Page 7 of Beg the Night (Mystics of Ashora #1)

SEVEN

sinner

A n entire day later, I could still smell the blood from her thigh. Literally smell it. The small pool on the dungeon floor had dried, but it didn’t matter. The memory of the dark, thick liquid pouring out of her made me fucking sick.

I tossed and turned, trying my best to think of literally anything else, but it was no use. My mind was fixated on her. There was no air flow in this damn dungeon, and the smell of copper was slowly suffocating me.

New Girl slept all day long, which wasn’t a surprise after how much blood she’d lost. It was better for her that way, though. The more she slept, the less she would have to live in this torturous reality.

Not that I gave a fuck.

I, however, was wide awake. The sun had set about an hour ago, leaving our dungeon of a home so dark I couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of me. I tossed the thin blanket from my cot and made my way to the showers. I’d do about anything to get away from the rancid smell of her. How Mags slept beside her, I had no idea.

It was sickening.

Most of the guys were already sleeping. There wasn’t much to do around here otherwise. This place was hell, yeah, but I supposed having a cot to sleep in each night beat living on edge, constantly in hiding. I’d spent years looking over my shoulder, waiting for the day the Ministry would find me and bring me here. And when they had, it was almost a relief. If it weren’t for my sister, I wouldn’t give a fuck about what happened to me here.

Because, though I might deserve this fate, Mags did not.

So, for her sake, I’d perform the claiming. Then I’d get her the fuck out of here.

Silently, I padded, barefoot, across the cold stone floor. I needed to clear my head, and laying so close to New Girl was making that impossible. The showers were empty, as I expected, so I quickly made my way to the first stall. With the curtain closed, I stripped off my trousers and started the water.

When the temperature was scalding, I scrubbed the filth of the day from my body. The heat should have been painful, but I’d quit feeling pain a long time ago. Instead, I let it ignite my senses, bringing my dead limbs back to life.

Three weeks. The look on New Girl’s face had been absolutely priceless when I said I would perform the claiming with her. She had no right to be flattered. My decision had nothing to do with her. That Director bitch had been wanting me to perform the claiming for some time now. I didn’t blame her. They were losing the war and they were desperate. As the only tier three in residence, I was the only thing in this damn dungeon that could help.

Well, me and New Girl.

New Girl swore she didn’t have any power, even while being tortured, but just being in her proximity made it obvious that wasn’t true. It was like I could sense it, like the air changed slightly any time she was around. If she was willing to go through that much pain to keep it hidden, her power must be strong.

And I had three weeks to find out what it was.

I’d finished and had slipped my trousers back on when someone entered the bathroom.

“Can you believe that shit?” a low voice muttered.

Carter. The asshole who’d messed with New Girl when she arrived. I hated the arrogant prick.

Another man huffed. “Can’t you? She doesn’t look half bad, and it’s been months since anyone around here has gotten laid.”

Imbeciles. That’s what I hated most about the fuckers I was surrounded by. They couldn’t control their desires. Or their mouths. And yet, they walked around like they owned the place, when in reality, they were prisoners to it.

These men would all end up dead.

“You guys are disgusting,” a third man—Leon, I was pretty sure—argued. He was the quiet type. Reserved. From what I’d witnessed during my time here, he was a decent man, but then again, he hung around these guys, so maybe I was wrong. “She’s been through hell. Clearly, she’s special, or Director wouldn’t have bothered with that torture stuff.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“He’s a tier three,” Carter gritted out, “and he’s wasting his claim on a powerless slut who will probably make things worse for all of us.”

“She wouldn’t be here if she was powerless,” Leon replied.

Carter and his friend laughed. “Are you seriously defending her? You’ve gone soft for the new girl? Is that it? You’re as desperate as he is, aren’t you?”

I chose then to slap open the shower curtain and step out.

All three guys were now pissing at the makeshift urinal on the far side of the bathroom. The three of them snapped their heads in my direction, eyes widening when my identity registered.

Like I said. Imbeciles.

I kept my expression bored. “Something you’d like to discuss with me, gentlemen?”

