Leaning back, I rounded my shoulders and allowed the ropes to squeeze my breasts. The cold air had already turned my nipples into peaks, something Ajax seemed to be trying to ignore as he kept his chin lifted.
Half of my distraction tactic was already done for me.
Men are idiots.
“So what’s going on in the Netherworld Kingdom?” I asked, searching for distraction as I continued loosening the knot behind my back. It was making a soft sound against the chair that I hoped our voices would mask.
He snorted. “Nothing to concern your rebellious little head about,” he drawled, his gaze still on mine as purple magic weaved around the room, the source of it coming from his wand.
Does that mean his spell isn’t done yet? Or is he just radiating power?
I glanced at the walls shimmering with violet smoke and tried to make sense of it, but there wasn’t much to go off of. There wasn’t much at all, actually. Just black bricks and dark stone with no furnishings or windows. Although, the door was a heavy panel that locked from both sides.
“I think I liked your dungeon better,” I murmured, again trying to cover up the motions of my hands.
Stretch.
Scratch.
The rope twisted the wrong way, cutting off the circulation to my left wrist. I bit off a curse and swallowed the pain.This isn’t a great plan,I told myself.But what else can I do?
“I’m sure you did,” Ajax deadpanned, not giving me anything.
Right.“At least I had clothes,” I hedged. “Sort of, anyway.” They were practical outfits, but ones meant to showcase my feminine assets. Still, I hadn’t been forced to sit naked before an audience.
Unlike now.
Granted, they’d found me without clothes on, so it wasn’t entirely their doing. They’d just chosen not to offer me anything to cover up.
Ajax shoved away from the wall, making me flinch. But he didn’t come toward me. He simply whispered a command and disappeared, just without all the black ash.
The temperature dropped—which was something I hadn’t even thought was possible in the already chilled room.
Electricity zapped over my skin, leaving me with an ominous sense of dread.
And a subtle cloak of fear choked off my air as I struggled to determine where Ajax had gone.
“Ajax?” I called. When the shadows seemed to close in, I pulled the rope harder. The motion sent needles zipping down my fingers. Panic threatened to seize me as I raised my voice higher. “Ajax?”
Some sort of magic activated when I hit the louder decibel, tickling the hair against the back of my neck. Then the echo of my voice evaporated as if the sound had hit a cotton wall.
Oh God.
It’s soundproofing.
Thatwas the point of Ajax’s spell. He had created a chamber where no one could hear me scream.
The scent of pine engulfed me as Ajax’s muted voice seemed to come at me from all directions.
“Welcome to Hell, little rebel.MyHell.”
A whispered series of words sent another burst of pine rolling through the room. The ropes binding me turned into hissing snakes, making me screech.
“Now, let’s try this again.How. Did. You. Escape?”
CHAPTER2
AZ
