Page 9 of Claim Me

Hell, there’s nothing I’ve been able to do for a long time now.

But that may change depending on today’s verdict. Klas’s death is imminent. It’s just a question ofwhen.

Swallowing, I head to the shower and try to distract myself by preparing for the day. There’s nothing I can do to stop what’s about to happen. My soul is going to fracture. And my magic… well, I don’t know what’ll happen there.

Will I spiral out of control? Raise the dead? Show the true extent of my powers?

I really hope not. King Kaspian already fears the abilities he knows about, and those just barely skim the surface of my potential.

I managed to hide most of my talents from Klas over the years, the obedience spell only forcing me to speak the truth when he asked the right questions.

He never bothered to inquire about other spells I could conjure. He simply made a lot of assumptions based on the knowledge he acquired through drinking my blood. And I never attempted to clarify.

I finish washing my hair and soaping off beneath the large showerhead, then I step out of the glass enclosure and select a towel from the heated rack beside it.

As far as cages go, this one certainly has its perks.

I wrap myself up in the fine cotton and grab another one for my hair.

My appearance in the mirror hasn’t changed much, my cheeks and eyes still lacking their natural glow. I doubt I’ll ever find that again. Klas killed part of my soul when he bound me to him, tainting my very being.

And being here, trapped in this palace while under frequent observation, isn’t doing much to improve the situation.

At least I have an espresso machine, I think, heading toward it in the living area. Like most things in this world, it’s magically charged, making it easy to order exactly what I want with a few clicks of a button.

The scent of finely ground coffee beans immediately touches my nose, stirring a dreamy sigh from my lungs. This is probably the one good thing about my captivity.

Well. The eye candy isn’t bad either.

Bane.

Nox.

King Kaspian.

Even Archangel Nolan is incredibly good-looking. Although, I want to shoot him in the shoulder like he did to me when we first met.

Sure, he thought I was the one trying to kill his leader at the time, but that didn’t keep the bullet from burning like a son of a bitch.

I chew my lip while the mocha starts to form in the cup, my mind drifting to the sexy male guards who frequent my rooms.

Bane and Nox are phantoms, which is a new sect of supernaturals that announced their presence a little over a year ago. They’re essentially ghosts who can take corporeal forms.

And what fine corporeal forms they have,I muse. Not that I’ve seen much of them, but the cut of their clothes tells me they’re impressively—

A shock of pain splinters through my mind, the source of it coming from my twin. I grab my head with a gasp, her name leaving my mouth as my legs give out beneath me.

Issy!I shout, my body crashing hard to the ground, stirring a groan from my throat. Or maybe that’s a sound provoked by the agony echoing through my spirit.Issy!

She doesn’t reply, her anguish spearing through me like a hundred daggers, each one pelting my chest and leaving me breathless on the floor.

I can hear her screaming.

No, wait, that’s me,I think groggily, my vision blackening beneath the waves of torment coming from my twin.What’s happening? What’s he doing to you?

Someone says my name, but it’s the wrong voice.

It’s not Issy’s.