When I came around, I knew we were underground, I knew I was alone with Alejandro, and I knew I was in serious danger. My wrists were bound and burning, silver chain was holding them behind me and a quick pull told me they were attached to the wall as well. I was far too weak to break free, even if they weren’t silver I’d have had a hard time. He now had no reason to keep me alive, and he was no doubt pissed at being made into a fool for trying to marry me under false pretenses. Not to mention he was a real jerk.
“Good morning, Princess,” he sneered and slapped me hard across the face with a gloved hand. When my eyes popped open, he swung a silver chain and it wrapped around my head and face, burning me.
I couldn’t help screaming as the intense pain iced through my skull and the smell of my own searing flesh filled my nostrils. He unwrapped it with deliberate slowness, leering at the obvious pain he was causing me as he ripped it away, bits of my flesh sticking to the metal.
“I’m certain your little boyfriend killed Gemma, so I guess I have to return the favor. I’m sorry to say, you’ll not make it to see another sunset, love.” He swung the chain again, striking around my shoulders and back this time.
I hissed but didn’t scream, expecting the sharp pain this time I was able to hold back, but just barely. I would die as quietly as possible. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of my pain if I could help it. He repeated the act a few more times, with progressively more aggression as my cries of pain were swallowed.
I was about to give up my fight to keep quiet when I felt something. Someone was approaching, two someones! There was a significant pull on my awareness, I could feel a deep recognition, but I didn’t know what was causing it. I needed to stay alive long enough for them to get to me, I had no doubt they were coming to save me, I just hoped they hurried.
“What’s your plan? Torture me, then kill me?” I hissed between clenched teeth. “Not very original,” I grunted as he swung the chain and it wrapped around my stomach.
“Something like that.” His eyes ran up and down my body appreciatively and I shivered. “There was one part of our union I was looking forward to almost as much as controlling your vote on the council. We have a few hours yet till sunrise, plenty of time to play,” he sneered.
“You get close enough to touch me, and I will rip your throat out.” I had no reason to hold back, no fear of retribution by his family would stop me from trying to destroy him at this point.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” he said with a wicked smile, pulling a ball gag out of his pocket, silver chains where a leather strap would normally be.
If he got that on me, I’d be nearly defenseless and real fear for the horrors he wanted to inflict filled me. I had no doubt that he could make me beg for death and I was starting to think that’s exactly what he wanted.
A growl echoed through the tunnels, followed by a ripple of hot air.
He frowned. “Damn. Looks like our time is running out.” He grabbed me then and ripped the chain from the wall that had held me still while he’d unleashed his torture. My hands were still bound though and I was nearly falling as he spun around, holding me against his chest with a stake over my heart, his other gloved hand held the chain around my wrists so I couldn’t try and thrust them against any bare skin of his I might be able to find.
We were both facing the entrance to the chamber. A faint green glow was getting closer and that feeling that I couldn’t identify was getting stronger. Did I dare hope, was this Osiris, coming to rescue his daughter?
Locked against Alejandro’s chest, I wanted to scream, but the press of the wooden stake was breaking the skin and I was afraid to move for fear I would drive myself into its point. With the hope of rescue so close I wasn’t so anxious to just be dead and get it over with. We waited, neither one of us breathing. The sight of a man with long black hair, a gold encased black goatee and slightly green skin was not what I had expected. His black eyes lit up at the sight of me, then moved to Alejandro and burned red with hatred. Sobahn, completely nude, stepped in just behind the man. His body crouched as if he were about to throw himself forward into a fight, and he bared his teeth at Alejandro. I could tell his body was starting to contort, wanting to shift into jackal form to better tear apart the enemy. I had to admit, he as an attractive male and if I got out of this I wouldn’t mind letting him think I was his soulmate just a little bit longer.
“I am Osiris, guardian of the underworld, and you are threatening my daughter,” the green man said with a calm that spoke of a leashed volcano just under the surface. The power in his voice as enough to make me stiffen and I felt Alejandro do the same behind me.
“I demand restitution!” Alejandro proclaimed with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “She tricked me into aligning myself with her under false pretenses. I was going to take it out of her skin, but I think perhaps you can offer me something even better!”
Osiris’ eyes narrowed on Alejandro and Sobahn growled. I could feel Alejandro shake slightly and I wondered if it was adrenaline or fear that was coursing through him. Staring down a powerful god was something even a vampire should take note of.
I stood as still as I could knowing one wrong move by anyone and I would be staked, on purpose or by accident didn’t matter, the end was the same and I wasn’t in a rush to get there now. I looked at the man who was my father, he radiated power and heat, his nose was sharp and his eyebrows were sleek. When he opened his mouth, I could see his teeth were sharp and white. I could understand my mother’s attraction but was thankful I took after her in looks and not him.
“We aren’t negotiating, we are taking what’s ours.” Sobahn took a step forward.
Alejandro pushed the stake and blood bloomed on my shirt; I couldn’t hold back a small cry of pain and Sobahn froze, howling his displeasure.
“I think you are in no position to demand a thing. This isn’t a negotiation either, I am telling you what price you’ll pay for her life. You see, I know that you brought her back. I know that she’s already seen the underworld once, I also know that she can’t be risen again. If she dies, she stays dead. Are you willing to take that chance?” Alejandro’s voice was calm, but his body was still vibrating with adrenaline.
My mind reeled; I wasn’t willing to risk anything of the sort! “What do you want?” I ground out between clenched teeth, gasping at the pain the stake was causing to ripple through my body.
“I want what you promised. Not the vote, I understand that’s lost and not entirely your fault, but you have something else, a powerful stronghold in northern England and Egypt. I want them both.”
