Page 23 of In The Dark

My eyes slowly peel open, my gaze immediately locking with Alec Thorne.

8

The blood drainsfrom my face, and within seconds, I’m palming my dagger, aiming it straight at his groin. My left hand clamps down on his forearm, locking him in place from elbow to wrist. But a small, devious smile plays on his face when he lets out a chuckle, his breath brushing my cheeks.

“You should be dead,” I growl, digging my nails into his skin.

He sighs. “The chase was getting quite boring. Turns out, you’re not as good of a tracker as I thought,” he chuckles, meeting my gaze. “Any more noise from you and you’ll disturb the entire tavern.”

“I don’t care,” I snap, a little louder than I intended, but no one seems to pay us any attention.

“Well, I do,” he mutters quietly, then slowly drags his gaze down to our forearms. A menacing smirk lifts the corners of his mouth. “You’re going to regret that. Again.”

“How am I?—”

Before I can finish my thought, I’m whirled from reality and thrust from the tavern. Dark shadows swarm behind my eyes, too fast to comprehend. My stomach lurches, flipping around like I’m falling with no solid ground. My ears begin to ring.

Then with a sharp jolt and a solid thud, everything stops.

I stumble forward, gasping for air when my knees buckle beneath me. My palms hit the ground, and dizziness floods my senses as I try to grasp my new reality. Nausea consumes me as my head spins, pulse pounding so loudly in my ears, it’s deafening.

Then I’m retching in the leaves. I’m heaving when I slowly come to my senses, feeling around with my hands.

Leaves. Dirt. Rock.Gods, I’m outside, but how could I?—

“I should have warned you, but this is much more enjoyable,” Alec says casually.

“Where… am I?” My voice comes out in a rasp.

“No worries, we’re just on the outskirts of Sylvanor, away from prying ears should you decide toscream.” His voice drips with sarcasm. “Or run. But just remember, I’m faster.”

Rage suddenly consumes me, and the next thing I know, my vision clears and I’m palming my daggers again.

“I’m going to kill you.” An angry growl tears through me. At lightning speed, I spin on my right heel, catching my dagger by the blade to throw it straight at his disgustingly beautiful face. Then he tilts his head to the side and catches it.

My eyes go wide.What the fuck?

“You tried that, remember?” he retorts with a grin. “Didn’t work out so well for you, now did it?”

A frustrated shout brushes the air as I flick my right arm out, aiming a dagger for his ribs. But he sweeps that same arm down and catches that one too. I’m suddenly grappling for more weapons when he disappears, forcing me to halt and scan the area, searching for him.How did he do that?

“You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?” He chuckles from everywhere and nowhere, but I can’t see him. Where is he?

Fury consumes me, yet I somehow manage to rein it in long enough to scan my surroundings. With a deep breath, I quickly realize that I’m two blocks south of the inn off the main road. Islowly pivot in a circle, calculating my movements as adrenaline courses through me.

“You’re a coward! Come out and talk. Or are you too afraid I’ll kill you again?” I shove my hair off my face, grateful for the partial coverage to hide my shock, but now I’m wishing that I braided it all so I could fight more accurately.

“You can’t kill me. And not if you’re going to be throwing daggers at my head all night. Will you be nice?” he asks with a hint of amusement.

I realize very quickly that he’s teasing me, and it’s really fuckingannoying.

“Fine,” I muster through clenched teeth and forcefully sheathe my daggers, holding my palms up. “No sharp things.”

“Good,” he whispers, appearing right in front of my face seconds later. “Because I’m not your enemy.”

Startled, I stumble back and reach for my ribs.

“Don’t do that,” he warns. “You said you’d be nice. I’m much harder to kill when you can’t see me, so I suggest you put them away.” He arches a brow.