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They’re starting to drain me.
Less than twelve hours after Zephyra nearly drank everything I had, they are going to start again.
And if I don’t escape, this will be my life.
Held in the tunnels.
Drained for her whenever she needs me.
“How much are we taking?” the red-headed vamp flicks the clear plastic bag that is now connected to me via a plastic tube.
“Just a couple of bags to start with. She wants to test how much we need.” Brynn glances down at me and licks his lips when his eyes graze my thighs – the spot Zephyra drank from. “My guess is a drop per vial should do it.”
“What the fuck will happen to it when it’s fermented?” the redhead asks, rubbing her hands together and inhaling as if the very thought of it is too much. “You saw the queen. You saw what it did to her. Can you imagine what’ll happen when it’s been through the process?”
They are talking about me as if I’m not here or, at least, as if I’m not able to hear them.
I close my eyes and let their words wash over me, try to make it look like I’m afraid or in pain rather than latching onto every flicker of heat inside me and collecting it, taming it, holding it at bay at the base of my throat until I’m ready to roar and unleash it on them.
Zephyra enters like a shadow.
Silent and dark.
She is edgy. The energy fizzing around her is fractured and dangerous.
Her eyes are wild, and more black than they were before. There’s the smallest hint of red in her irises. Already, the veins have started to appear. Already, she’s craving more.
She looks from my arm to the blood that’s collecting in the bag next to me.
She swallows hard and wipes her palm across her forehead. Then she nods, and mutters something I’m sure she thinks no one can hear.
“No wonder my sister became addicted to the stuff. I thought her weak. I thought I was stronger. But I want it so badly.” She shakes her head, scraping her fingers through her hair.
Has one drink from my veins made her lose her composure?
Somehow, if it has, it frightens me more than her being in control. Because like this, she is more unpredictable.
She shakes like an animal trying to free itself of tension and flits around the room in two lightning fast circles.
Nervous energy fizzes on her skin and around her in a halo I assume only I can see.
I flex my fingers and wince at the tug of the needle in my arm.
Brynn snaps at me to keep still.
Miranda says nothing. She doesn’t meet my eyes. But when her fingers twitch in her pocket, I almost smile.
Because I know what she holds.
And I know we’re going to win this.
25
KOLE
Zephyra sends for me later than I expected. As predicted, they do not allow the demon hunter to come with me.
Luther would hate this guy. He’d hate every mother fucking thing about him, and I wouldn’t tell him he’s wrong. But I meant what I said; I get why he did what he did.
