“What will the men do without us?” I inquired, playing into her fantasy because it was taking my mind off things.
“Watch the children and tend to the kitchen of course,” she replied which caused me to bark out into laughter.
My face fell pretty quickly though. “How did we get here? War. It seems so … wrong.”
She looked at the guards. “Hatred. Division. If people focused on what they had in common, or how they could help one another, rather than how they were different, it would solve a lot of problems.”
Well said.
“Kailani?”
She looked at me seriously.
“Zaphira killed my big brother. She kidnapped my little brother. I can’t let her live. I may have to lose my life in order to kill her, so please tell Axil I’m sorry.”
Her face fell at that and she looked at my stomach where a child grew inside of me. I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted revenge. It was a steady banging war drum in my chest, a thirst that could not be quenched until Zaphira’s head was severed from her body.
Kailani nodded. “You will have a small window of time if they put you in the machine that steals your magic. They take off your cuffs. Only then can you use your power to try and overtake them.”
I dipped my chin in understanding. “Thank you.”
We fell silent then, sitting against the bars and waiting for the next move. Eventually someone would come take one or both of us. And after several hours, they did. My head had fully healed by the time the guard came for Kailani and me.
“Where are you taking us?” Kailani asked as we were hauled out of the cell.
“Shut up,” the guard told her and then peered into the cell, blinking rapidly. “Where is the kid?”
“Do you want me to answer or should I shut up?” Kailani said.
He reached up and smacked her hard across the face and her lip split back open.
“They already took him!” I screamed at him.
He glared at me. “Where? Who?”
Kailani was holding her cheek. “How should we know? We don’t work here. A guard took him to the lab.”
He growled and pointed the sharp tip of a knife at my throat. “Walk and don’t get any ideas or I start stabbing.”
I did as he asked, feeling like it was a good sign that my brother hadn’t been brought back down to the dungeon since he’d left.
Was he free? Already outside the gates? Was Axil okay? I felt for our bond, hidden among all of my anxiety for my brother, and could sense that he was still alive. I would know if my mate was dead, right?
We were marched up the stairs and down a hallway to a large dining room. Outside the room, two more guards were stationed. One of them broke away and stepped up beside Kailani. “They’re ready,” he said to the guard that held us.
They?
The doors opened and I steeled myself as I took in the space before us. The Nightfall queen sat at the head of a large table with a regal-looking bloodsucker next to her. I didn’t know anything about necromerian royalty but this man reeked of power and influence. His black high-collared jacket framed his pale face and he stared at me with a gaze I didn’t like. One that was hungry, like a half-starved animal.
They both watched us as we entered and the queen gave me a snarl. I glanced at her bandaged hand and grinned.
“You can have her wolf power, Regis, but I want the elf queen,” she told him.
Regis looked at me and squinted. “She’s the wife of Axil Moon?” he asked and my stomach tightened. They knew his name.
“I believe they call them mates, but yes,” Zaphira replied.
We were led to the table where two places had been set across from the queen and her companion. Kailani and I shared a look.
What was the game plan here? Feed us dinner and then steal our magic? Why? To play with us?
Just when I was beginning to wonder if we were meant to take a seat or not, the guard pushed me down into one of the chairs. I was seated across from the man Zaphira had called Regis, who I was going to assume was the necros’ king.
“What will you be having for dinner? Blood with a side of blood?” I asked him sarcastically.
He shared a look with the queen and she nodded. “See. She has a temper: those make for the best magic elixirs.”
I swallowed hard at that. If Kailani was right, I’d have only seconds from when they took off my cuffs to when they placed me in the machine. And if I couldn’t fight back, I remembered my promise to Raife and I would not falter. There was no way I was giving her this power. I’d carve my own heart out before that happened.
A waiter brought out three plates of food, setting them before the queen, Kailani and me. Then he set a glass of dark red fluid in front of the king.
Regis looked at the waiter in disgust. “I prefer it straight from the source.” Then he turned to the queen. “May I?” he asked, his eyes on me.
Zaphira nodded and I stiffened. “Oh, please do.”
Kailani squirmed in her seat beside me. “Won’t that affect the power transfer?” she asked nervously and I could tell she was stalling for time.
“No,” the queen said and then before I could even track his movements, the king was beside me, my face in his hands. I moved to fight back and then his mouth was on my neck. A small pinch bit at my skin and then a wave of nausea rolled over me as he sucked.
“Stop this!” Kailani shouted, jerking beside me, but the guard held her firmly in place. The slurping sounds at my neck were making me want to vomit but not as much as the slight buzz of pleasure that hummed just under my skin. He had some kind of magic spell over me that was making me think I liked it. With one jerk of my head I cracked my skull into his and he pulled away from me laughing.
The moment his mouth released my neck, the pleasure faded and was replaced by a dull throb.
Zaphira took a bite of her meat, grinning. “Does she taste good?”
Regis stood. “Oh, you have no idea. And not just that, she is linked to her mate. I could feel him, far away but there.”
I froze, swallowing hard. He felt the pack bonds? I calmed myself and searched for Axil. I could feel him alive and anxious but there. Had the necro king felt that too? That wasn’t right, but then I had no idea what kind of power necros held.
Regis walked over to the queen’s plate of food and grasped her meat knife. “I wonder … Do you think her mate can feel it if I hurt her?”
Kailani and I both bucked in our seats at that but the guards kept us firmly in place. My heart crashed wildly in my chest but I was helpless to stop him.
The queen nodded and then held out her bandaged hand, showcasing her missing finger which was now a bloody stump hidden under white gauze. “I require revenge, my love.”
My love?
One second he stood beside her and then next my hand was being pulled out onto the dinner table, fingers splayed out.
“No!” Kailani screamed, thrashing her back against her chair.
The necromerian king held the blade to my pinky finger and I went eerily still, resigning myself to my fate. Cyrus taught me that wounds hurt more when you resisted them.
Control where they hurt you.
I curled my other fingers into a ball and willingly gave him my pinky, looking at Kailani to let her know it was okay. Tears streamed down her face and then … the dining hall doors burst open and a young man stumbled in, grasping his throat. His face was purple, and white foam bubbled at his lips. Regis and Zaphira both froze.