Page 98 of Ruby Red Sky

It took no effort to let my fangs descend, and they punched through my gums, aching with desire. Gently, I pressed them against her skin, scraping a short trail and licking the tiny beads of blood that rose to the surface. Her flavor danced on my tongue, filling my mouth with saliva and my soul with peace.

“Lukas,” she whimpered. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

My jaw stretched open, and I pierced her skin, savoring the short cry that fled her lips. Her blood flowed over my tongue and down my throat, satiating me and making my cock throb painfully.

While I drank from her precious neck, alternating between licking and sucking, I focused on something else. Something that would keep the one love of my life safe.

My own eyes were closed, while I visualized everything I wanted, in the precise way I desired. It was important to get every single aspect correct, and to account for the most minor of details. Cassia deserved the best of everything, all of my care and attention. This would be no different.

After I sealed her wound, I made sure two tiny silvery scars remained. Perhaps it was morbid, but I wanted a visible marking on her, something for her to remember me by.

The moment that thought occurred to me, I waved a hand over her eyes and then over my chest right where she’d stabbed me with the stiletto. The mark reappeared and I gently touched her eyes and hovered over her.

She glanced at me, a slow smile spreading across her face before she remembered. The light dimmed in her eyes, and she touched my face before she tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear.

Then her eyes widened in horror as she looked around. She shoved my chest, but I didn’t move. “What happened? What is this?” She cried, trying to push me off of her. “What the hell happened?”

CHAPTER 29

Cassia

Lukas was suspended over me one moment and across the room the next, separated from me by etched and molded crystal bars. They sparkled in the light, scattering iridescent colors where the light hit them.

“What is this?” I jumped off the bed and ran up to the parallel bars, gripping them with my fists.

He glanced at me with eyes full of longing and then disappeared without a word.

“Lukas!” I screamed. “Lukas!”

Nothing. He was gone.

My throat was sore from all the yelling and my fingers hurt from pulling on the bars. It was like I was five years old again, when my parents would lock me in my room for drawing on the living room carpet with permanent black magic marker. Being cut off from the world was too isolated for me. I needed to be able to move around.

Spinning around, I took it all in. The bed and I were circled by a cage made of diamonds, or quartz, or whatever the clear material was. There was a glimmering, narrow hallway leading to the bathroom, but otherwise, I was trapped.

Everything I could possibly need had been provided. I had access to clothes, my art supplies, and there was even a mini-icebox with food in it. A sofa, a table and chairs, a desk. My easel and all my art supplies were tucked by the desk.

There was a plastic heater shaped like a small fireplace and when I pressed the button, it lit with real flames. I couldn’t figure out how it worked without melting, but it was a nice touch for my new prison.

Disbelief washed over me as I flopped on the couch. Lukas had built me a beautiful bird cage, and he hadn’t neglected the tiniest detail. It was very specifically built for me. The way the light shone through the faceted bars was incredible, with tiny laser-like beams of light highlighting the finery around me and bringing out the textures and colors. My instinct to analyze the beauty competed with my fury.

The fury won.

Not one single bar of my jail cell was moveable. I couldn’t hear anything outside of the room, so I knew there was no one to yell to for help. The window was inaccessible, and I didn’t have anything long enough to reach it and try to pry the latch open. If I could, I would have started tossing things out to try and garner someone’s attention.

I did try throwing stuff at the glass panes, but the translucent bars were too close together for my horrifically poor aim.

When I tired of pacing the perimeter like a tiger at the zoo, I laid back down in the bed. Normally, when I went to bed, I curled up at Lukas’s side and played with his hair. He loved that. I’d keep one hand on his chest while the other finger combed his strands. His heart rate would slow, and his breathing would deepen. I loved knowing I affected him like that. He was never more vulnerable than when he relaxed and curled up beside me.

He was never getting another scalp massage from me ever again.

If I ever saw him again.

My anger and worry were swirling around in my brain like competing cyclones when the room plunged into total darkness. I sat up and jumped to the far side of the bed before rolling off and crouching down.

Then I realized I was being a bit silly. Nobody could get in here if I couldn’t get out, could they? The contraption had no door. If someone wanted to shoot me, or if they were really good with a knife, maybe then they could have hurt me.

Magic was another hazard, but I could feel the sticky, staticky net of whatever spells and wards Lukas had weaved around the contraption every time I stuck my hand through. It felt like I shoved my fist in a pudding cup.