They stuttered and looked at each other, as if wishing they could go back in time a good thirty seconds.

I cocked an eyebrow, silently waiting, secretly enjoying the way they squirmed.

“We didn’t know you were in here, man.” Carter quickly zipped up his pants.

I took a slow step in their direction. “I would seriously hope not. Though you do seem to be dumb enough to talk shit within earshot of the subject of your gossip.”

“We only want the best for you, man,” Carter pleaded. “You’ve been down here a long time. You never know when a tier three woman is going to walk through those?—”

The room darkened, and instantly, his eyes widened in horror and his words dried up. The phantoms—the dark tendrils of my magic that would destroy at my will—were only the beginning of my power. The way they surrounded us only skimmed the surface of what they could do. What I could do with them.

Especially when angry. And these men did not want to see me lose my temper.

All three went white and curled in on themselves. “Whoa, man,” Carter said. “Relax! We were just messing around!”

“You think I’m messing around? You think I’m wasting my claim?” The ghosts of my emotions crept closer, almost grazing their faces.

Perhaps I’d allow them to kill the way the darkness urged me to. Perhaps the phantoms would remove the skin in a single breath.

Down here, with such little exposure, I could pretend it was difficult to control my power.

In reality, I could kill every person in this dungeon in one fell swoop. Most of the men imprisoned with me were tier ones, some twos. These idiots? They weren’t worth my damn time.

The endless void inside me was irritated. Frustrated and full of pent-up energy. So I let my phantoms tease and taste, let them wallow in the fear of the jackasses cowering before me.

“No! Seriously. We didn’t mean it, Sinner. We were fucking around.” If Carter hadn’t already relieved himself, he’d be pissing his pants right there.

“You’d do well to keep your opinions about me to yourself. New Girl, too. She’s none of your goddamn business anymore. Understood?”

“Understood,” they barked in unison.

Cowards. All of them.

“And you.” I turned my attention to Leon. “If you have an ounce of survival instinct left, you’ll stop hanging around these morons. I won’t think twice next time.”

His nostrils flared, but he dipped his head in understanding.

Life down here had gotten so goddamn boring, though. It was nice to feel something again. My phantoms appreciated it, too. I let them take one last taste before I called them back and the black shadows recoiled into my body.

The void within me deepened as the monsters came back home. Most people would be disturbed by the endless emptiness my chest possessed. But not me. I preferred it that way, it was safest when I was devoid of all care, all hope, all love.

I turned away from the worthless gossips and returned to the dungeon that reeked of blood and desperation. Even monsters found no peace in hell, it seemed. But it was my fault for thinking that I had any chance of another type of reality.

Annoyed with myself for having to remember all the reasons I shouldn’t give a fuck, I returned to my cot.

The stiff woven fabric creaked as I laid back, stretching my legs until they hung over the edge and resting my head on my arms.

Sleep.

If only it were that easy.

Sleep was a trap, a sick, delusional cloud of comfort that would only bring me more pain. More nightmares.

No, sleep did not come easy for monsters like me. Sleep came like a punch to the face, unexpected and unwelcome.

Always unwelcome.

I would stay awake. This way I’d be ready for any errant thought that crawled back to me, torturing my mind with those voices.

And those damn memories.

I shook my head viciously. Thinking of the past wouldn’t help me now. Thinking of anything at all wouldn’t help me. I’d stick with focusing on the hatred and the anger. Those emotions, at least, allowed me to work on a path forward.

Mags and I were getting out of this place. I didn’t give a fuck what I had to do to get there.

I glanced at the cot next to me, only to find big, warm eyes watching. They trapped me there, sucking me in and freezing each of my muscles so I couldn’t look away.

And that pissed me off.

“The fuck are you looking at?”

She didn’t even blink. For a second I considered that she might be sleeping with those pesky eyes wide open.

I knew better, though, when she said, “I’m trying to figure out what your plan is.”

I scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. It’s not that deep.”

