In this case, they were clearly inhibiting my shift from human to Drake.
“This is ridiculous!” I looked up at my attackers and recognized Pedro Sanchez, who was grinning evilly at me. “Takes these off me right now, Sanchez!” I demanded.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” His grinned widened. “Your Drake is more powerful than any in the land—well, other than your Sire’s. Why do you think we went to the trouble of getting a bruja to make us inhibitor manacles in the first place?”
“Let me go!” I glared at him. “What do you want with me, anyway?”
“Oh, it’s not you we want, Reyes.” Sanchez’s eyes gleamed in the dim, shadowy hallway. Even in the dim lighting, I could see the vivid blue handprint marking his left cheek like a warning. “It’s not you we want,” he said again. “It’s your sweet little L’lorna. That little puta did me wrong, and now she’s going to pay.”
93
Kaitlyn
At first I thought the hands on me belonged to Ari—but they were so rough! Also, Mr. Seahorse was chiming angrily—almost bugling in the darkened room—and I knew my little pet wouldn’t react that way to Ari touching me.
“What…who…?” I tried to sit up in bed and ask the questions filling my mind but a rough hand was slapped over my mouth before I could get out anymore.
Mr. Seahorse was still chiming loudly—sounding like a doorbell someone was leaning on. One of my attackers—because there seemed to be several—made a snatch for him but he darted away.
“Get him!” one of the men hissed. “He’ll warn that blasted Blood Drake next door and there’ll be Hell to pay!”
As though hearing and understanding them, Mr. Seahorse darted quickly through the open window (I had left it cracked for him, in case he got hungry and wanted to go hunting in the middle of the night) and out into the garden.
“It got away,” the other man answered.
The one holding me swore.
“Get her out of here, before—”
But at that moment, a dark figure appeared at the window and I heard Saint’s voice say,
“Let her go.”
“Or what?” Suddenly something hard and sharp was pressed against my throat. I had been struggling desperately but now I let out a little gasp of fear and held perfectly still.
“Let her go or I’ll make you sorry.” Saint’s voice was flat and cold—utterly without emotion.
“I don’t fear you or your Blood Drake, cabron,” the man holding me said. “Your Drake’s too big to fit here so you can’t shift. And you don’t dare chance a partial shift either—if you’re even strong enough to do one. You try to flame us and you’ll kill the girl too. Not that the fucking murder-Drake you carry inside you would give a damn about that. I hear he likes killing innocent girls.”
For a moment Saint’s eyes went blood-red—I could see them glowing in the darkness like live coals. Then, without another word, he turned and launched himself from the window. I got a blurry glimpse of his changing in mid-air into a creature as black as midnight and then huge wings unfurled and beat the sky, driving him upwards and away.
I couldn’t help the wash of terror and disbelief that came over me. Was that it? I’d thought that I could trust Saint—was he really just leaving me to my fate?
Apparently so because the two men who had grabbed me laughed harshly and hauled me towards the door. I wanted to fight again, but the cold steel blade was still at my throat and I was so frightened I could barely breathe.
What was happening? Where were they taking me? My mind filled with questions I had no answers for and my heart filled with fear. Was I going to die? Would I ever live to see my Coven-mates again? And where was Ari? Did he know what was happening to me? Was he safe? Could he help me? I knew he and his Drake would rescue me if they could—but what if they didn’t even know what was going on?
Or what if they’re already dead? an insidious little voice whispered in my brain. What if Ari died thinking you don’t love him? What if those last, mean words you said to him are the last thing you’ll ever get to say?
I tried to push that awful little voice away, but it didn’t want to go. It kept tormenting me as my captors dragged me down the long marble hallway, taking me who-knew-where for who-knew-what purposes.
I had never been more terrified in my life—except for the night of The Fire. And even then, there had been people with me who loved me. Now I was all alone and I had no idea what to do or what would become of me.
I was trapped with no way out.
94
Kaitlyn
I had no idea where we were going until I saw a familiar arching doorway up ahead. My captors were dragging me back to where I’d been earlier that night—back to the Feasting Hall, for some reason.