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If Oblog can sense my newfound resolve, he doesn’t show it.

Instead, he looks down at me like I’ve been conquered.Thatis his weakness.

That is how I will beat him.

When he views an enemy as defeated, he puts them out of his mind. It is his Achilles’ heel.

Let him think that I’m conquered. Let him think he’s beaten the fight out of me. The truth will be the last thing that goes through his mind – until a blade follows.

His arrogance will be his end.

Oblivious to my scheming, Oblog’s grotesque sneer stretches wider.

“Very good, Jamie. If your little boyfriends behave -andmake the next shipment properly – I’ll even let your friend go. What’s her name? Jess?”

Tessa. Her name isTessa.

“I’ll let her go – and, you’ll be allowed to visit with your big, strong warriors while they are on the ship – as long as they behave.”

He lets out a sadistic little chuckle.

“I’m not an evil man, Jamie. I’mpractical. This is all business.”

He motions towards the door with a slimy hand.

“Gab’nah? He’s not practical.” Oblog lets the words sink in, allowing me to imagine the horrors that await me if we fail to comply with his demands. I clench my teeth harder, keeping my sanity intact by imagining how I’ll end that fucker’s life.

Oblog is still oblivious to my thoughts. He still thinks he’s conquered me.

“Oh, Gab’nah wouldenjoyhurting you – but there’s no profit in that.” Oblog snorts, as if basking in what he believes is his superior intellect. “I only cause pain when necessary, Jamie.”

Then, he leans forward in his throne, and I realize the chit-chat is at an end.

“Now,” he demands, “telepath what I just said to your triad.”

I blink. So, he knows about that power? My newly-discovered ability to communicate with Marcel, Lucius, and Quint?

“Oh, don’t look surprised,” Answering that question, Oblog licks his lips. “Of course I know about the power of the Bond. Iknowyou can speak to them – and plot with them.” His slimy fingers stroke his flabby chin. “Do not think me a fool, Jamie – or it may be the last thought you have.”

Then, Oblog sits back, folding his wet hands on his lap. The heat presses down on me. A fly the size of my fist lands on Oblog’s shoulder, and I watch in horror as his tongue darts out, trapping the writhing thing between his lips as he sucks it into his huge mouth and savors the insect as it squirms in his grasp.

Oblog seems to know everything.

I reluctantly do as he commands.

He says that if you complete another shipment, he’ll let Tessa go free,I telepath to my triad.He’ll let you visit me while you’re on the ship, too.Then, I pause shamefully.He’s using me to make you do what he says.

I don’t need to say what will happen if they don’t do as Oblog demands.

All three Aurelians felt my pain through the Bond. They all felt the horror I endured as Gab’nah towered over me. My pain – my fear – is their only weakness; and I hate myself for it.

All three of their auras flood my mind – soothing me, giving me resolve, and bolstering me against the impossible threat.

I feel ashamed – like I don’t deserve this love or devotion. I’m the reason they’re in this situation!

But, at the same time, I don’t know what I’d do without these three in my mind. The weight of the situation would be too much for me to process on my own.