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Abherham huffed too slowly, his voice was strained and barely audible. “They took her.” He tried to lift his arm, but it barely raised an inch over the blood-soaked floor. He held a flimsy paper in his broken hand. I stepped forward, ripping it from his fingers. The note was smeared in blood, but the writing was still legible.
We have your wife. If you want to see her alive again, do exactly as we say. Tell no one. Burn this note immediately and head to the back garden. Someone will meet you there. It is best for your wife if you cooperate. Come alone with no weapons. You have ten minutes, or you will find her returned to you in pieces.
Shit. Shit. Shit. I read the note twice, cursing as I did. I threw it into the fire, waited until it went up in flames, then stormed to the gardens, ignoring Abherham’s weakened plea to wait.
A hooded figure approached as I entered. I couldn’t make out any details of his face, but I knew it was the Advenian I was waiting for. “Drop your weapons,” the male rasped as he held out manacles for my hands. “And Princeling, one wrong move, and she dies.”
I yanked my daggers out of my belt and unsheathed the blade from behind my back. Once I threw my weapons on the grass out of reach, the male approached me. I had no choice as I let him clamp the shackles over my wrists. I felt the Alluse working through my system, spilling into my veins and freezing my abilities the moment the cold metal hit my flesh. Then a bag went over my head, and my world went dark.
THIRTY-THREE
SCOTLIND
I chokedon the gag in my mouth as soundless sobs broke from me. I couldn’t see anything through my blindfold, nor could I move to feel my surroundings. I was bound. Shackled to the floor, the metal digging into my wrists. No matter how hard I yanked and pulled on the chains, they didn’t budge. So I just sat on the cold ground. Shivering. Listening. Waiting.
My head throbbed, and my heart pounded hard against my sternum as I strained to hear anything. I wanted any information I could get about who held me captive.
Then I heard it, a soft laugh. That laugh. I could recognize it from anywhere.
Two brown eyes seared into me as my blindfold was ripped from my head. Kole. I tried to scream, but the gag only allowed for a weak, muffled sound to escape.
I looked around to see where he had taken me. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Two stories were visible with balconies surrounding the upper level.
Then I noticed all the males. Hooded figures were scattered throughout both floors. Every single one of them was armed to the teeth with weapons, but they weren’t focused on me. Their arrows were notched and pointed toward the front door like they were waiting for something or someone.
I squinted, trying to get a better look. They all wore black masks beneath their hoods. Silver and gold designs were etched into each one, mimicking plastered facial expressions contorted into a haunting grin. They looked terrifying.
I tried to count the hooded figures, maybe thirty or forty. I scanned the different weapons they held—swords were strapped to their backs, knives and daggers of various lengths were held in their grips, whips, chains, axes, arrows… Then there were objects, no… torture devices that I had never seen before.
I swallowed or tried to with the gag as Kole grabbed my chin and forced me to gaze at him, preventing me from seeing what else they possessed. Maybe it would be a good thing not to know.
Kole laughed, his grip tightening as he ushered me into a seated position. I winced as my jaw throbbed, knowing he would leave a bruise. He held my gaze as I started to shake under his grasp. My thigh aching all over again as I remembered the pain he inflicted. I remembered how he’d tried to kill me that night in my room.
I didn’t know how much time had passed since my kidnapping or if anyone even knew I was gone. But I wouldn’t be leaving this warehouse alive. I knew it by the pure hatred in Kole’s eyes.
Something shimmered in his hands—my necklace. I tried to retreat, but my chains were already pulled taut.
“Curious thing this is, little nix,” Kole sneered, waving the golden chain in my face. “I always wondered how your Prince got to you so fast that night. I wondered how you didn’t obey my compulsion to stay put. Then, I discovered this lovely button on the back. It alarms him, right?”
He paused as if to wait for my answer, but I was still gagged, and all I could do was stare at him. “Well, I guess we will find out if he comes for you. I already took the liberty of pressing it.” I shook my head violently.No. No. No.Sie can’t come here.
The males who were scattered throughout the warehouse had covered their faces with masks and hoods. Kole was the only one who openly showed his face. Probably all too aware that he was a known threat to the kingdom now. Tears ran down my cheeks as I crawled awkwardly away from him. I put as much distance between us until my chains pulled taut which wasn’t much at all.
“What do we do now?” one of the hooded males asked Kole. They looked to him like he was their leader.
“Now,” Kole said to the group, “we wait.” Most of the men nodded. Some looked toward me.
“What if he doesn’t come?” someone else asked.
Kole’s eyes never left mine as he said with a sickening, wicked smile, “Oh, he will. He’ll come for her.”
Bile rose deep in my throat, turning sour. I wanted to vomit.
Kole bent over to remove my gag. I gasped for air, gulping in as much as I could. With my hands still bound in front of me, I staggered slightly forward. The males snickered.
When I finally caught my breath enough, I gasped, “Why are you doing this?” I couldn’t hide the hurt in my voice or the tears in my eyes.
Kole slapped me hard across the face. The power of his arm forced my head to slam against the hard ground as I fell. I groaned in agony as I tried to lift my hands to my head, but the chains stopped me short from the angle I was in.
