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The loud rattling of chains rang through the room, ripping me from my restless sleep. Before I could fully wake, my wrists were jerked upward, yanking me from the ground and pulling me up to my knees.
I groaned as my head hung forward, my bones aching from sleeping on the concrete floor. I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but it didn’t feel like long with the level of exhaustion that still clung to me.
The lights came on, bright and blinding, and I closed my eyes, turning my face down to try to escape the burning. The sensitivity subsided and the blurriness slowly dissipated, allowing me to make out where I was.
The room was barren, surrounded by unfinished concrete walls like some sort of basement. There were four people in the room that I could make out. Someone was crouched before me, and as my eyes adjusted and focused, I could see it was Marcus. One of his men sat in a metal folding chair near the door, relaxed back as if this were just another day at the office.
Marcus was shirtless, his loose cargo pants hanging around his hips, his bare muscular chest covered in a tattoo that reached over to his arm. Faintly beneath it, though, I could see that it covered an older tattoo, and I couldn’t help but think it was similar to Damien's.
“I found this in your jacket.” Marcus pulled a little orange prescription bottle from his pocket. “ACE inhibitors?”
I pursed my lips, averting my eyes from him.
Marcus rattled my medicine bottle in front of me. “I googled it. What would you be taking blood pressure medication for?”
I remained silent, eyes to the floor. My heart condition was information that I couldn’t afford him to know. It would only be another weapon he could use against me.
Marcus grinned. “Oh?Shit. I didn’t know you had something like that.” He barked a laugh under his breath, leaning closer to me, his voice low. “Have you told Damien yet? Or is thisyourlittle secret?”
I froze. Had he read my thoughts? I jerked my face up to him. His eyes met mine, his face inches from my own. “You can’t hide anything from me, little songbird. There’s no safe place for you here. Not even in your own mind.”
Marcus withdrew a bit, fingers grazing his jaw as he contemplated the new information. “I will say, that’s going to make things a bit trickier. No worries, though. I think I know a way we can work around this issue of yours.”
“Damien will come for me.” I steeled my nerves as best I could, but I couldn’t deny my resolve was beginning to wane in his presence. “When he does, you’ll regret this.”
With a flash of movement faster than I could follow, he pulled a knife from his pocket, flipping it open within an uncomfortable distance of my face. “Oh I’m countin’ on it. But not before I have my fun with you.”
He moved his hand forward, gliding the blade flat against my skin, the tip of it like a needle dragging, sharp but not yet pricking the surface. My breath caught in my throat as it reached down over my chin, along my throat to my collarbone where he turned it. My body trembled from the cold and fear I fought to suppress. I sucked in air as the sharp blade drew blood with the slightest pressure. My chest heaved irregularly as my body panicked, the pain heightening my senses, but I did my best not to move. I gripped the chains, focusing on anything but what he was doing. Marcus licked his lips, a satisfied grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
My eyes flashed to the door as it opened, and a spark of hope lit in my chest at the sight of Cole.
“Cole?” I gasped as shock and confusion overwhelmed me. “Thank God! Where are the others? Is Damien—” My voice dropped, the words falling before they could leave my lips.
His eyes held no emotion as he entered the room. I frowned. What was he doing here? It didn't make any sense, and the sweet, kind boy I’d gotten to know over the last month was as cold and distant as a stranger. “W-what are you… what are you doing here?”
Marcus stepped back, acknowledging him. “Perfect timing, Cole.”
Cole’s eyes fell to me, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. The reality of the situation sank into me. Cole was working with Marcus. He’d betrayed Damien, betrayed his brothers. He'd betrayed me.
How long had he been planning this? Had he been with Marcus all along?
It made sense suddenly, and my words left my lips in a whisper. “You’re the one who told him we were going to be in the woods…”
The look on his face was enough to confirm my suspicions, and the betrayal shot through me, so painful I could barely breathe. Anger burned in my chest to the point that tears dotted my eyes and I jerked forward against the chains, trying to get to him.
“You were my friend…” I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight. The chains rattled, echoing off the walls as I jerked. “I trusted you! We all did!How could you fucking do this to us?” I yelled, the chains taut against my wrists as they held me back.
He remained silent, which only sent me into a spiral of rage, and I yelled again. “Was that why you were so curious about me? Why you asked all those questions? So you could do this?”
Still silence. Still no answers. Only that cold, distant stare.
Marcus returned to me. “Damien and the others don’t know it, but Cole here is one of the last with the ability to use AÌma." He cocked his head, eyes alight with something that drained the blood from my face. "That’s blood magic, little songbird. He can manipulate your blood and make sure your little heart doesn’t give out on me.” The world shifted beneath me, and he laughed. “This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly!”
My pulse hammered in my ear as Cole watched me, nodding for the other guy to leave the room as Cole lowered himself into the now-vacant chair. Fear clouded my vision. What were they going to do to me? Did Damien and the others know yet that Cole was working against them?
“Your nose looks a little rough. I should fix that for you.” Before I could react, Marcus reached up, grabbing my nose and cracked it as he readjusted it. I cried out, my body locking up as the burning pain radiated across my face. I sank low, falling against the chains as I panted, sobs building in my throat.
