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Sixteen

HARLOW

The door slams shut behind Alec, taking his cranky vampiric ass away. After about ten seconds, I check the door and find it locked, exactly as he said it’d be.

“Well, great,” I mutter, turning back to the bed.

In reality, this is better than the dungeon. Not close to freedom, but at least there’s a working toilet, a shower, a proper bed, warmth, and no walls that are about to cave in on me. And bonus: Alec forgot to take the remaining two granola bars, so I have those to munch on.

I climb back into bed, my muscles untensing as they melt into paradise. If this mattress is as old as this castle probably is, it’s been well preserved, because it feels like a cloud.

I should be planning any escape possible, but for this small moment, I obey Alec’s instructions because with barely any sleep over the past three days and now a full belly, my body succumbs to sleep within the enemy’s stronghold.

* * *

“Mommy, save me! Mommy! Daddy! Momm—”

A hand clamps over my mouth, the other looping around my waist, and they lift me off the ground. “Shut it, you little brat. You’ll have the entire coven on us.”

My screams are muffled against the hand until the second person gestures, and a wall of shimmering blue falls around us. A silencing enchantment, if I remember the High Priestess’s teachings. Why would they want me to be quiet?

Why are Mommy and Daddy not coming?

I struggle and kick against the person holding me, but all my efforts are for nothing. They’re too strong.

Suddenly, the forest around us disappears as the three of us appear inside a house. There’s a door, and I’m being shoved into it with a muttered, “Stay in there and shut up. Hopefully it won’t be long.”

“Bind her mouth,” the other voice says.

The shadowy person gestures towards me, their magick a green wave that falls onto me. When I open my mouth to scream, nothing comes out.

The door shuts, and it’s small and dark in here. I slide to the floor, drawing my legs up to my chest.

Mommy…Daddy…help me.

My silent pleas go unanswered, so I pray instead.

Hecate, protect me. I’m sorry I didn’t clean my room yesterday when Mommy asked. I promise I will next time. Just tell them where I am.

* * *

From sleep, I’m yanked to the top of my consciousness, almost violently. I scramble upright, drawing the blanket closer as the past few hours return in a burst of images.

The cell. The bedroom. Alec.

My dream.

An odd dream. Where would such a thing come from? I’ve never been away from my parents. Every memory I have is with them.

Which is why I know whatever that was, was nothing more than a nightmare bred from my current circumstances.

I reach up and pull my hair over my shoulder, and some of the strands stick to my skin, plastered with sweat. My hands quiver as I readjust myself back onto the mattress and get comfortable, trying to push anything of my parents from my mind. For now, I can’t let grief take me out—again—because crying in front of the vampire once was enough.

It was only a dream. A strange dream. Nothing more.

With a few deep, calming breaths, I let sleep take me away once more.

This time, dream-free.

* * *

When consciousness rises once again, it’s with a tingling sensation on the side of my face.

I’m being watched.

There’s only one asshole who’d be watching me sleep, and since I’m in no mood to begin a verbal battle as soon as I wake, I continue fake sleeping longer.

“Hellion, your heart is beating faster. Stop pretending to be asleep.”

Damn it.

With a resigned sigh, I open my eyes. First to the ceiling etched with markings and designs I didn’t notice yesterday, and then to the vampire looming beside me, seated on the same chair as yesterday. His legs are parted as he sits low, slouched, like it’s his throne downstairs. He’s staring at me with no hint of emotion, so who knows which version of him this is.

“You look peaceful when you sleep,” he murmurs, his face scrunching slightly, like this fact is a bother.

Only when I don’t dream strange things.

“Morning, kidnapper.”

“Charming as always, Miss Sinclair. Get up. Use the bathroom for your human necessities, then return quickly.”

If he’s snappy with his commands, it’s for a reason, and getting the sense I need to be equipped to deal with that, I follow his demands. Whatever’s coming today, I’d rather not have a full bladder.

When I return, he’s in the exact same place. Pretty sure right down to the breath. Given vampires can go a while without moving, this wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

His hunter-like attention tracks me back to the bedside, and my hands fist the sides of my pyjama pants, clenching my annoyances into the material. His intensity is scary, and my instincts are screaming at me to stay away, but there’s something alluring about it all too.

If I escape from him, I should probably check myself into a psychiatric ward, because obviously my head’s all kinds of fucked up.

I stop by the end of the bed, and he tips his head towards it. “Get in. I have shit to do, and you’re stealing valuable nighttime hours.”

“Why?”

“Three seconds before I put you in bed myself.”

“You probably forget this part about being human, but after sleeping for hours, it’s nice to stretch the body. Stand. Shit like that. Can’t expect me to lie in bed all day and night.”

He moves too quickly for me to catch, but suddenly he’s in front of me, his hand a stiff vise wrapping around my throat as he propels me closer and spins me towards the mattress. I gasp as he walks me into the bed until it presses against my knees. Between one stuttered breath and my next, I’m horizontal, head on my pillow with him bowing over me. A tinge of red is around his pupils, and his expression is a bit maniacal, like he’s minutes away from snapping, his restraint a taut bow I’ve been yanking on. When he speaks, his breath ghosts over mine in a cool, oddly welcoming breeze.

“Lying in bed all day and night is exactly what I expect you to do. It’s the bed or the cell, so pick wisely.” When I say nothing, my next forced breath pushing against his grip that’s just tight enough to be concerning, his fingers lighten their hold. “Disobey me again, and you will not like the consequences.” He continues pulling away, his fingers drifting over my skin until contact is broken by distance.

“What’s the difference?”

“I gave a command and expect obedience. As I’ve said, I don’t have much time, and dealing with you isn’t on my list.”

“Then why come here?”

He doesn’t reply. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be working to get your magick back. The cure, I believe, is tied into your powers, since at its core, it too, is magickal. When you lost your powers, it faded, which means you need to be at full strength for it to be effective.”

He spins on his heel after giving his decree, but I scramble upright, sliding from the bed. The instant my feet touch the ground, he turns back.

“I have zero motivation to get my magick back if it’s only for your use.” My palms tingle, the inner and deepest parts of me saying something else entirely.

Let him help you. Get your magick back. We miss it.

“Besides,” I continue, “it doesn’t work like that. You’d think I’d still be without them if I could just will them back?”

Although…with magick, I could fight. Alec believes he’s in control, but I could burn his precious castle down, him alongside it. I could get free.

“How do you know you can’t? You’re an expert on witches losing their magick?” he shoots back with a perfectly shaped brow arching into his hairline.

“No, but I’m becoming an expert on asshole vampires.”

He smiles once, not taking the bait. “Have a nice night, Miss Sinclair. Don’t attempt the door, because it’ll be a waste of your energy.”

He’s gone a blink later, the door’s lock engaging filling the bedroom with a loud click .

I stare at it much too long before reaching towards the bedside table and taking another granola bar while I plot—unsuccessfully—how to get out of here.