Page 24 of The Origin's Daughter

“I have yet to come across something that I could not kill,” he growled, his lips curling into a smile. “If you prove to be as immortal as you claim, well, there are worse things than death.” The smoke became thicker, and the widowmaker screamed again as it caught fire. Amon just held it until nothing but a blackened skeleton remained. I gagged against the smell, especially with my heightened senses. The entire room smelled like rotten eggs.

He dropped the skeleton to the ground. It still jumped and twitched along with the two severed hands, which were now crawling slowly towards me. I struggled against the web to try and get away. Amon noticed and was suddenly by my side.

“Hold still. I’m going to burn the web away,” he said, and my eyes widened. I really had no desire to end up like the widowmaker. He seemed to understand my reservations. “I will not let the fire touch you. Just the web. You must trust me.” I stared up at him silently. The web still wrapped tightly around my mouth.

Trust him? That was a tall order. I glanced over at Rycon who just shrugged at me. He seemed to be in no rush to intervene. I suppose this was the best offer I was going to get. Amon nodded at my silent consent and went to work carefully burning away the web.

When it was all finally gone, I got to my feet uneasily. Most of my hard-won strength had been sucked away by whatever had been in that black, tar-like substance. I wobbled on my feet, but neither the shifter nor daemon moved to help me. I was more than okay with that.

Amon turned his attention to the widowmaker’s remains. He waved a hand and it disappeared.

“Where did you send it?” I croaked, rubbing at my freshly bruised neck. Its web had tightened around my throat in the struggle, and it ached again. He met my gaze with those green eyes. He seemed surprised by the question.

“I sent her back to my court,” He explained. “If it is truly immortal, it will heal from what I have done and needs to be contained. My court will take care of that.”

Finally, Rycon piped up. “So, have you come to make an offer for her then?” He asked, gesturing toward me. The shifter leaned back against the wall, though I noticed he was careful to avoid the puddles of tar leaking from the ceiling. Amon turned his attention to Rycon, his movements slow and dangerous.

“You do not seem to be in a position to be making any sort of bargain with me.” Amon’s tone was deadly.

“Hey, fair is fair,” Rycon said. “She is mine by right. I have claimed her. It’s a magickal contract that you cannot break.”

Amon looked for a moment as if he might murder the shifter where he stood. I wasn’t surprised Amon was angry that Rycon had gotten to me first. I backed away from both of them, glancing at the open doorway. Maybe I could get out of here while they were occupied with each other. As I eyed the darkness beyond, all I could think about was crouching spiders waiting for me in the dark. I began to tremble. I wished Conrad would find me. I was tired, scared, and hurt.

Amon sneered. “I believe that has changed. You both now owe me a life debt. You know the rules. You are mine now to do with as I wish.” Both Rycon and I gaped.

“That’s bullshit.” Rycon snarled. “Sure, you saved that little brat’s life but I was completely fine before you showed up. I owe you nothing.”

The smile Amon gave Rycon was more sinister than anything the widowmaker could have pulled off.

“I’ve forgotten how blind your kind can be,” he said, his voice low. “Can you not see it? You are now bound to The Origin’s daughter. She has claimed you as hers to call. If I had let her die, you would have died with her.”

25

I felt Rycon’s terror before I saw realization spread across his face. That ‘click’ I had felt when I had drained the rest of his power. This ‘togetherness’ that I felt. I remembered Meredith mentioning something like this. She told me that this could happen.

“That’s not possible,” Rycon breathed. Amon just smiled at him then grabbed my wrist so fast I couldn’t have possibly dodged it. He drew his strange blade across my forearm. I cried out in shock and pain just as Rycon swore, cradling his own arm to his chest. Blood welled in the wound on my arm and I tried to pull away from Amon, but he held me in place.

“Let go of me, you sick piece of shit!” I snarled at him, throwing my entire weight against his grip. Rycon hissed from the other side of the room, rage and hatred smoldering in his eyes. I didn’t know if it was directed at me, Amon or the both of us... until I felt the panic clench around his heart as if it were my own. His dreams of freedom fled from his mind. He was bound to me—a prisoner. The hatred was for me. Definitely for me.

Amon frowned slightly at the wound he had carved into my arm, he seemed almost confused for a moment as he watched my red blood drip into the dirty carpet. Then his gaze found the triquetra around my neck, and his eyes darkened.

“Remove that charm, now ,” He ordered, still holding my arm. I spat in his face and attempted to kick him in the groin, much the same way I had done to Rycon earlier. My spit never made contact. He magicked it away before it could land. The daemon simply chuckled and blocked the kick with his leg, all the while maintaining his grip on my wrist. His anger quickly melted away into amusement.

“So feisty,” He purred, smirking at me.

“Go fuck yourself,” I snapped at him, enraged that he seemed to find my futile attempt at escape amusing. His smile just widened.

I heard a car pull up outside and knew from the familiar squeak of the brakes that it would be Conrad. Relief flooded through me. He would know how to get me out of this mess. Sure enough, within seconds, he was in the doorway. I watched the blood drain from his face as he took in the scene before him.

I tried to see it through his eyes. Black sludge dripping from the walls and ceiling; the Prince of the Court of Pride holding me by the wrist and a murderous shifter lurking in the corner.

“Let her go,” Conrad said. His voice was darker than I’d ever heard it. He came to my side and pulled me away. Surprisingly, Amon did as Conrad asked and took a step back.

“I was wondering when her bodyguard would get here,” Amon mused. Rycon snorted.

“Some bodyguard.” The shifter snickered, and Conrad looked so angry I swore he would call a tsunami to drown us all. Rycon just laughed.

“I’m just saying, it wasn’t exactly hard to kidnap her. You must be new.”

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