Page 21 of Resurrection (Daemons & Lumens #2)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Devon

F ucking get it together, Dev. I couldn’t get it together.

I was struggling. When the guards came for me and my sister stepped in front of them, I wanted to weep.

I wasn’t exactly the type to cry, but seeing her like that was enough to bring me to my knees.

Leyja was barely herself. The eyes I remembered being so full of life even as a baby were cold and unfeeling.

She wouldn’t speak directly to me, only ordered the guards to cuff me and force a fucking shock collar around my neck.

Of course, I wasn’t going to fight them. If I did, they would hurt Seraphina, or my sister. Until we had something to fight against the Kings with, any outbursts would just get people hurt.

Reuniting with Seraphina had been the spark I needed to regain my own mind.

I was furious with myself for letting them get inside my head and scramble my memories.

How many months they took from me, I wasn’t entirely sure.

And Leyja…she had been in their grasp since she was a child.

They had been controlling her mind for decades.

Morax spoke of others capable of healing, and I held onto that hope with all my fucking heart.

I assumed when Leyja arrived and ordered the guards into the room that we weren’t going for an afternoon walk in the park.

The scene that played out in the ballroom was also not what I expected.

Now that it was over, I shouldn’t have been surprised, none of us should have.

Of course, the Kings had other daemons working for them.

Creatures we didn’t know about. They wouldn’t thrive the way they did without power.

What was interesting was Andras’s reaction, or lack thereof. He didn’t seem surprised by the daemon showing up to do his father’s bidding. Did he know this was coming? He must have known more than I did, at least.

I paced my cell, still wearing the fucking shock collar. Leyja and the guards led me back here without a word spoken. I caught Seraphina’s eye as we left. My queen. Her beautiful aquamarine eyes ensnared my soul. I would do anything for her, be anything for her.

The door to the basement banged open, and I turned toward the entrance, waiting to see who would descend from above. Andras stalked toward me, no guards in sight.

I raised an eyebrow. “No bodyguards?”

Andras sighed. “My father knows I won’t do anything to ruin his plans, not when he has everyone I care for placed fully beneath his boot.”

I nodded and tugged at the collar. “I know the feeling.”

“I’m not certain why he has you in the collar. Seems excessive. You’re clearly not going anywhere.” Andras cocked his head to the side, ideas swirling in his dark eyes.

“How is Seraphina?” I whispered, missing her.

Andras smirked. “Furious. Breaking everything in her room that isn’t bolted down. Laszlo won’t hurt Michaela for that, I don’t think.”

I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets. “So, now what, we just sit here like obedient little dogs?”

Andras nodded. “For now.” He pulled something small from his pocket and handed it to me. “I was told to give you these. I don’t think anything good will come from listening to whatever they are connected to.”

Andras passed the earbuds through the bars, and I took them. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood on end. He might have been right.

“I’ll see you soon, brother,” Andras murmured, his voice almost tender.

He walked back up the stairs and left me to my thoughts. And the earbuds. Everything in my body screamed in alarm. Whatever I would hear, it wouldn’t be good. But I had to. I needed to know.

I stuffed the earpieces into my ears and waited.

Samuel’s voice filled my head. “Your brother is listening to us, my dear. Do you want to speak to him?”

“No.” My sister’s cold voice cut straight through to my heart.

Samuel laughed, an empty awful sound. “You’re such a good girl, Leyja. So obedient. I want him to hear something tonight, though, so we’re going into the vault.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Yes, sir.” My sister’s voice sounded less confident. She seemed unsettled.

What was the vault?

“Close your eyes, Leyja.” Samuel’s voice dipped into a hypnotic cadence. It was his sleazy sales guy talent, amplified by the daemonic power he possessed.

My blood heated at the sound. I remembered how he used it on me, and I would never let him inside my head again. But Leyja, she was willingly letting him in, and that terrified me.

“Go to the door and open the vault,” Samuel ordered, his voice deep and melodic. “What do you see?”

Leyja started to breathe heavily. “My daddy. And my brother.”

I sucked in a breath and fisted my hands to keep from ripping out the earbuds.

“What are they doing?” Samuel asked quietly.

“Inviting me to sit with them. To have dinner. They’re smiling at me.” Leyja sounded close to tears.

“Ah yes, they love you, don’t they? In here, they love you. Protect you.” Samuel goaded her. “If you agree, press the button, Leyja.”

A second later, a shock zipped through my body, knocking me to my knees. The collar vibrated with electricity, and I sucked in a breath.

“Good girl. And you love them too, don’t you?” Samuel continued, his voice forcing her to obey. “Do you agree?”

A second bolt of electricity shot through my body, and I fell to my hands, grinding my teeth and breathing through the pain.

“Yes, you love them. But this isn’t real, is it, Leyja?” Samuel sounded sad.

She whimpered. “No. It’s a lie.”

“Press the button when you agree, Leyja,” Samuel snapped, his voice booming in my ear.

The zap of electricity knocked me to the ground, even when I knew it was coming.

Samuel went on and on, forcing her to answer him, and in doing so, shocking me over and over.

Tears blurred my vision as I forced myself to take the pain.

Did she know this was happening? She ordered them to put the collar on. Did she know what she was doing?

“Who lied to you, Leyja? Who tortured you and hurt you?” Samuel asked, his voice soft again.

Leyja was crying. “My daddy. He sold me. My brother. He left me. They killed my mother.”

“They did. They never cared for you like you did for them. Isn’t that right?” Samuel sounded so sincere, like he really cared for her.

The collar shocked me again, and my heart broke for my sister and the lies the Kings fed her.

“And you know what you must do now, Leyja?” Samuel cooed.

There was an edge to his voice I didn’t like. It was almost as if he were excited, and since he never showed emotions, it was fucking disturbing.

“I know what I must do,” Leyja responded like the soldier the Kings turned her into.

“Who cares for you? Who do you serve?” Samuel’s voice sounded louder, more powerful.

“Master Samuel. Only him. Can I leave the vault now?” Leyja’s voice was quiet and pleading. She sounded so young, so alone.

“Very well. You did well, my Leyja,” Samuel cooed, and my sister whimpered.

The earbuds went dead, and I ripped them from my ears.

My body ached, and every muscle screamed in pain.

I lay on the floor, unending anger and sadness flooding my mind.

Samuel Delano would fucking die, and I would be the one to kill him.

Before this shit finally ended, I would see the light leave his eyes and feel the blood draining from his body.

He would pay for this with his fucking life.

And I would get my sister back, no matter the cost.