Page 161 of The Last Hope

I think I dreamt that last one. Heard it all wrong. They can’t know that I’m tethered to Court and Franny. Right?

Adrian bends and taps at my cheek. “Wake up!” he yells. “You’re useless asleep.”

What are they evenusingme for?

I feel like I’m falling behind. Not catching on. I spit a wad of blood on the floorboards and pant for breath.

“Where are your lifebloods?” Henna barks. “They have to be feeling your pain.”

My jaw falls.

How could they have known? How long? And more than that, I understand what they’ve been doin’. Beating on me so that they don’t even have to go searching for Court and Franny.

They’re waiting for Court and Franny to come for me. I’m not their prey.

I’mbait.

Sickness rises to my throat, burns.

Henna glares. “I asked you a question. Where are your lifebloods?”

Another kick to the gut.

My breath hitches.

Igor strokes his gray-haired chin. “Did you think we didn’t know about your tether?” He lets out a husky laugh. I must be looking startled. The God of Victory is spitting on me.

Jolee passes her battle-ax from hand to hand. “We were watching you for thirty-one days while you were on theRomulus.You were the best entertainment the crew has seen in over three hundred years. The first time you tried to grab the electrowand from the guard—” She chortles. “You twitched around like a big, idiotic insect caught in a trap. And you know what we all saw? Your lifebloods stumbling around. Looking disoriented.In pain.I wonder why that could be?”

They’ve known about our link for that long, then.

Adrian grins. “The only thing that could have made it better was if you three didn’t whisper so much. Audio quality was lacking.”

Henna nods in agreement.

I lose it.

Furious, riled emotions push forth, and with energy restored, I wrench and wrench my wrist against the bed. Trying to break the whole damned thing apart.

It lasts for three seconds before a blow to the chin knocks my skull back into the floor. “Adrian!” They all yell at him. “Gentle.”

He snorts. “His lifebloods aren’t coming. Maybe they just don’t care—” He cuts himself off and spins around. Near him, a sea glass lamp is floating in midair off a glossy table. How is a lamp levitating like that?

Gods bless, I hit my head so hard, I’m seeing things. I blink.

The lamp has disappeared.

Adrian laughs uncertainly. “Did you all see—”

Thwack!

Adrian’s eyes roll back, the unseen force colliding with his head. His legs buckle, and he crumples into an unconscious heap. Finally pressure releases off my broken hand, but I can barely clench my fingers into a fist.

Henna gapes. “What the…”

Adrian’s electrowand suddenly rises off the floor, hovering. And then the weapon just vanishes like the lamp.

“Who’s in here?” Jolee shouts, strengthening her grip on the battle-ax.