Page 83 of Inked & Bloodbound
“Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens.”
The voice from above me makes my stomach lurch. The twins. I can’t make out which one, but it’s definitely them.
I push weakly against his chest, but it’s no use. He’s an immovable slab of granite, and my aching limbs are cast in lead. There’s something alien coursing through my system, making my movements sluggish and uncoordinated. I’m sure they slipped something into my beer.
“You’ll wake up in a few minutes. Don’t worry, darling. We don’t want you to sleep through what we have planned for you.”
“No, we want you wide awake,” the other voice chirps. “We want you to feel everything.”
Cass, help me. Please. They have me. I don’t know where I am, but I need you to find me.
My head lolls on my neck as I desperately search for something to identify this place. A mark, a sign, a door. Anything, but there’s nothing but concrete and metal. An anonymous corridor in the bowels of a building. An industrial wasteland.
That’s when I see him over my captor’s shoulder, and my heart leaps with relief. He’s already here. Thank fuck for that. He’s here. Everything is going to be okay.
Cassini is edging toward an open fire door with an unconscious girl draped across his arms. Her mouth gaped open. Her tight, spiral curls drenched in blood. He has Megan. We’re all going to be safe.
The twins are focused ahead, navigating the corridor, completely unaware of what’s happening behind them. When I manage a weaksmile, Cassini doesn’t return it. He has to see me, right? He has to know it’s me.
I try and call out, but no sound comes. Instead, he lifts a finger to his lips and gestures for me to stay quiet.
Cass?
He backs toward an exit door and drops his eyes to the ground. He won’t meet mine.
Cassini?
And then he leaves me behind.
27
CASSINI
Megan’s body is nothing but bone and sinew.
She can’t weigh more than ninety pounds, and even with my jacket draped around her tiny body, her whole frame trembles in my arms. The thin fabric of her bloodstained chiffon dress does nothing to shield her from the late evening chill.
Her head lolls lifelessly against the crook of my arm, and I tap her pallid cheek with my hand as I hurry through the back alley, hiding in the shadows and searching for my car.
“Stay with me, Megan,” I plead. “I’m going to get you someplace safe. You’ve come this far. I just need you to hang on a little longer.”
If she dies, this will have been for nothing. All of it. I can’t have that happen. She has to live. When I plead with Megan to stay with me, to hold on a little longer, I’m not just talking to her. I’m saying a silent prayer for Lily.
Hold on. Please hold on. I’m so sorry.
I know Lily must be feeling the betrayal, but I had no choice. I had to take the only chance I’d get to rescue Megan. Without fulfilling the blood pact, I’ll only grow weaker, I have a long list of people to destroy, starting with the twins.
I’m going to tear Roel and Ronan apart for what they were planning to do to her.
Lily’s blood is potent but it didn’t last. I could only see flashes of violence—hear snippets of the disgusting thoughts that crossed their minds but that was enough for me. The memory alone makes rage burn white-hot through my chest. Tonight, I’m going to make them pay for every sick fantasy they entertained about her.
The pain of leaving her with those animals tears at me from the inside, but I take some comfort in knowing she’s not in any immediate physical danger. The twins like to play with their food for as long as possible. First, they begin with psychological torture, then comes the violence. They won’t have hurt her yet, but they’ll be scaring her. Making her feel powerless and afraid, wondering when the physical pain begins and bracing for impact.
I just need to get to her before they move to the next phase.
Lily, hold on.
I push the thought toward her as hard as I can, but it hits a wall of static. Something is blocking our connection. She’s nothing but emptiness. Despite the blockade, I keep trying anyway. Chanting over and over, like I’m reciting the rosary.