She shifted slightly, her small body adjusting against the firm cot. Fuck. She was in a dungeon full of monsters and she had the nerve to move her hips like that, like she wanted everyone in the fucking place to stare at her.

They wouldn’t, of course. Not while I was lying three feet from her. Not after I’d committed to mating with her.

The claiming was more than one night of sex under the blood moon. It meant that she was mine. It meant that none of these other useless imbeciles could touch her.

I was no better, don’t get me wrong. I was not a man of morals or respect. I was someone to be feared. I was someone others ran away from, and for good reason.

A killer. A demon. A nightmare.

New Girl wasn’t safe with me. But at least she’d be out of here in three weeks. That was more than any of the others could say.

She wasn’t the innocent little new girl she pretended to be. I still couldn’t place it, but I was working to dig out what she was hiding. Even being this close to her sent a primal shiver through my body. A warning, almost.

“You’ve been in this dungeon for months. Why are you suddenly so adamant about getting out of here?” she whispered.

“You’re the first new girl we’ve had in a while. And Director thinks you’re special. If she’s right, then it’s in my best interest to perform the claiming with you.”

“Because you’re a three?”

I clenched my jaw and pressed the back of my skull deeper against my wrist. “That’s right. I’m a three. Do you know what that means, New Girl?”

“That you think you’re better than everyone else?”

I had to bite back a sardonic laugh. “It means I’m more dangerous than anyone else in here. It means you should keep your distance before you get hurt.”

“Says the man who wants to have sex with me.”

“ Want is a strong word, don’t you think? Our survival could depend on far worse things.” Fuck, even thinking about sex sent my dick twitching in my pants. I hated this woman, but she wasn’t hideous.

And now that she was set to be my partner during the claiming, something had shifted. My power wanted her. It was desperate to be unleashed, to mingle with whatever it was she hid beneath that porcelain skin. Her power was hiding, too, likely longing for me in the same way.

Though the claiming was three weeks away, my power called for its equal. A force to entice it, to challenge it.

And for whatever reason, it was certain she possessed exactly what it craved.

“I won’t help you. I won’t become a slave to the government.”

Despite my hardening dick, anger flared hot in my chest. This fucking woman. I pushed myself up and sat on the edge of my cot, facing her.

She pushed up, too, propping herself on her elbow and narrowing her eyes on me.

“Look around you,” I bit out. “If you think you can get out of here on your own, you’re wrong. You think Director will let any of us go, let alone a female?” I laughed under my breath. “Then you’re dumber than I thought. The only way out of here is through the claiming. Get that through your thick fucking skull.”

“And then what? You fight for them in the war you want nothing to do with?”

God, her flickering eyes annoyed me. She really thought I was above joining a fight in order to save myself?

“Who said I want nothing to do with it?”

She blew out a breath. “You can’t be serious. It’s no different out there. If you let them control you now, you’re allowing them to turn you into a weapon, and they’ll use you that way for the rest of your life. They’ll use your power forever. They’ll never let you go, especially since you’re a three.”

Chest heaving, I willed the anger coiling tight inside me to remain where it was. “I’ve spent months down here, New Girl. I’ve tried to escape a handful of times. It’s all useless, there’s too much at risk.”

“You mean your sister?” She glanced over her shoulder to where my sister slept soundly. God, I hadn’t seen her sleep so much since we arrived. It was New Girl’s one redeeming quality. She made my sister feel at ease enough to let her guard down. “Because she can take care of herself. She doesn’t want this.”

I angled in until my face was inches from hers. “You don’t get to talk about what she does or doesn’t want. You know nothing about her.”

“I don’t?” She cocked her head to the side. “Because she and I are the only two women down here, yet not one of the rancid creatures has tried to touch her since I arrived. I don’t see Director coming in here and trying to force her to pair up for the claiming. Suspicious, no?”

“Shut your mouth. Now.”

“Why? Because you don’t want her to hear what I’m about to say?”

A snarl escaped me.

New Girl smiled .

That’s it. I stood, and before she even had time to flinch, I gripped her around the waist, threw her over my shoulder, and stormed away from the cot.