Page 210 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness

Conrad still faced the door, but he didn’t move. “The manners are much better, and I do enjoy hearing worthless whores beg for mercy.”

I bit my tongue. I was shaking against my will. The fever had come and gone, and now it was reaching another peak. There was movement in the corner of my eye, a taunting hallucination of a shadow.

I begged the darkness to kill Conrad. I turned my head, and the shadow was gone.

Conrad faced me again. I felt the ice from his cool blue eyes in my veins. My teeth chattered. I swayed.

His burgundy attire resembled that of an ancient war general. Not a strand of his dark hair was out of place. With a rigid jaw, he stared down at me.

Days had passed, and Conrad was no longer gloating. He didn’t look excited, nor victorious.

He waspissed.

Delirious and half-mad, I still felt smug, hopeful warmth in my stomach. Kylo was doing exactly what he promised. He was showing the world how much it had underestimated us.

The moment Conrad read my spite, an agonizing shot of pain rushed down my spine. I fell hard on my knees, screaming and twisting. It felt like I was exorcising myself of a demonic possession, the way I was shifting and bending in jarring, inhuman ways.

Conrad finally smiled.

He crouched in front of me. “You were doing so well,” he said, shaking his head with false pity.

The pain stopped the moment I feared losing consciousness.

“You were playing into Aster’s dreamy romantic fantasies perfectly,” Conrad said. “But I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep up your treacherous game. You’ve been an atrocious liar from the start. Your face tells me everything. I’ve always known you would need to be broken and rebuilt in Lillian’s divine image. And now Aster sees it too.”

Aster was not a dreamy romantic. He was merely a different flavor of controlling abuser, one with a sickly sweet glaze on top.

“You will only leave this room once you have told me something useful,” Conrad said. “I will not let my closest friend take an unrepentant harlot to Prospyrus. He deserves an obedient, loyal wife.”

“Then he should go find one,” I said through gritted teeth.

More pain.

I shrieked, scratching at my skin like it was crawling with a thousand biting insects.

When the torment, finally ceased, my voice was smaller than before. “He’s really going to leave Juliette behind?”

Conrad rolled his eyes. “Gods, I hope so. We’ll see how things play out.” He pinned me with his beady stare. “That was one of your most stupid mistakes. You were so blinded by pettiness that you told the truth about her. That she wasuseless.Defective.”

Aster wouldn’t leave her behind. He may have been distracted by his shiny new toy, but he still loved Juliette. Or, rather, he felt his sick and twisted perversion oflove. And he was still wrathfully possessive, enraged that she was now with Kylo.

“I despise weakness,” Conrad said, wrinkling his nose again. “You are a much better fit for us. Once you realize you’ve been channeling your efforts toward the wrong aims.”

More anger infected Conrad’s face as he glared right through me.

“Where the fuck are they disappearing to?” he asked suddenly, grabbing my throat. “They pop in and out of portals. The catacombs are empty, save for mortal remains. Sowhere?”

It was good to know mine and Princeton’s protective wards were still holding strong, shielding the underground from prying eyes.

“Didn’t you all say that the turned have ripped open portals to Lillian’s hells?” I asked softly, cocking my head. “Maybe something like that.”

Conrad squeezed my airways.

Kylo was winning. If I had it in me, I would smile. Conrad was going to torture me all night long because my clan was making him look like an idiot.

Where was all that cockiness now?

He released me, but not before delivering a slap to my cheekbone so hard I saw stars. I gasped. That was going to leave a nasty bruise.