Page 96

But I can’t. Not while I’m still tied to this damn wall

Julian’s grin stretches wider when he realizes it. That he still has me tied. That I'm at his mercy, and only he can be my savior.

He approaches like he’s savoring the moment. I brace myself as he crouches, his claw-tipped fingers brushing my wrists. He undoes the silver-threaded restraints like it’s a wedding gift, like he’s unwrapping something that’s his.

“I always knew you’d come back to me,” he breathes as he yanks me forward, away from Lina. “We belong together.”

“No! Mommy!” Lina screams. Her cries pierce the air like glass shattering in a dead-silent room.

She’s full-on wailing now, reaching for me, her little hands outstretched, her legs kicking against the ground like she’s about to launch herself at us. “Mommy, no, please don’t go! Please don’t leave with the bad man!”

My heart cracks open. Her sobs cut into me like a blade, and I’m almost tempted to stay for a minute and assure her everything is okay.

But Julian doesn’t care. He grabs me by the waist and hauls me to the center of the room like we’re stepping onto a goddamn dance floor, like this is some deranged version of a Mating ceremony.

Lina’s cries grow frantic behind me. She’s shrieking now. I don’t dare look back. If I do, I’ll crumble. If I do, I’ll give myself away.

But I feel her. Every desperate scream. Every breathless hiccup. Every terrified, shattered sob.

The smell of Julian’s choking cologne hits my lungs first.

I want to wash every bit of my skin as his forehead rests on mine and his rancid breath slaps my face. “I always knew you’dcome to your senses. I knew you’d understand who’s the better man. You smell so good, peaches. Just like you did in my arms when we made love. Now, show me that graceful neck, beautiful. Let me sink my fangs into that porcelain skin.”

He pulls me even closer.

I brace myself.

His lips graze my neck.

I bide my time.

His chest exhales against mine.

I stand on my tiptoes.

Then I strike. One minute Julian is leaning toward the crook of my neck to mark me, and the next minute, my teeth sink into his left ear and I bite as hard as I can till I draw blood.

Julian yells and pulls back, blood streaming down the curve of his neck.

I don’t waste even a second to admire what I just did to him.

“Run!” I scream to Lina.

My baby bolts toward me, but halfway through her sprint, she slips. I don’t hesitate. I scoop her into my arms mid-stride, her startled gasp muffled as she clings to me.

We run.

We don’t look back.

Not when the startled guards by the door yell at us.

Not when my feet slip open on the wet leaves and sharp underbrush.

Lina, Goddess, she wraps her arms around my neck tighter and buries her face there like it’s her last refuge.

The wet leaves squish under my bare feet.

Every step into the woods, into the unknown, into the leaves and branches that slap and scratch my face, terrifies me. The sun is starting to rise, trying to push out the darkness and my weary muscles feel like calling it quits and stopping for a minute.