My mom? I thought of Carissa. Had she been brought to a place like this? I still had no idea how she’d ended up mutated, or why. Luc, the ridiculously intelligent and even a bit scary teen hybrid, had helped us get into Mount Weather and had warned that I may never know what happened to Carissa. I wasn’t sure I could live with that. Never knowing why she ended up in my bedroom and self-destructed wasn’t right. And if I ended up like her, or like the countless other hybrids the government kidnapped, what would happen to my mom?
With no answers to any of those questions, I finally let my mind go where it wanted, where I’d been desperately trying to prevent it from going.
My eyes fell shut as I exhaled. I didn’t even have to try to see him. His face pieced together perfectly.
His broad cheekbones, lips that were full and almost always expressive, and those eyes—those beautiful green eyes that were like two polished emeralds, abnormally bright. I knew my memory really didn’t do him justice. He had this masculine beauty I’d never seen before in real life, had only read about in the books I loved.
Man, I missed books already.
In his true form, Daemon was extraordinary. All of the Luxen were breathtakingly beautiful; being made of pure light, they were mesmerizing to look upon, like seeing a star up close.
Daemon Black could be as prickly as a hedgehog having a really bad day, but underneath all that spindly armor, he was sweet, protective, and incredibly selfless. He’d dedicated most of his life to keeping his family and his kind safe, continually facing danger with little thought to his own safety. I was in constant awe of him. Though it hadn’t always been like that.
A tear dripped down my cheek unbidden.
Resting my chin against my knees, I swiped at the wetness. I prayed that he was okay—as okay as he could be. That Matthew, Dawson, and Andrew were keeping a tight leash on him. That they wouldn’t let him do what I knew he wanted to: the same thing I’d do if the situation were flipped.
Although I wanted him—needed him—to hold me, this was the last place I wanted him to be. The very last place.
Heart aching, I tried thinking about the good things—better things—but the memories weren’t enough. There was a strong chance I might never see him again.
The tears slipped out of my tightly squeezed eyes.
Crying solved nothing, but it was hard to hold it in when exhaustion dogged me. I kept my eyes closed, slowly counting until the knot of messy, raw emotions climbed back down my throat.
The next thing I knew, I jolted awake, my heart pounding and mouth dry. I hadn’t remembered falling asleep, but I must’ve. A weird tingle moved over my skin as I dragged in a deep breath. Did I have a nightmare? I couldn’t remember, but something felt off. Disoriented, I threw the blanket back and looked around the dark cell.
Every muscle in my body seized as my eyes picked out a darker, thicker shadow in the corner by the door. Tiny hairs on my body rose. Air halted in my lungs, and fear sunk its icy claws into my stomach, freezing me in place.
I wasn’t alone.
The shadow pulled away from the wall, moving forward quickly. My first instinct screamed Arum, and I reached blindly for the opal necklace, realizing too late I didn’t have it anymore.
“You’re still having nightmares,” the shadow said.
At the sound of the familiar voice, fear gave way to rage so potent that it tasted like battery acid. I was on my feet before I knew it.
“Blake,” I spat.
Chapter 4
My brain clicked off and something a hell of a lot more primitive and aggressive took over. I felt the horrible, sinking sense of betrayal. Swinging out, my fist connected with what felt like Blake’s cheekbone. It wasn’t a girlie hit, either. Every bit of anger and pent-up hatred I felt toward him was packed into that punch.
He let out a startled groan as white-hot pain danced across my hand. “Katy—”
“You bastard!” I swung again, my knuckles slamming into his jaw this time.
He let out another grunt of pain as he staggered back. “Jesus.”
I spun, grabbing for a tiny lamp beside the bed, and without warning, the overhead light came on. I wasn’t sure how it did. If my abilities didn’t work in here, then Blake’s shouldn’t, either. The sudden glare caught me off guard, and Blake took advantage.
He sprang forward, forcing me to back away from the lamp. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned.
“Go screw yourself.” I swung at him again.
He caught my fist and twisted. Sharp pain shot up my arm, and I let out a surprised gasp. He spun me around, and I kicked out. Letting go of my arm, he narrowly avoided the thrust of my knee. “This is ridiculous,” he said, hazel eyes narrowed. Anger churned the green flecks.
“You betrayed us.”
Blake sort of shrugged, and, well, I sort of lost my shit again.
I launched myself at him like some kind of ninja—a really lame ninja, because he easily dodged my attack. My left leg banged into the bed, and the very next second, he slammed into my back. Air punched out of my lungs as I toppled forward, hitting the bed on my side, bouncing it against the wall.
His knees went down on the mattress as he grabbed hold of my shoulders, rolling me onto my back. I slapped at his arms, and he let out a curse. Rearing up, I swung at him once more.
“Stop it,” he growled, grabbing my wrist. The next moment he had hold of my other one. Stretching my arms above my head, he leaned over me, bringing his face within inches of mine, and spoke low. “Stop it, Katy. There are cameras everywhere. You can’t see them, but they are there. They are watching right now. How do you think the lights just came on? It’s not magic, and they
I struggled to push him off, and he shifted his weight so that his knees pressed into my legs, trapping them. Panic was a slow crawl inside me, causing my pulse to jump. I didn’t like his weight on me. It reminded me of how he had snuck into my house at night and slept beside me. How he’d watched me sleep. Nausea rose swiftly, and the panic grew. “Get off me!”
“I don’t know. You’re likely to hit me again.”
“I will!” I bucked my hips, but he didn’t move, and my heart was racing so fast, I was sure I was going to have a heart attack.
Blake gave me a little shake. “You need to calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. Okay? You can trust me.”
Eyes wide, I let out a strangled laugh. “Trust you? Are you insane?”
“You really don’t have a choice.” Bronze-colored hair fell over his forehead. Usually it was styled in that artfully messy way, but it looked like he’d run out of hair gel today.
I wanted to hit him again, and I strained against his hold, getting nowhere. “I’m going to break your face!”
“Understandable.” He pushed down, eyes narrowing. “I know we don’t have the most stable relationship —”
“We don’t have
He flinched, and when he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I hated lying to you, but I had no
