I rubbed my wrists, wrists that were now stained purple and red raw from the cuffs that dug into my skin.
Their toll on my body worsened with each day. I hadn’t realized how essential it was to expel magic regularly. The longer I went without being able to cast magic, the more the pressure built inside me. The more time that passed, the hotter my amulet burned against my skin.
A witch masquerading as a nurse had tried cutting the amulet off. I grinned to myself when I recalled how she’d screamed as the stone scorched her fingers.
Served the bitch right.
My mates could touch the amulet with no ill-effects, but it burned everyone else. Thankfully none of the witches or mages had spotted my ruby vampire necklace. I’d half expected the illusion spell to fade with so much distance between me and my mate, but his magic continued to hold firm.
I forced all thoughts of my mates down. Worrying about them did me no good. Instead of sinking into a soul-deep depression, I needed to plot an escape.
My gaze snagged on the door. The witch had left me alone, so it was time to take advantage and snoop for information.
I hopped off the examination table and quickly scanned the contents of the room. Nothing but empty blood vials, some paper towels, and a stack of metal bowls.
Ugh. I guessed it was too much to hope for that the witch had discarded a handy scalpel or syringe filled with deadly toxins lying around.
I listened for a few seconds but heard nothing. No conversation, footsteps, or sounds of equipment being moved.
When I stuck my head out of the door, the corridor stretched in both directions, empty. This was too good an opportunity to miss.
The staff would punish me for leaving the exam room, but rules were for losers. It was time to channel my incubus.
If Zane were imprisoned in this place, he’d have caused havoc by now. Probably assaulted dozens of mages, killed as many as he could, and then escaped. I might lack my incubus mate’s unhinged tendencies, but stars be damned, I’d had enough of sitting around letting things happen to me.
I padded out and glanced both ways before heading left. There were more rooms down here. If I searched each one, I might find something helpful.
The first room yielded nothing. Nor the second. Paperclips would not save me. Nor an abandoned stack of Mage Monthly magazines.Who even reads that garbage?
Mage Monthly was nothing more than propaganda these days. Thinly veiled editorials about eugenics and lesser species population control. The last time I’d picked a copy up while sitting outside Montgomery’s office, it contained an article proclaiming forced sterilization was a potential cure for feral shifter disease.
Goddess save us all from mages and their gut-churning ideology.
I continued exploring.
A horrible series of growls alerted me to another’s presence, and when I peered inside a small window, I saw the vampire female strapped to a bed with a plastic tube inserted in her wrist.
She must have caught my scent because her head swiveled sideways and a pair of red eyes found mine.
A sensible witch would have run away. However, risk-averse decision-making wasn’t in my nature, so I twisted the door handle. To my surprise, it clicked open.
“Wiiiitchhh,” the female hissed, the extended fangs making normal speech difficult.
“I’m a witch but also a prisoner,” I announced with a bright smile, hoping to forge enough of a connection that she didn’t try tearing my throat out. Not that she had much chance of doing that. The metal bands locking her in place were likely spelled to prevent a vampire with inhuman strength from breaking free.
The vampire’s hostility faded. Her gaze dropped, lingering for a moment on the spot where my ruby necklace rested. She frowned.
“Can you see it?” My fingers brushed the necklace, seeking comfort.
“It belongs to my family.” Another angry hiss followed. Goddess, did she think I’d stolen it?!
I took a giant step back, not keen on the idea of a rabid vampire taking revenge for a crime I hadn’t committed. There was enough on my plate right now without dying in a puddle of blood.
“Rasmus is my soul-bonded mate. He gifted it to me.”
The female’s red eyes welled up with bloody tears. “My brother is…alive?” Oh my goddess, this was my mate’s sister? I choked back a sob. There wasn’t time to lose my shit. We didn’t have much time. The staff were probably already searching for me.
“Yes, he’ll be hunting for me.”And hopefully killing lots of mages along the way. “How long have you been stuck in here?”
