Chapter 183
Zara
I flung open the door that had been blocking my innermost thoughts, carving out a small corner for Marcus. After a dull headache slid across my forehead, I was sure Marcus would no longer be able to penetrate my thoughts. My father sat silently, staring fixedly at Marcus.
“Your turn,” Marcus’s voice echoed in my head. “Play your part well, or we are all doomed p>
I had no time to consider my father’s words or the fact that my grandmother had kept this from me. The sting of betrayal was brief, as I had more pressing matters to attend to. My sister—my half-sister—stood across the room, her brown eyes fixed on me, her lips parted, her words unavoidable.
For a split second, I wondered what her life had been like. Our father had been enslaved for ten years, the price of her creation. She must have lived a normal life before he tore her from her home, trying to turn her into a monster.
It was a risk—I prayed it would pay off, but I couldn’t leave her. She had spent far more time with our Father than I had, and I wondered how much she had suffered. No matter what happened, I would find a way to take her with me.
I wiped the emotion from my face and let the light fade from my eyes. I turned slowly, almost sluggishly, to Father. I remembered what it was like to have Marcus in my head, as if I were drugged. I let my eyes cloud over as I looked at Father, waiting for him to finally speak.
“Did she resist you?” He asked, his bright eyes interested and calculating.
“Yes, my lord,” Marcus nodded. “The witch who helped raise her tried to teach her to protect her mind. Her shields are weak; I’ve breached them before p>
“Good,” my father nodded, completely unaware that Marcus had betrayed him. “I imagine she would want to ensure the safety of her companions p>
“Good,” King nodded.
“Take her to the dungeons, keep her under strict control,” my father nodded, his gaze returning to the fire. “When you free the traitor and his companion, be sure to blindfold them. I won’t let the wolf pack discover our location. In any case, their time is running out. We’ll give them these few days before we wipe them from the face of the earth p>
“Yes, my lord,” Marcus nodded and headed for the door.
I rose slowly from the sofa, maintaining a relaxed posture and a slow gait. I remembered how I felt when Marcus appeared in my mind at the club, how all the important details of my life faded into the background, how nothing truly mattered.
If Marcus had truly existed in my thoughts, I would have had no idea where I was or who I was talking to.
I followed him down the hallway, keeping my eyes on the road. I never once noticed the guards wandering the hallways and rooms. Marcus led me down to the back of the warehouse, where a thick metal door stood in a concrete wall.
He opened the door, and I, oblivious, watched the scraping sound of metal echoing throughout the warehouse.
We entered what looked like an old storage room. Brooms, mops, and shelves of cleaning supplies lined the walls. At the back of the room, a cement staircase descended to the floor. Flickering fluorescent lights illuminated the stairs, and I followed him as we descended underground.
The tunnel we turned into wasn’t earthen; the walls and floor were made of the same cement as the rest of the warehouse. This was just further evidence of how long they had lived here and how much time they’d spent rebuilding the place.
I fought the urge to squint as we turned into the hallway, where the fluorescent lights began to flicker and dim, struggling not to trip. Nova was shackled with silver cuffs on my wrists, leaving me to rely solely on my human senses.
Even with my dulled senses, I could smell blood and human dirt. I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to gag as we turned…into a room full of cells.
I noticed Sophia first. Her shoulder-length hair was…Their hair was tangled, their makeup smeared across their cheeks. Their clothes were covered in dirt. Govinda was in the same cell. Dark circles under his eyes, more prominent cheekbones, and sickly pale skin.
I wondered if they were feeding them here. The flash of burning hunger in his eyes told me what I needed to know: whatever they were feeding him, it wasn’t enough.
I resisted the urge to recoil when I realized why they had been placed in the same cell. It wasn’t out of kindness. They knew Govinda would suffer from hunger and wanted to see if their bond could withstand his need for more meals. Apparently, he wasn’t feeding on Sophia’s energy.
Seeing me, Sophia rushed to the front of her cell, her arms wrapped around the silver bars. I could hear the burning in her body as she gripped the metal, but her eyes burned with such fierce helplessness that I wanted to comfort her. Instead, I had to remain calm—indifferent to my best friend’s pleas.
Two guards stood at the end of the cell, two more at the entrance. I didn’t look at the guards, letting them wander lazily.
“Zara?” she breathed out, her voice hoarse. “Zara, what are you doing here? You can’t be here; they’re using you. They’re using us to get to you p>
The hardest part of all this was not looking her in the eyes, pretending she didn’t exist, that she meant nothing. I wanted to throw myself on the floor and fight with all my might until she was released from the cell. I glanced at her face, frozen and indifferent.
“I’m afraid you’re wasting your energy, she-wolf,” Marcus sighed, though he didn’t look too upset. “She can’t hear you, not really p>
She turned her gaze to Marcus, practically breathing fire as she growled at him. Govinda didn’t follow her gaze; his eyes were fixed on me.
“You’ve gotten into her head,” she growled. “Another pathetic attempt to get into her pants and gain a higher position p>
“My position is secure, but enjoy your freedom,” Marcus chuckled. “While it lasts p>
“Will he really let them go?” I asked silently, pinpointing Marcus’s location, the one I’d assigned him.