Since I hated awkward silences, I tried making conversation after crawling back onto the gurney. I could have walked, but the witch seemed determined to save my energy, which was sweet of her.
“Is there any food?”
“No food.” She strode off, her heels clacking on the tiled floor.
“But I’m hungry!”
Once again, she ignored me.Bitch.
We trundled down the corridor, not seeing a soul. Did anybody work here? I was pretty sure I’d seen this place in a zombie-themed computer game.
Zane had installed a gaming console in the vampire dorm shortly after we moved in. Killing zombies was fun, he’d said. I’d tried playing the game one night, only for my character to die in the first minute.
Kenji had mocked me for days afterward.Too stupid to livewere his exact words.
My heart squeezed in my chest when I thought about my sweet boy.
Was my darling Fig eating properly? Had anyone taken him out for a pee?
I tried asking Kenji to check, but there was still nothing but a gaping chasm. I couldn’t even feel Alaric, and he was in the same building.
At least I assumed he was.
A double door swung open and Miss Whiplash, as I’d named her in my head—mainly because I thought she’d rock a career as a dominatrix—stopped dead and lowered her chin respectfully.
“Sir, the subject is ready for you.”
“Thank you, Miss Bone.”
Bone? What kind of name was Bone? I guessed it suited her skeletal features.
But my amusement at Miss Boney Whiplash’s stupid name faded away into nothingness when I saw my nemesis waiting for me with a smug smile on his face.
Tiberius Vane had the evil overlord aesthetic nailed. He leaned against a desk, arms folded. His suit seemed super expensive, and, like always, he looked polished enough for an impromptu press conference.
“Miss Blackstone. You look well this morning.”Wow! Low blow. It wasn’t my fault I’d skipped my morning shower and was currently doing the walk of shame in a club outfit.
“I’m impressed, Tibs.” The mage glowered at my blatant disrespect. “Looks like you’ve sunk a lot of cash into this hotel. It needs work, though. Your customer service team could do with some additional training because I had a terrible night’s sleep.”
“Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll be moving to a much nicer suite soon.”
That shut me up. I’d steeled myself for torture and everything, so why was he being suspiciously nice?
“Where are we?”
To my surprise, he was a bit more forthcoming than his minions.
“In a research facility deep underground in the Arizona desert.”
My brain kicked up a gear, despite the lack of enriching food, and swiftly descended into a bleak doom spiral.Goddess, save me.My mates would never find me if I were miles underground! Especially not with magic-blocking cuffs on!
“Um, why?” I faked apathy instead of picking suitable tunes for my inevitable funeral.Highway to Hellwas a good one, along withDing! Dong! The Witch is Dead. Had they played that at Demelza’s funeral? If not, they should have.
“Because I plan to extract every bit of your unique magic.” He smiled as if he’d just informed me I had a full day of spa treatments to look forward to. For the record, that would have been my preferred activity for today.
I opened my mouth to demand details of whatever twisted scheme he had conjured, but his phone rang and the bastard waved his hand, dismissing me like one of his minions.
Miss Whiplash tried to escort me away, but I dragged my feet, pretending to swoon from lack of food and water. Okay, so there wasn’t much faking going on; I really did feel faint.
