Page 109 of Grave Decisions
I dive for it.
Except...my body jerks to a stop after movin’ barely an inch. Blinkin’ in surprise, I try to reach for it again, but my body refuses to listen, stayin’ frozen in place.
With a determined frown, I focus all my efforts on my fingers, my hands, my arms, but I can’t get a single part of me to move toward my weapon, toward the one thing that could protect me from Morax and his evil intentions.
Tears of fear and frustration drip down my cheeks, and a brutal headache blooms behind my eyes, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t force myself to grab my scythe.
Morax must have used his power to keep me from usin’ it, to keep me fromtouchin’it, and that realization terrifies me. He left it here, right within my reach, just for the mental torture it would bring me. It’s like he’s danglin’ a carrot on a string in front of a starvin’ horse, and right then, I know exactly what sort of bein’ I’m up against. Evil. The Ophidian isevil.
Slumpin’ back, I give up on the scythe and wipe the tears off my cheeks as I quietly scoot back in my cage. Delta said Morax’s power wears off with time. Just like that night he approached me in the club, I had to wait for the effects to fade away. My only hope is that with time, I can take back control of my body and hold my scythe in my hands once again.
I flinch in alarm when Morax suddenly bellows out in rage, and I cower down onto the floor to make it look like I’m still sleepin’ in case he glances over here. Peekin’ through my lashes, I see him throw his dagger clear across the room where it crashes against the stone wall before clatterin’ to the floor.
In his fury, he doesn’t even look my way, and a small puff of relief moves through me as he storms across the room to a shadowed doorway and leaves, slammin’ the heavy door behind him.
My heart beats hard and fast in my chest, but I wait a moment, makin’ sure he’s really gone before I scramble up and rush forward to the bars. My hands close around them as I look around, searchin’ the room for anythin’ else I can use to try and get out of here.
I freeze when my eyes land on the woman that’s strapped to the table. She’s in only her underwear, and cuts of all shapes and sizes mar her skin. I see what looks to be healin’ burns and bruises peppered over her as well, and my stomach churns at the sight.
I press one palm to my stomach and the other over my mouth as I take her in. I blink back more tears, and the image of the woman on the table changes. Suddenly, she has deep purple wings underneath her that are so dark they could almost be black. The hair blanketin’ her shoulder is the same purple-black hue as her feathers, and my eyes widen at the sight as I quickly dash away my tears, makin’ sure that I’m not seein’ things.
My gaze skips over the bruises on her neck and lands on full, slightly parted lips, lookin’ as chapped and cracked as mine feel. My stare moves up to her nose, and somethin’ sparks in the back of my mind.
But then I see her eyes.
It’s then that a sob tears out of my throat, because Iknowthose eyes. They’remyeyes, Delta’s eyes...Sable’s eyes. Horror rages through me like a tidal wave, as I take in the blank, gray stare.
When I blink again, the wings are suddenly gone, and her hair is no longer dark purple, but now just a simple flat black with bangs swept across her forehead, but her eyes are still starin’ at nothin’. I drop my frenzied eyes down her body to her chest.Is she breathin’?
Nothin’ moves. I watch for a beat, holdin’ my own breath as I wait. The longer I wait, the more pain settles in my soul.
What did he do to her? How long has he had her?
More sobs rip out of me, and I bring my watery gaze back up to the pair of lifeless eyes that seem to be starin’ right through me.
“Sable,” I whisper shakily, my voice shatterin’ with emotion as I stare at my lost sister—at the triplet that we just found out about and have been searchin’ for. But nothin’ happens as her name takes flight on the stale sulfuric air floatin’ in this room.
We were too late.
The Ophidian stole her away, and now he’s ended her before Delta and I ever had a chance to know her or to love her the way she deserved.
And I’m next.
The End of Book 3…
