Page 113

“What—” D.C. breathed, terror stealing her voice, as Jordan and Bear shouted at Aven to get away from her. But he didn’t listen to any of them.

Instead, with a smile that was as vile as it was beautiful, in one single, unfathomably quick move, he sliced the blade across his free palm and pressed his hand to the side of D.C.’s face— right over her bleeding temple.

Red and silver blood combined, and barely a second later, D.C.’s eyes glazed over just as Aven’s flared with triumph.

Alex rocked backwards in horror. She opened her mouth but no sound came out—partly because she couldn’t draw air into her lungs, but mostly because Hunter had slammed a hand over her mouth, stopping her from releasing the scream that was rising up from within. She wondered if his gift had showed him what would have transpired if he’d failed to silence her, or whether he’d simply been unwilling to risk her reaction to watching Aven Claim another one of her closest friends. Either way, he didn’t release her. Indeed, the only reason she was still standing was because both he and Kaiden were supporting her weight between them, her body limp in their arms.

“There now,” Aven said smoothly. “That’s much better.”

“You son of a—”

With a strangled gasp, Jordan’s yell was cut short as he began choking for air, an invisible vice around his neck. With every strangled sound that tore from his throat, Alex’s shakes grew more violent, along with her desperation to do something, to get to him, to save him. But she couldn’t move. Kaiden’s and Hunter’s constricting arms were warning enough—they wouldn’t be able to rescue anyone if they were discovered first. So she had to endure it, had to watch Jordan’s face purpling as Bear screamed at Aven to stop.

And then, just as Alex feared Aven would keep going until Jordan suffocated, the Meyarin finally made a flicking motion with his hand, after which Jordan began gagging and coughing and sucking painful-sounding breaths into his lungs.

“I can’t say I’ve missed you, Jordan,” Aven said casually, as if he hadn’t just been trying to kill him. “You were always difficult to control. Always fighting me at every turn.”

Jordan didn’t respond—he was too busy with the effort of trying to breathe again.

“Perhaps you’ll be more cooperative now that I have your girlfriend under my thumb,” Aven said, trailing a finger down D.C.’s cheek, a mockery of tenderness as he smeared their blood together. D.C. didn’t move, incapable of resisting Aven’s Claim on her mind. “The royal princess of Medora—now this is a prize, if not the one I truly seek. I wonder…”

He cocked his head, looking from D.C. to Jordan. Bear might as well have not been there for all the attention he was receiving, though Alex found that a relief more than anything.

“I do believe we could have some fun with this,” Aven went on, his lips curling up at the corners.

He pressed the hilt of the dagger into D.C.’s hands, and her fingers immediately closed around it with a white-knuckled grip.

“Why don’t you show your boyfriend what happens to those who disappoint me, dearest Delucia?”

The sound of Alex’s hammering heart was all but deafening as D.C. stepped towards Jordan. The library became a foggy haze as she watched—just freakingwatched—when her best friend responded to whatever mental command Aven had given her…

… And stabbed the dagger straight into Jordan’s side.

Alex’s torso jerked as if it were she who had been stabbed, the sound of Jordan’s scream piercing her eardrums. Bear’s too, as he shouted hoarsely at Aven, at D.C., at anyone who might listen to him.

“What about now, Jordan?” Aven said. “Are you ready to tell me where Alexandra has been hiding?”

Blood gushed from Jordan’s wound and his face was drained of all remaining colour as he panted against the pain of the dagger speared into his side. And yet, he said nothing. Neither did Bear—or not about Alex, at least, but there were definitely cursed exclamations spewing from his mouth.

“Perhaps you need more motivation,” Aven mused.

Following another mental command, D.C. ripped the blade from Jordan’s flesh before plunging it straight back in again.

The sound that left Jordan was worse than before, his cry flooding through Alex in a wave of agony.

“Dix,please,” he gasped from between pain-clenched teeth. “You’re stronger than anyone I know. Fight him.Fight him.”

But more than anyone, Jordan knew how difficult—howimpossible—it was to resist a Claimed order.

When D.C. acted upon yet another command and tore the blade out again, Bear screamed, “STOP!” so loudly, so gutturally, that Aven turned to him, with D.C. pausing as if having been told to wait.

“You’ve Claimed Dix—you already know everything we know!” Bear said, struggling so hard against his Moxyreel bindings that his wrists were rubbed raw and bleeding.

“I knew everything before I walked into the room,” Aven returned emotionlessly as Signa smirked with pride. “But this isn’t about me already knowing, it’s about you being willing to betray your belovedfriend.”

“That… will…”—Jordan gasped around a raspy cough— “… never…”—a wet, struggling breath—“… happen.”

Aven’s eyes flashed at Jordan’s steadfast declaration just as Alex’s burned at his unyielding loyalty. But all Aven said was, “We shall see.”