Page 149 of Tainted Souls
Something in her tone makes me pause.
It’s too gentle, too practiced.
I start to turn back toward her. “Why are you—”
A sharp sting in my neck cuts off my words.
My hand flies up, feeling the dart protruding from my skin. I try to pull it out, but my fingers are already growing numb, refusing to obey my commands.
“What are you…” The words slur as they leave my mouth, the world tilting sideways around me.
Lexa’s face swims before me, her features blurring into a mask I no longer recognize. I try to step toward her, willing my legs to move, but they have already buckled. The ground rushes up to meet me, though I never feel the impact.
Darkness swallows me whole.
CHAPTER 32
WHENIWAKE,my head pounds with each heartbeat, my mouth cotton-dry. I will my limbs to move, only to find my wrists and ankles bound to the wrought iron chair I’m sitting in. I look around frantically, recognizing the type of underground cavern I’m in, and pure panic consumes me.
“Welcome back, my dearest bride,” a voice, theatrical in its cadence, drawls behind me.
No.
I turn my head, wincing at the effort, to find myself staring into the newest face of my nightmares: Cain, debonair in a high-collared shirt with cascading sleeves fit for a scorned prince. His smile is radiant—a cruel joke in the face of ruin. Behind him stand two figures.
One is Lucien, Cain’s pet witch.
The other is Lexa, Captain Ventura.
My stomach twists with betrayal. “It wasyouall along.”
Lexa’s face remains impassive, but something like shame flickers in her eyes before she masks it.
Cain laughs, thoroughly delighted by this moment of revelation. He strokes a hand from the top of my head to the side, tucking strands of hair away before leaning in, murmuring, “No game is worth playing without a wild card.” He circles me then, still grinning from ear to ear. “How would you rate the surprise factor, Seraph? One being none and ten being completely blindsided?”
Rage, fury, anger, and hatred on levels I didn’t know were possible seethe beneath my skin. If looks could kill, he’d be dead this instant.
“Why?” I croak, directing my attention to Lexa rather than Cain. “Why betray everything you claimed to stand for? Everyone you grew up with?”
Lexa doesn’t respond.
“Blood is thicker than honor, deeper than law, and fiercer than any kingdom’s claim,” Cain responds in her stead, chuckling all the while. “Who do you think gave you that necklace?”
The woman at the market, the elderly vendor with the faded floral headscarf. Could she be… her mother? My head whips toward Lexa, seeing her in an entirely new light. Those two are family? I then take a good look at Lucien, who can’t be much older than Lexa if judging by appearance. There is no obvious resemblance, but the thought strikes me anyway. Are they siblings? Is she a witch, too?
“Is Lucien your brother?” I whisper, hoping she’ll at least give me a hint, any sign that I’m not completely off track.
Something changes in her eyes—a burden finally acknowledged. “Half,” she corrects, answering my prayers. “Same mother, different fathers.”
“That’s enough revelations for now,” Cain says, clapping. “I hope you remember my promise to you, Seraph.” He reaches out to touch my face as I jerk away as much as my restraints allow. “Bring them in.”
I strain against my bonds, the leather cutting into my wrists. Sweat beads on my forehead and trickles down my temple, mingling with the grime smudged across my skin. Every second drags on, my mind racing with the dread of what’s to come, the unknown terror tightening its grip around me like these cuffs.
The door behind him opens, two vampires dragging in struggling figures—both bound and gagged. My breath comes in ragged gasps, my heart pounding so loud it drowns out everything else.
“Mom,” I whisper, nausea and shock-induced clarity overwhelming me at the same time.
She is thin, almost gaunt, her white hair hanging limply around her shoulders. But her eyes burn with the same defiance I feel in my own heart. She looks up at me, and for a moment, everything else falls away. Recognition, sorrow, and fierce love all flash across her face. “Seraph,” she breathes, her voice cracked but strong. “My brave girl.”
