“I don’t suppose you can fetch me a glass of water?” I asked the gargoyle.
He snorted in reply.
“I didn’t think so,” I murmured, sighing as I relaxed into the stone wall at my back.
This place was hell. My own personal purgatory. Earth Fae didn’t belong underground. Not that it mattered. I couldn’t access my source with this choker around my neck anyway.
Closing my eyes, I returned to my task of trying to unlock it with my mind. The magic caressing my skin itched at my conscious, the cloaking mechanism one that seemed to warm the bonds emanating from my heart.
I tugged on one of them, and a familiar woodsy scent touched my nose. Zeph.
Yanking on the other strand filled my essence with rich spice and power. Kols.
And the final cord released a wave of peppermint, the refreshing taste one craves first thing in the morning. Shade.
I frowned. Why is the collar connected to them? To hide our links?
That would explain Zeph’s haste this morning in forcing the contraption on me. He wanted to guarantee no one would find out about our bonds.
“I need you to put this on, and we need to run. Now.”
His words replayed in my head, causing me to scowl even harder than before. I’d stupidly believed he wanted to help me. Had thought he might even care about my welfare.
But those jackholes only cared about themselves.
Hence my current predicament.
Ignoring my anger, I refocused on the enchantment circling my skin and plucked at some of the other magical strings. They all seemed to be suffocating my powers, which explained the tingling sensation rioting through my spirit. It was a miracle in itself that I could access enough of my essence to investigate the spells on the collar. Undoing them would be another task entirely.
“Ah, there you are.” Shade’s voice warmed my face, his hands soon following as he materialized in front of me.
I jumped to my feet, my fists ready to meet his face, when he grabbed my wrists with ease and
backed me into the wall. The gargoyle didn’t seem to care at all, his beady red eyes focused on a space over my head instead of on the Midnight Fae forcing a thigh between mine.
“The Council is about to convene. Do you have any special requests on how I should address them on your behalf?” he asked, his ice-blue eyes capturing and holding mine.
I spat at him rather than reply.
Like I’d trust him to speak on my behalf.
Willow stump, I thought, furious.
His eyebrow inched upward as he released one of my wrists to wipe the spittle away from his face. I used the opportunity to try to shove him away, but he caught my wrist again with ease, holding both above my head beneath one of his palms.
“Are you asking me to spit on them, Aflora?” He cocked his head in an almost playful manner. “Because I’m pretty sure that won’t go over well.”
“Go to hell,” I told him.
“Already there, baby,” he replied.
Holy Elements, I hated this male. He’d bitten me against my will, trapped me in this world, nearly convinced me to somewhat trust him, and had me thrown into a jail cell again. “Did you record everything last night?” I asked him, my lip curling into a snarl. “Including the part about our qua—”
His mouth caught mine, his tongue pushing inside before I could think to respond. Fury boiled inside me, my reaction coming a second later in the form of a bite that caused his blood to spill over our lips.
I spat it on the ground instead of swallowing, our residual dreams teaching me the consequences of imbibing his essence.
Fire lit his gaze, causing the ice to melt around his irises into a pool of bright blue flames. “Careful, Aflora, or we’ll end up giving the Council quite the show.” He cocked his chin toward the corner, just above the gargoyle’s head. “They’re watching us right now. Listening, too. So if you have something you want to say, do it now.”