“You wish to rule the doorways?” Osiris said with deadly calm.
“I don’t have any of that, remember? Terrance refused to give me my inheritance. No deal, try again.”
“But Terrance is dead, so there is a new male to negotiate with. Take me to Prince Falcon Trifoli and hope he doesn’t hate you as much as his father did.”
I gulped, I was certain my brother had no love for me, especially after what I’d done to his hair. I met Sobahn’s gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing. Fuck, had I screwed myself out of my last chance at surviving this mess?
Sobahn’s eyes seemed to beg me to trust him and I bit my lip, holding back my denial of Falcon’s possible cooperation.
“Simple, let’s go. I sent the witch to wake him if she couldn’t keep up with me as I tracked you. She hasn’t shown up yet, so I imagine she is there now at Vivinity’s condo.” Sobahn’s words were calm and practical, but I could see the tension in his body. I could feel his fear even as he tried to exude confidence. But he was asking for my trust in this and honestly, what other option did I have. If I could buy a little more time, we might be able to fight our way out.
“We will follow you two.” Alejandro motioned with his chin to the tunnel.
“You’re going to have to loosen up on the stake if you expect me to move,” I whispered through the blinding pain. “And the chains have to come off, I can’t feel my damn fingers.”
He pulled back just enough to enable movement through the pain, I still wanted to pass out, but it was much more bearable. “Chains,” I demanded.
“Fine,” he huffed and unwound the tight bonds, dropping his own gloves once the silver was off my body.
I sighed in relief, bringing my hands to the front of my body and holding them up to investigate the damage. The marks would be permanent, they were nearly to the bone and cauterized by the burning reaction of the silver. But if I made it out alive, I could always wear thick bracelets to cover them, I reasoned, then thought I must really be close to completely losing my mind if I was worried about something as stupid as a couple scars on my wrists. I was glad I didn’t have a mirror right now, the pain on my face and body where he’d lashed me with the chain was still there and I didn’t want to think about which of those scars might not fully heal. The look of anger on Sobahn’s face told me it was bad and I looked away from him as I forced my feet to move.
Alejandro moved with me and I was so afraid that a missed step or stray rock would mean the end of me I barely breathed. My mind spun around the apparent permanent end that I had waiting for me if my steps faltered. I sighed in relief when we made it out of the tunnel and realized we had been inside an abandoned mine.
There was no easy way to go from here, but with a few moments of discussion, it was decided that Sobahn would drive Alejandro’s car. Osiris would sit beside him in the front, and I would be nestled dangerously in the back with Alejandro, the stake never leaving my chest. I caught sight of my reflection in the car and winced. Some of those scars were going to be permanent, but some were already healing enough that I knew they’d go away completely. I’d forever wear the mark of this night and that knowledge made me want to end Alejandro even more. He didn’t deserve to have a permanent place in my mind.
“Stay away from potholes,” I tried to joke, meeting Sobahn’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He nodded slightly; I wasn’t even sure he knew how to drive! Had he been living in the underworld until now? He certainly gave off an air of animal incivility that would indicate a distance from the human world.
Thankfully I was wrong, he could drive quite well. The drive was the longest thirty minutes of my life. I braced myself hard, so many times, that by the time we arrived in front of my building, I was aching like I’d worked out for twenty-four hours straight. Muscles I didn’t even know I had were screaming.
“How the hell do you expect to get upstairs without anyone noticing us?” We were parked on the street, and as soon as we stepped out, we’d be in full view of anyone passing, or looking down from a window. The plan made by my kidnapper and rescuers was not well thought out, and it was really pissing me off.
Alejandro thought about that for a minute. “Bring the fairy down here, he meets my demands in the car or she dies in the car.”
A reasonable decision and not having to walk with this stake to my chest again was preferable. Sobahn left quickly, giving me a longing look. Osiris waited in the car, and I was thankful not to be left alone with Alejandro.
“I’m glad you came to town,” I said to Osiris, feeling very awkward, but wanting to make a connection with my father before it was all too late. Sooner would have been a hell of a lot more helpful, though I kept that thought to myself.
“I was following your mother’s wishes. I would not complicate your life, and I would send you your soulmate when you were ready.” He spoke matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious and unarguable.
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically, and we fell into silence. I wanted to ask him a million questions, I wanted to know everything about his time with my mother. I hoped I would have the chance. I wondered if he would disappear again, even if I did survive this, would he still stay out of my life? I hated that I cared, that I wanted him to be around, to be a father. Caring was dangerous, but I was starting to realize that having no one was even more dangerous.
Sobahn returned quickly with a look on his face that said it all. “They aren’t here.”
“Where would they have gone?” Alejandro demanded.
“He knows his father died; Jackie would have told him. So he must have gone to claim his throne. We have to go back to Terrance’s house.” I knew it had to be. Falcon would want to stake his claim immediately, and he would have to first visit his father’s body. There was a fairy veil on his property and Falcon would have to complete a ritual before anyone else crawled out of the veil to do it.
“Let’s go,” Alejandro said with annoyance obvious in his voice. No doubt he was starting to worry. The sun would be coming up in an hour and he’d need to be somewhere safe to sleep.
We were driving again, weaving through the early morning traffic and hitting every bump along the way. Sobahn was frightened, and he was forgetting that the stake was so close to being deep enough to kill me permanently. I wanted to yell at him to slow the fuck down! But I knew he couldn’t, we needed to get to Falcon before he crossed the veil and finished the ritual, he could be lost for years if he did. I had one chance to make an easy exit from this situation, and it hinged on my brother who I’d kidnapped, tried to ransom and worst off all, cut his hair. He was going to love telling me no.