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“Jealous? Of you?” She huffed, rage rolling her hands into fists. “Little girl, I already got that t-shirt… over and over and over. You know how many beds we broke?”
It took everything I had not to punch her, to take her to the ground.Be smart. She still thinks you’re tied up.
“Oh, and after all that, he still walked away and won’t go back,” I volleyed.
The woman rose, her nose flaring. In a blink, her fist slammed down on my face, cutting my lip just before her boot heaved into my stomach. “You know he’s probably going to take that nectar and run, leaving you behind. You are nothing to him.”
The last thing I saw was her fist coming down for me again before everything blinked out, sucking me back into the darkness.
“Katrina…” My name whispered from the depths, the pull to it twisted in my chest. I thought I was happy in the nothing, floating in this blank void, but now I longed to get out. Swinging, clawing, I tried to find an escape. A way toward the voice that lured me like an addiction.
“Katze?” the man’s voice called again, anxiety and desperation rushing through me.
“I’m here!” I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Fighting through the quicksand, I tried to climb out. To reach him.
A sensation dragged over my lips, making me finally feel my body, pulling me up from the blackness trying to keep me below. Awareness cracked through my mind, pressure beating like a heartbeat over my face, my lips stinging as I felt a thumb slide over the bottom one.
“Kitty-Kat?” He growled it in a taunt, knowing that name would pull me out of slumber. Though it was no longer because I hated it, and that’s what scared me. He was still the man who killed my father, yet my heart pounded in my chest simply hearing his voice. “Wake up.” Croygen’s tone was controlled, but I knew him, sensed the fear and anxiety. “I need you to tell me where you are.”
Pain fought against me, my body wanting to go back to sleep.
“Kitten. Wake up.”
The demand caused my lashes to pop up, my gaze meeting his dark, sultry eyes. I was awake, but I couldn’t have been, because Croygen was here, touching me. I noticed everything around me clearly, yet I knew he wasn’t really there. As if we were caught in the in-between. A dream while being wide awake.
I have to be dreaming. But why does this feel so real?
What terrified me was it seemed normal. No big deal since I was able to see and feel him, knowing he wasn’t near me.
This was anything but normal.
“Where are you?” he rushed out, his attention drifting, his form fading.
My captor took notice of me, her gaze going to the rope loose around my wrists, her feet rushing for me.
Fuck.
Croygen’s head turned, like he was trying to see what was causing my panic. And I felt his panic rise like it was my own, warning bells trying to wake him up, but he was trying to stay with me, pushing against his instincts, ignoring them.
“Croygen!” I screamed, tearing my grip from his.
I blinked, and he was gone, my brain coming awake as the woman came for me. At his name, she halted, her head snapping around, searching for him, as if the man himself was going to leap out and save me.
It gave me a moment.
It was all I needed.
With everything I had, I yanked my wrists and ankles apart, slackening the ropes enough to pull them off. Gritting my teeth, I jumped up, pushing through the influence of the goblin metal. My legs wobbled as I struggled to take off, my feet slipping over the smooth stone surface.
“Get her! And find Croygen!” the woman ordered. The men flipped on a dime, some turning for me, guns already drawn, and some heading for the tunnels, looking for a nonexistent enemy.
I stuffed back an anguished cry. The metal weighed me down, ripping away the energy I needed. How much easier this would be if I could change into my cat and hide away in a corner, my fur blending in with the darkness.
Pure adrenaline and determination kept me going, my airways hissing with effort.
Bang!A shot bounded off the stone walls, causing me to duck as chips of rock rained down. Torch beams danced behind me, nipping at my heels. I needed to hide, to let the shadows swallow me up, so I could make a clean getaway. But her men were right on my ass, their bullets kissing the ground at my feet.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
