AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There’s a beat of silence beforeHenry holds up a hand, signaling for James to stop. “And you?” he asks Kat.
She nods. “If you promise not to harm the child, I will give you what you ask for.”
“Very well. She will be spared.”
James wastes no time collecting blood from both Kat and Aziel. As Aziel’s blood drains from him, his eyes close and he slumps over.
“What’s wrong with him?” I ask, panicked.
Henry caresses my cheek as if to calm me. “He is all right, love. He’s only weak. But I promise he will be fine.”
I look back at the cage to the unconscious man and bite my lip. “Are you sure?”
I’m worried, but I also trust him. “Okay. If you’re sure. But we can help him when this is done?”
“Of course. We will heal him and send him home. Now, come. James needs some of your blood as well.”
After that, he collects some of mine and starts adding other ingredients to the blood mixture. It takes about ten minutes, and then he brings me a cup. It smells awful. Like blood and rotten garbage. I gag and hold the cup away from me. “Oh, that’s disgusting.”
I almost don’t care if it will break my curse. I don’t want to ingest it.
“Drink it, love.”
I bring the cup to my lips and swallow down the vile mixture, gagging the whole time. I’m now certain that Henry has compelled me because I try to stop myself several times, but I still drink every last drop.
I drop the cup to the ground when I’m finished. I fall to my knees and grab my stomach, coughing and gagging. I want to throw up.
Henry comes over to me and rubs my back. “You did well, Nora. How do you feel?”
I glare up at him. My siren wants blood, and not the kind I just drank. She’s knocking on the edge of my brain, and right now, I have to admit, if I could, I would unleash her. I’m so pissed off.
Henry seems taken aback by my anger. “Why the hostility? You love me, remember?”
I grind my teeth. “And I hate that I do!” I shout so loud my voice echoes in the large, empty chapel. “My feelings aren’t real. They can’t be. You compelled me. I could never love a monster, and that’s what you are! You were going to kill a child. You’ve also compelled me to do everything you say, haven’t you? I don’t have a choice. You’ve made me your slave. That’s not love, Henry.” I burst into tears, because even though I’m so angry and I’m sure that Henry compelled me to love him, I still feel that love, and my heart is breaking because of it. I shake my head, sobbing. “That’s not love.”
Henry pulls me to my feet and into his arms. As much as I want to escape him, my body betrays me. I want his comfort. He holds me tight, and I shudder in his embrace. “Everything will be okay. I will fix this. You have my word. And then we will be happy together.” He brushes my hair out of my eyes, and I look away from him, pinching my eyes shut tightly. I don’t want him to compel me again. He allows it and goes back to his original question. “How do you feel? Did the spell work?”
I’m sidetracked from all of my emotions, and I think about it.
“Answer me, Nora,” Henry says gently.
I have to answer him. I shake my head. “I don’t feel any different. More energized maybe, stronger, but I don’t feel any less dark. Then again, I only ever feel dark when my siren takes over.”
Henry purses his lips in disappointment. His brow wrinkles in thought. “Then we must test it. Call on your power.”
I focus inside me. My siren is right there where she’s been all night, raging with anger and waiting to be let out. “I can’t. She’s locked away.” The more I try to think, the more confused I become. My head starts to pound, and I grip it with both hands as if that will stop it from exploding. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand it, but there are gaps in my memory. I don’t know what I’m missing, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been compelled not to use my siren’s song.”
Henry sighs. “Allow me to fix you.”
Fix me?“You compelled me not to use my gift?”
“Parker compelled you.”
Something sparks. I know that name. No, it’s more than that. My heart knows that name. It’s beating erratically at just the thought of the mystery man. “Who’s Parker?”
Henry scowls. “A vampire who betrayed us. He is our enemy, love.”
For some reason I trust Henry, even though I’m pretty sure he’s lying to me. I grip my head again and moan. The more I try to think past the cloud in my brain, the more it hurts. “How will we know if the spell worked, if I’ve been compelled by another vampire?”
