This must have something to do with Dain, I think wildly. He brought the woman with him, a woman that was certainly a Bloodbane witch. But there are no male Bloodbane witches, he must have some other purpose with them. I close my eyes and curse myself for being so stupid these last weeks. I accepted Dain’s advances so naively, read the book because I thought he simply wanted to help me. But he didn’t want to help me. The only one who wanted to help me was Altair, and I tossed him aside.
“Fucking stupid,” I whisper harshly to myself, closing my eyes. “How could I be so fucking stupid?”
Suddenly, I hear a door slam in the hall; the sound echoes down the hall towards me. I lunge for the door, fingers curling around the bars in the small window as I press my face against it. At the end of the hall, towards the torch, I see a red cloak disappear around the corner. I pull away, suspicions confirmed as I lose sight of the witch.
I sigh, eyes roving over my cell as I consider my options. I’m trapped inside the Bloodbane keep, but I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know if Altair is alive, or if the Bloodbane launched a surprise attack. Fear lances through me as I consider the possibility that Altair might be dead. No, I think fiercely, he can’t be. I refuse to believe it.
I want to cry out for him, but I know it wouldn’t do any good. I can only hope that he’ll come to my rescue now as he did before. I curl in on myself, tears pricking at my eyes as I picture him in my mind; strong, smiling. His hazel eyes flicker through my memories. What I would give to see those eyes once more. What I would give to tell him I’m sorry. Truly sorry.
I think of the Bloodbane book and lash out at the empty room instinctively, imagining that if I could only kick away my memories of it, everything could be fixed. My head snaps towards the door as I hear scraping in the hall, followed by footsteps.
I dart to the corner and press myself into it as the footsteps stop outside the door to my cell. The door creaks open, scraping against the uneven stone floor. I see Maaz first, a cruel smile stretched across her face. She draws her red hood back, exposing her pale blue eyes to the dim light so I can see them gleaming. She saunters into the room, stopping a few feet in front of me.
I open my mouth to speak when someone else follows her, closing the door gently behind them. My eyes widen, lips parting softly as I see Dain move to Maaz’s side. He smiles at me, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. It never did, I realize. His black eyes flicker as a hand snakes around Maaz’s waist. She leans into him lovingly, grinning like a cat.
“Dain?” I ask, knowing he isn’t the man I thought he was. My voice quivers, but I try to sound strong. “What have you done?”
He chuckles. “No, Verity, what have you done?”
Shame washes over me and I can feel my cheeks heat. “I trusted you,” I say weakly.
“I gave you no reason to.” He shrugs. He looks amused. “Now, you’ve single-handedly assured the destruction of Alnembra. Destruction a thousand years in the making.”
My heart drops like a stone and my breath catches in my throat. “What?” I choke out.
Dain grins. “My bride and I saw an opportunity and we took it. Alnembra is weak, Altair is weak. And your distance and cruelty has only made it worse. “
Bride? I press myself into the corner even deeper as realization strikes me. Maaz tosses her hair behind her shoulder, eyeing me. “So, you’ve finally realized. I thought you were smarter than this.”
Dain’s shadow stretches taller in the unchanged light, the darkness in his eyes expanding until even the whites of his eyes are pitch black. He leers at me, his teeth unnaturally long. My fingers tremble as fear courses through me. Dain is no Fae man. He’s a god.
“Sadal,” I whisper, eyes wide.
I feel sick to my stomach as I realize that I almost gave myself to the Dark God. I almost chose him over Altair. For one night I did choose him over Altair. I gag, choking back the bile rising in my throat. His bite marks are still on my chest, a terrible reminder of what I’ve done. Maaz’s eyes narrow at my reaction. She lashes out at me, ice cutting across my cheek like needles.
“How dare you?” She hisses, her blue eyes blazing.
Sadal draws her back gently, smiling. He speaks, addressing me, “Someday, Verity, you’ll find out that I prefer reluctance to surrender. I love the challenge.”
His words make my stomach twist, but I try to school my face. His smile broadens, as if he knows that I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of any pleasure – however twisted it may be. Maaz purses her lips, glowering at me. I feel a drop of blood trickle down my cheek from the cut she gave me when she flung her magic at me. I wipe the blood away with the sleeve of my gown.
I eye the pair of them. Where I might have once seen powerful and frightening creatures, I see only my enemies. I feel no fear when I look at them. I only despise myself even more. No matter what, I have to find a way back to Altair. I have to warn him that Sadal
