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“Knock it the fuck off.” In a flash, Chase sits up, his fist connecting with Orpheus’s face. Orpheus released my ankle, punching Chase and knocking him on to the bed beside me again. Then he spits the blood bubbling from his split lip onto Chase’s face.
Rosario hits Chase with the taser. His agonized grunts and moans fill my ears, but Rosario pointing the taser at me prevents me from checking on him. Fear and helplessness course through me. All I can do is whimper while Orpheus shackles Chase’s wrists together before shackling mine.
His head lifts, “The two of you will learn not to fight me. Not only am I far more powerful than both of you, but after my ascension, nothing can harm me.” He grins, the blood from his busted lip covering his teeth, giving him an even more sinister appearance. “Tonight is the Hunter moon. I am the vessel and the ritual we perform will ensure I am worthy of the greater power that will be bestowed upon me. The blood of the virgin tonight will prepare me for my accession on Samhain. Or Halloween, as you call it.”
My breathing becomes labored with every word from the freak’s mouth. It was easier to deny this sick, robe-wearing freak was going to rape me until I heard the words rasping from his crimson lips. Bile rises in my throat as I tremble uncontrollably, helpless against the heavy restraints binding my wrists and ankles.
Orpheus straightens, his posture regal. “My followers will bear witness to this great moment.” His smile is so wide it’s unhinged. “Your blood will look beautiful on my cock.”
“You sick son of a bitch.” The rest of Chase’s tirade fades as the buzzing inside my ears grows louder.
Oh, God. Not only is he going to rape me, but his followers are going to watch?
I come back to the present when Chase’s shackled hands reach for mine. “Eyes on me, angel.” His soothing, warm touch and voice ease the rising swell of my anxiety, threatening to overtake me. “Look into my eyes. Describe the color.”
“A glass of whiskey sitting in the sun.”
His smile grows, relaxing me. “Your eyes are like copper. Warm and inviting.”
Orpheus snorts before he barks, “I must prepare for the ritual. Rosario, keep an eye on them. Don’t be afraid to use the taser if they get out of line.” He spins on his heel, striding to the door. “I’ll return as soon as I’m ready.”
As soon as the door clicks shut behind Orpheus, I inch closer to Chase. My bound hands are still clasped in his, but I need more. I need his strength. I needhim.
He turns his head, our eyes locking together. His warm lips press against my forehead. “I’ve got you, angel. I’ll do everything I can to protect you.” He squeezes my fingers. “Where you go, I go.”
I give him a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. There’s no one who can save me from the hellish misery ahead. But I don’t say a word, knowing it will hurt him far too much if I divulge my fears.
Instead, I echo his words. “Where you go, I go.”
20
MACKENZIE
Chase and I are sitting on the bed, our bodies so close together there is no space between us, our bound wrists aching from the tight restraints.
Orpheus throws open the door, sailing through it wearing a crimson robe and a black mask with devil horns on top of his head.
What the fuck?
He’s been an intimidating presence the moment he wrapped his large hands around my arms on that darkened back country road, but right now, he’s otherworldly, beyond terrifying, with his satanic-looking mask and a robe the color of blood.
I gulp, swallowing hard.My blood will be on?—
I jerk my eyes away from him, but it doesn’t help the rising terror that has my breaths rasping from my lungs.God, that fucking freak is going to violate me. Hot tears scald my cheeks as I shake my head in denial, wishing it weren’t true. Despite the chill in the bedroom, copious amounts of sweat course down my overheated skin. I feel like I’m going to vomit.
Chase squeezes my leg, and my eyes meet his. Beneath the determined look on his face is a hint of sorrow and failure. He hasn’t conceded yet, but reality is sinking in. He’s fighting a losing battle. We’re running out of time.
I look away, too weak to pretend that I’m not terrified out of my goddamn mind. As my heartbeat thrashes inside my ears, I meet Rosario’s dark eyes.Why won’t you stop this? I silently plead.How can you allow him to assault me when the two of you are together?
She stares back at me. Maybe I imagined it, but I swear I saw a glimmer of shame and sympathy before she turned and bowed to Orpheus. Swiftly moving on silent heels that make me marvel how she moves so gracefully yet doesn’t make a sound, her hands smooth over his robe. When she grabs his shoulders and spins him around, the skull and crows Chase spoke of earlier draw my attention. My eyes freeze on the words, Divinity of the Chosen Ones.
Chase’s right. A cult has kidnapped us.
My gaze snags with Chase as Rosario fawns over Orpheus. His handsome face is pained, eyes full of regret. Agony courses through me when I see the defeat shining back at me, plain as day. It’s killing him that he can’t stop this ritual. The agony on his face twists my heart into knots, making me ache. When he hurts, I hurt.
My fingers squeeze his. “Stop it, Chase.” My words are hollow and broken. “Just be with me.” I close my eyes, fighting the images haunting me, breaking me down. When I open them, his eyes glisten with tears as though he knows what I’m trying not to think about. “Your presence. It’s enough.”
Chase audibly swallows. Although his lips are turned down from the doubt that plagues his mind, his eyes shine with an ethereal light, shedding the shackles that keep us tethered here.
