“I suppose we’ll find out.” Stubbornness was etched in his features. He stepped back, and I felt the shift in the room like the oxygen had been torn out of it. He’d been in my mind this whole time. I looked down and found my hands were bound by a copper-colored rope. I staggered against the bench, my knees buckling at the sensation that slammed into me. My full tanks of energy were half empty and quickly draining. I looked up at Reeve with a gaping mouth.
“What are you doing?” I cried, wincing as the manacles sucked at my skin. They were leeching my power like a waterfall. My legs faltered and my knees slammed into the hard tiles. Reeve cocked his head.
“We will be together,” he vowed, reaching out to cup my face. “I adore you. I love you. I need you. I won’t let you walk away. Not without fighting for us.”
“Reeve!” I knocked his hand away with my bound ones and struggled to my feet, whining as my power dipped again. “This is fucked up! Take these off and we can talk. This is insanity. You’re acting like a crazy person!”
“Crazy in love. I just want a chance to prove it to you. I want all other traces of other people’s lust gone from you, then I’m going to spend all night filling you up again. You’ll see, you’ll see how right it feels. I just want to show you. I know you’ll understand where I’m coming from.”
My eyes flooded with tears. My insides felt like they were tearing as the last dregs of my power were being sucked away. I floundered, feeling weaker than I ever had.
“Don’t do this, please. I’ll never forgive you,” I begged. He only smiled indulgently, placing a bottle of wine on the island and two glasses. Looking down at my purse, I knew if I could get to it, I could access the token Landon had given me for emergencies. I needed an excuse to get Reeve out of here.
“You will. We are inevitable.” Reeve poured a generous glass, clinking them together and lifting his to me. “Cheers to our future, little succubus. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
I shuffled over to the island and tried to even out my breathing as black spots flooded my vison.
“Can you get me my nightgown from the bed? I’m a little cold,” I urged, swallowing hard. In reality, I felt like an inferno. Sweat had soaked the back of my clothes and I only hoped Reeve was too distracted to realize. He lit up with a wide smile.
“Of course, my darling, anything you want,” he promised, and I waited with tense anticipation as he rushed to my bedroom.
“It’s the blue one in my closet,” I called, snatching the purse, and opening it as best I could with my hands tied. I found the disc and sobbed quietly in relief. Then I smashed the beacon with my clenched fist. I clung to it, waiting for the extraction to work. It would take me straight to Landon. He would help me escape from his lunatic brother.
“I couldn’t find it, little succubus.” Reeve came out, holding a soft cashmere sweater instead. His eyes widened comically. The material slithered out of his grasp and fell on the ground when he saw me.
“Allera! No!” He raced toward me with an anguished cry. But I was already gone. His fingers swept through me desperately, his cry of anguish echoing in my ears as I fell on Landon’s couch.
Landon glanced up from where he was wrapped around his boyfriend and made a noise of surprise.
“Allera? What happened to you?” he panicked, shoving his shirt over his head and running over.
“Your brother happened,” I moaned. “Can you get me out of here before he comes looking? I need to find somewhere to hide and recuperate.”
Landon fiddled with the manacles, shaking his head in disappointment.
“I know just the place.”
Chapter 10
“Whataboutthisone?”I asked, holding up a pale yellow dress. It clashed awfully with my hair, but I was running out of options. Aunt Kathy wrung her hands and gave a decisive shake of her head.
“No, no, it’ll have to be the sage green one. I wish I’d thought this through before. We should have taken you shopping for something lovely.”
“I’m sure the Prophet won’t be concerned about what the ladies wear, Mom,” Trent sighed from the other room, having overheard the frantic conversation. Aunt Kathy looked at me and rolled her eyes.
“These men don’t know anything,” she muttered under her breath. I was about to agree when the doorbell rang.
“Who is that?” Aunt Kathy wondered. I poked my head around the door curiously. Trent came bounding down the hall with a wide smile.
“You’ll never guess who’s surprised us,” he gushed, a faint pink dusting cheeks.
“Oh Landon!” Aunt Kathy exclaimed, rushing past me as my best friend came into view.
Landon?
I must have looked as confused as I felt. Aunt Kathy reached back and dragged me forward, patting my back with excitement.
“This is Mr. Circe. He’s a dear family friend. This is our niece, Allera. Just wait, I’ll get my errant husband. Make yourself at home in the lounge room.” She fluttered around Landon, ushering him into the cozy lounge. I followed, speechless.