three to watch over me. One of them was Maria.
“How did you like getting tossed into the wall by Viktor?” I taunted her. “Anything break?”
She sneered. “I’m thinking about breaking another one of your bones, seelie-dae.”
I scoffed. “You’re too scared of the unseelie prince. I bet you won’t lay another finger on me.”
The other two dochars snorted, further egging her on. Maria marched over. Crap. I didn’t think she’d be that easy to wind up. Her foot reared back, heading for my side again. I quickly rolled out of the way, sucking air sharply as agony dragged over my ribs.
“Get her, Maria. Show her who’s boss!” The guy was on the shorter side, but he had muscles the size of my head.
“She’s up to something, Merrick.” Lizzie, the chick who presented Faolan with the iron manacles, flipped her braid to her other shoulder. Her feet moved anxiously. “I don’t trust that seelie-dae.”
Maria sneered. “She’s practically whimpering on the floor, and the goblin bracelet is keeping her from using any magic. What can she do?” She bent over me, her long hair brushing my shoulders. “Faolan didn’t say anything about not roughing you up.” Her fist angled back for a punch.
I grabbed her hand before she made contact. Let the daemon take over. Let the daemon take over.
My primal instincts surged to the surface, and I felt the shift as my daemon half clawed out. The desire to steal energy from another creature ravaged my senses.
Maria dropped to the ground as I pulled energy from her. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it knitting my ribs back together. Darkness swirled and I reveled in it. I wanted to drain every ounce of life from her body.
The urge to consume her clutched at me, spurring me to keep going until nothing remained.
Cold. Consuming. Hunger.
A figure lunged forward, breaking the terrifying trance.
I released Maria and rolled out of the way right before the dochar could sink its claws into me. I forced the daemon back and found my fire magic. Once a flame formed into my palm, I threw it at the scaly black and crimson beast as it charged again.
“I told you she was up to something!” Lizzie bellowed. Merrick must be the one trying to claw me to death. “What happened to her goblin cuff?”
I needed to get the hell out of here and find Viktor. He didn’t have to give up an
ything to save me.
Maria groaned and tried to scramble up. “You half-daemon bitch.”
Popping echoed as Lizzie began to shift. Great. I had to take on two dochars. At least Maria was too weak now to do much more than insult me. Lizzie’s head elongated and sharp teeth emerged from her jaw. A mixture of slick black and crimson scales speckled her body.
I crawled to my feet with raw, ragged breaths pouring in and of my lungs. Lizzie folded down on all fours, her long sickle claws scratching the cement. My muscles shook. She wanted to do that to my flesh.
The twins began to circle me. The sight of their dragon heads and scales sent shivers down my body. Saliva dripped from their mouths, reminding me of Faolan’s attack in the bathroom. Bloodlust and hunger swirled through the air. My pulse tapped out a frantic beat as the two dochars closed in around me like jungle cats on a lone zebra.
I was trapped. They blocked my path toward the stairs, and they’d catch me before I could even make it halfway to the door. If I shadowmelded with one of them touching me, I’d bring them along and that would defeat the purpose.
I pulled on my elemental magic until a flame appeared in each palm then hurled the fire at the dochars. Lizzie moved too fast, dodging each one. She lunged forward. I screamed and threw my hand up, pulling on every ounce of magic inside.
A loud thunk echoed as freezing air cooled the room.
My head whipped around to find a wall of ice acting as a shield and Lizzie out cold on the other side. I looked around for Viktor, but I knew he wasn’t there. I couldn’t feel him.
I brought my hand to my face, and a sharp breath expelled from my lungs. Tiny ice crystals crawled over my palm. Shit. I created the ice.
Viktor’s blood had altered me in more ways than one.
The wintry shield began to crack. In seconds it would disintegrate and the dochars would be on me again. I didn’t have time to think about the fact that I’d inherited Viktor’s ice power.
I pictured the unseelie prince, concentrating on finding him. I had to help him before he did something irreversible. Electricity crackled over my skin as my core tightened, and the basement spun. The scene of cracking ice and bloodthirsty dochars disappeared into a black blur.
