“ROOK!” A blast of light shot down the bond, his energy firing into my heart like a defibrillator, breaking the insidious hold of death and silencing the calls from endless piles of bones.
“Wake up! I know you can hear me. Fight!”
As if waking from a sticky dream, my senses returned. Sound grew louder, the scent of earth filled my nose, the prickle of cold air kissed my skin, and the metallic bitterness of blood stung my tongue.
I arched weakly in Lucien’s arms as I swam to the surface.
“Open your eyes. That’s it. I’m here. I’ve got you.” He rocked me harder where I lay sprawled on his lap. His arm cradled my shoulders; his hand pressed over my heart as if he could force his own lifeforce into me.
Come back, he begged.I can’t do this without you...
My eyes flew open with a choking inhale.
A gloomy yellow light cast eerie stencils over the stone ceiling just before Lucien’s gorgeously handsome face filled my vision. Wild-eyed and pale, his ebony hair hung in thick strands as he tipped forward and pressed a vicious kiss to my lips.
“There you are.” He crushed me against his chest, trembling as his arms wrapped far, far too tight. “Fuck, I thought I’d lost you again.”
I wanted to hug him back, but my arms barely managed a twitch. The dead still whispered on the edges of my mind, trespassing into the world of the living while Lucien hitched me higher on his lap and reached for a plate beside him.
“Here. You have to eat something. You’re far too weak and need to replenish the energy I stole.” Breaking off a corner of a thin sandwich, he held it to my lips. “Eat.”
Hunger chewed at my stomach, but the thought of food made nausea roll with oily waves.
Struggling to get my bearings, my nose wrinkled at the smell of white bread and processed cheese. Beside the plate holding the rest of the unappealing sandwich was a bruised apple, spotted banana, and two bottles of water.
“Where...?” I swallowed the dryness in my mouth. “Where are we?”
The world swam in blurry fragments as I glanced around the room.
Gloomy light came from a single lightbulb hanging in the corner. A constant drip echoed like a ticking clock, and I couldn’t decide if the iron bars or the neatly chiselled stone were more terrifying.
We’re in a cell...
Memories flickered.
Ashfall Cliff. Blood. Whisper’s howls—
My bruised heart tried to pump harder, sending shooting pains through my chest.
How long had I been asleep?
Were Dillon, Auntie Mei, and Uncle Wen okay?
“I’m assuming they are seeing as those bastards got what they wanted.” Lucien stiffened, his jaw clenching as he listened in on my silent questions. “They got us. Whatever frequency they used knocked us out cold. I think...I think we’re in the basement of the Brimstone headquarters in England.”
England?!
They’d flown us here unconscious? I’d like to think that would be impossible, but after experiencing firsthand the efficiency of companies like Sovereign Retrieval—who’d helped Lucien escape the last time—I supposed anything was doable with money.
Lucien narrowed his eyes at the roughly hewn cell. “I remember this place when they brought me here to insert the vitalsync core when I was little.” His voice thickened with hate. “They kept me here while prepping for surgery. There are other rooms down here. Lots of rooms.”
My gaze dropped to his ruined vitalsync core pressing against my shoulder where he cradled me. The silver edge of it poked from his shirt, glinting smugly as if it also recalled this place and the day it was inserted into a nine-year-old Lucien.
Snatches of that day appeared in my head—the fear he’d felt as they’d dragged him into a sterile room. The betrayal as the very men who were meant to look after him hurt him in the worst way possible.
His fingers brushed my cheek. “You can see the past through my eyes, can’t you?”
Even nodding took energy I didn’t have. “I’m so sorry for what they did to you.”
