My body shook with the horror of whatever that had been.
When I looked back at the demon, I caught an amused glint in his eyes. “I thought you’d enjoy that.”
“Thanks for helping?” I said. “I guess?”
His smile faded, and he moved closer to me with preternatural speed. Peering down at me, his piercing eyes sent a shiver through my body. “Oh, I don’t think you want to thank me,” he murmured. “Do you? I think you must know what exquisite punishment is in store for you now, love.”
I could hardly breathe.
What the fuck?
I had to get away from him, but it was a mistake to turn your back and run from a predator. It was a mistake to act like prey. Right now, I was fighting an overpowering instinct to lower my eyes in submission. “You’re going to have to tell me what you mean, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His hot power thrummed over my damp skin, raising the hair on the back of my arm. “You must know why I’m here.” He leaned down and whispered, “I’m here for revenge.”
His scorching magic snaked around me, a slow brush of hot power over my skin. He was freezing me in place, taking complete control over my body. All of my muscles froze.
“Stop it,” I hissed.
But I could already feel his magic sliding inside my mind, and my vision began to dim. I was in his hands now.
Chapter 6
I woke in total darkness to the sound of dripping water, my back pressed against a cold stone floor. My dress had ridden up around my hips, exposing my legs, and my right thigh lay in freezing cold water. My teeth chattered.
Down here, the air smelled stale and mildewy, though not wildly different from the basement where I lived.
Shivering, I sat up straight, my mind whirling.
From what I’d gathered, the Lord of Chaos had kidnapped me, and he’d locked me in a basement. I hadn’t expected an amazing birthday, but this certainly fell far below my worst expectations.
My heart thundered in my chest. I shot to my feet, searching for my phone. Only then did I remember that one of the frat boys had smacked it out of my hands.
Swallowing hard, I wrapped my arms around myself. “Hello?”
My own voice echoed back to me. The only other noise was the sound of dripping water.
After a few minutes, I started feeling around in the darkness. My fingertips brushed over a slimy wall, moss, ivy, and then iron bars.
Okay, I wasn’t in a basement. I was in a jail cell. Or a dungeon, perhaps.
“Hello?” I called again.
As I stared into the darkness, flames burst to life in the torches on a stone wall across from me, making me jump. But since no one was around, I could only imagine that magic had lit the torches. Now, warm light wavered over my cell, illuminating the iron bars that locked me in.
I surveyed the dim space. Vines grew over three of the walls around me, and across from my cell was a crude stone wall with the torches. That was about it.
As my heart raced, I crossed to the bars and gripped them, waiting. Down here, it was cold enough that my breath clouded before my face.
A few moments later, I heard the sound of footfalls.
Then the Lord of Chaos arrived before my cell, his perfect features gilded in the torchlight. It was too bad he was a demon and an unrelenting asshole because he was heartbreakingly beautiful. He stood with an eerie, demonic stillness that made goosebumps rise on my skin. The amygdala—the part of my brain that assessed a threat—instantly picked him out as predator, not human. My brain was telling me to get the fuck out of there, and it didn’t seem to care that there were bars.
“There you are, love,” he purred.
I stared at him, trying to remember how to form sentences. “Don’t lock someone in a dungeon and then call them love.”
He chuckled softly, taunting. “Sorry, is that bad manners?” His smile faded fast. “I guess I don’t give a fuck, Mortana.”
“Why am I here?”
“Because I loathe you more than any other living person, and I’ve always wanted to see you on the other side of these bars.” His cruel gaze brushed slowly up and down my body. “It’s fucking delicious. Especially seeing what a sad little life you’ve been living among the mortals. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
I pointed at him. “You need to understand that everything you’re saying is wrong.”
He stepped closer, his eyes piercing in the gloom, and gripped the cell bars. “This night has been delightful. I never quite imagined it being this good.” Despite the fact that he was threatening me at every opportunity, his voice felt like a soft, seductive caress. It brushed over my bare skin, sending a hot shiver through my body—a deeply confusing sensation. “This might be the greatest thrill I’ve ever experienced. Don’t you remember what it was like when you used to come see me?”