“Hmm,” she notices our interlinked hands and grins. “I see that the three of you are getting along so well. That’s nice, but since only one of you can be her mate, I don’t think this newfound friendship is going to last long.”
Hunger washes through me in an overwhelming urge. My body feels like it’s twisting in on itself from the pain. I need blood, need to feed. I’m not going to hold on much longer. I need blood. I need her fake cure. I need something to dampen this ache in my throat.
My muscles contract, trying desperately to hold onto the control that I have.
And then the images start. The terrors of what I’ve experienced in my life all flash in a chaotic order through my mind, driving me mad.
I grip my head with my free hand, needing it all to stop. It’s how I know the vampire curse hasn’t gotten me yet. I can still remember everything from my past.
The one mercy of the curse is that I will forget. Forget this pain that I’ve endured over and over and over again. The heartache will disappear until all I care about is blood.
“You’ve got this,”her voice drifts in the wind of Ambrose’s mind. Her thumb brushes across the back of my hand, and I realize how hard I’ve been squeezing it.
I loosen my grip.“Sorry, I’m okay.”
“I know you are,”she says back.
But I can feel Ambrose’s heavy thoughts of displeasure at seeing me even a little out of control right now.
“Are you ready to meet the gods?” Isolde asks with a wicked look.
“You don’t really think you’re capable of summoning the gods, do you? You’re not that important,” Ambrose says.
“I guess we are about to find out,” Isolde says.
The cage door flies open. A door I’ve begged for days to open, simply opens.
Chains don’t wrap around our wrists or ankles. We could run or attack. But the look on Isolde’s face tells me there is no use in even trying it.
“You really think you can use your magic to keep us from escaping all night?” I ask, trying to figure out her plan.
She just grins. “Come, vampire lord, and bring your friends.”
She walks down the hallway that I’ve been staring at, and we all start walking.
I frown, not remembering actually deciding to follow her, but my body is. I don’t feel that familiar feeling of magic over my own body.
“How is your magic?”Lumi asks in Ambrose’s mind.
“Still contained. What about yours?”Ambrose asks back.
“I can’t tell,”she says. I can feel her trepidation. I’m sure it’s impossible for her to trust magic that she’s just experienced and doesn’t have any understanding of. Much less how she has magic. I know she’s not going to trust it. But I wish she would. It could be the thing that saves her.
We continue to walk hand in hand until I smell blood. So much fucking blood.
I drop her hand, needing every ounce of control and focus not to attack.
Human blood.
Witch blood.
Vampire blood.
Wolf shifter blood.
All of it overwhelms me. Hits me. Begs me to taste all of it. To drain every being here until I’ve consumed it all. Control them all.
I can’t see where I am. Who’s here? For a moment, I even forget why. All I can focus on is the intense, overwhelming, singularly focused desire to drink until I can’t smell a single drop left in this room.