AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Realizing his weakening position, Kaien attempted to manifest a weapon into his hands to defend himself against whatever Torrin had planned.
Nothing happened.
His muffled hearing was now barely keeping track of the human’s movements above the roar of his frantic pulse. Any attempt at telepathy resulted in a wave of vertigo. Desperate, Kaien attempted to teleport to safety.
Nothing.
Dread pooled like black tar in his gut, the overwhelming feeling of helplessness cutting into him. Not only had Kaien been inexplicably weakened, but he now was also entirely unable to defend himself or utilize his abilities.
How had this happened? Torrin hadn’t made any offensive movements since Kaien had arrived in the penthouse, nor had he sensed any psychic intrusions.
Laughter echoed as Torrin moved closer. Blinking to clear his vision that’d begun to haze around the edges, Kaien tried to focus on the other man’s smug face. Blurry, the abstract shape centered before him.
“How do you feel?” came the haughty question. “Weak? Lightheaded? I would imagine the silver is burning through your bloodstream by now.”
Despair skewered him with dagger-like talons following the revelation, the feeling of naked vulnerability settling heavily on Kaien’s shoulders. Like sunlight’s effects on vampires, silver was the one weakness all Raethkind feared, and now, the rapid onset of his symptoms suddenly made sense.
“How?”
Chuckling at Kaien’s paltry attempt at speaking, Torrin patted his shoulder companionably. “Through the air, my friend. I, for one, am quite pleased with our latest invention, and we had yet to test it on a live subject. For us humans, the silver is so negligible it doesn’t pose a risk. For your kind, however, the effects are quite … unpleasant.”
Overcome with the debilitating pain of what he now knew was silver poisoning, all Kaien could do was continue to gasp mouthfuls of the toxic air. Though he knew breathing would only make it worse, his starved lungs necessitated the need, flooding silver into his already drowning system.
He slumped pitifully over on the leather cushions, no longer able to hold up his own body weight. Muscles quivering, sweat dripped down his temple and into his failing eyes, which had blurred red with bloody tears.
Unable to teleport, to manifest a weapon, or even sit up and speak, Kaien was completely helpless. Defenseless. Vulnerable.
Torrin, accurately assessing that Kaien no longer posed any threat, pivoted on his heel, and lifted his cell phone to his ear.
“We can’t wait; we’re go for the Operation in L.A.” A pause. “I expect pick-up shortly, but only after the mercs are in position. And once we’re done with the scourge, I have a gift for you. One you’ll be happy to receive.”
His hardy laugh sounded through the air before the man continued in conversation, but at that point, Kaien couldn’t make sense of the muffled words.
Powerlessness consumed him, beating at him under an avalanche of doubt and regret. He’d abandoned Blair in his futile effort to protect her, and instead of solving the issue facing her fledgling and their immortal nations, he’d offered himself to the very ones he’d thought to destroy.
Weakness and inadequacy, enemies of old, clutched at him with dagger-like claws, denying him the ability to move or defend himself.Just like before, whispered his hazy mind.Just like with Rhasos.
Kaien had failed to prevent the attack. He wasn’t worthy of Blair. He’d endangered his clan, forcing Nina to defend them alone. And now, he’d presented himself to the enemy on a platter.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Clank.Clank.Clank.
The sound of her fruitless struggles was both familiar and terrifying, chorusing the sounds of her anguished roars. Every moment she spent in the obsidian cuffs was a moment her worst fears were realized. Mortal once more, she could feel the skin at her wrists becoming raw, returning her to the scene of her traumatic youth.
Kaien had stolen her freedom and her immortality—forcing her to relive her darkest moments. After eight hundred years of running from her demons, they’d finally caught up with her. She was powerless once more, subjected to the whims of another.
Blair shuddered, her eyes closing. Leaning back against the cool wall at her back, she breathed in and out, diving deep into the meditation arts she’d practiced over the centuries. It did little to soothe the screams in her mind, but one thing did help: that Kaien’s intentions—misplaced though they were—had been done to protect her.
I can’t watch another person I love die.
Tears misted in her eyes. She hated the fact that Kaien had felt he’d had no choice but to chain her. Though it killed a part of her to be restrained, she could understand the driving need behind his choice. For her, the compulsion to see to his safety was nearly overpowering.
With the merjha cuffs still restricting her supernatural abilities, she couldn’t telepathically call for Nina, nor could she escape the chains that bound her.
With every passing moment, her terror mounted. When Kaien had left her thirty minutes ago, she’d sensed the bleakness in his mind, the resolve. Blair had been so wrapped up in her concern for Lucius that she’d missed what had been right in front of her.
Blair had known where he was going even though he hadn’t told her: the man had gone to confront Torrin and prevent the attack. Foolish Raeth. There’d be no contact with him since he’d abandoned her, chained, and rendered human by themerjhacuffs he’d clamped around her wrists. And though they were distant, the stirrings on their ghosting mating bond broadcast as clear as if he’d been holding her in his arms.
