The Last Witch: Volume Three

As I lay on the cold floor of the bathroom, the room lights up sporadically with vibrant colours. I try to ignore the horror that is happening to me. Ryan’s weight is unbearable. The stench of his breath, nauseating.

Why can’t I get out of here? Why must I relive this over and over? I see her again, standing by the door in her wedding dress screaming at me, telling me to WAKE UP!

The explosion of more fireworks shakes the thin glass in the frail window frame, and her eyes fixate in its direction. Just as they’ve done over a thousand times now. My nightmare, stuck on repeat, replaying the first night Ryan raped me over and over again and each replay fails to hold any less of its original anguish. I remember my reality as the assault comes to an end. I remember everything, and each time I do, it all becomes more apparent.

I’m trapped. Stuck inside myself and forced to relive my trauma again and again. She’s keeping me captive. Distracted by my horrors, so I don’t remember that I need to get out of this mouldy bathroom, reclaim my soul and return to my family. To my unborn baby. To the second Bloodstone. The second part of the spell which will save us all.

My older-self is entranced once more by the fireworks. Just as I was all those years ago when I snuck down here to watch them. Her arms are loose by her side as she leaves me behind to watch them.

Ryan disappears, and as I sit up, I know that he’ll reappear behind me any second, blocking the doorway. And the fear of his appearance will start this loop all over again. I’ll fade and become the fourteen-year-old girl watching fireworks out of the window instead of the twenty-two-year-old Arcane Witch with the fate of hundreds of thousands on her shoulders and a family that needs to be saved.

A baby that needs a mother with a soul. Not whatever is currently cradling my bump right now.

‘You shouldn’t be in here,’ Ryan says from the doorway as he has done over a thousand times before. Any second now, I’ll forget it all. I’ll become that child again, whose innocence was violently stolen on New Year’s Day as fireworks covered the sounds of her screams. I’ll forget that I escaped here, many years from now. That I met Gabriel. That I married him and that I’m having his child. That I’m loved and needed. That I’m strong and powerful. Not just an abused and traumatised child, pinned down on the bathroom floor of her tyrant uncle’s home.

Ryan steps closer as the other version of me slides down the wall, no longer in her bloodied wedding dress but in her oversized t-shirt. I know I’m going to disappear any second.

I close my eyes, sigh, and already feel myself fading.

‘I’ll kill her!’ a voice echoes from out in the hallway. ‘You leave here now, Witch! Or I swear, I’ll kill her!’ His voice is accompanied by blinding images of a little girl with a knife at her throat. They strike vividly across my eyes, forcing me to seal them shut. ‘She was gonna be one of our big-ticket items,’ he says darkly. ‘But I’ll slit her pretty little fucking throat if I must.’

The sound of a child’s whimper makes me reopen my eyes. In the hallway, a little blonde girl is dragged out of sight. A little blonde girl I recognise.

‘Daisy-girl?’ I whisper. Her tiny feet disappear beyond the door, but her fearful sobbing carries on. ‘WAIT!’

What is she doing in here? Whatever it is that has manifested her here, it’s far from good. When I attempt to pass Ryan and follow her, he blocks my path at every turn. He doesn’t even look at me as he does. He doesn’t even seem to be doing it intentionally! He’s just… there!

I step back. I dig my feet into the tiles and run towards the door. This time, I tell myself. This time I’ll make it before I flicker out of sight. I’ve tried this countless times. To run away. To get past Ryan before I forget where I am and start this torturous loop all over again. But I never get past him. He’s in the way no matter where I go.

But this time I will because Daisy-girl needs me out there.

Her delicate cry urges me on, and I crash through the form of Harry Ryan Junior and for the first time in over a thousand attempts, I break the cycle and appear in the hallway. The man who holds Daisy-girl is hidden in shadow, but her face I see. The small bead of blood trickling down her neck, I see. With a flick of my hand I send him away, and I materialise in front of her, catching her as she falls. Safe in my arms, I heal her cut.

‘It’s okay sweetheart,’ I tell her. ‘You’re safe now.’

She falls asleep in my embrace and then fades into smoke. I’m left alone in a darkened hallway—a long and endless narrow passage with grime-covered walls and no windows or doors.

I call out for her, but I don’t see her at all. Back on my feet, I start to walk. I begin to run. My bare feet slap against the stone floor and my heavy breathing echoes all around me.

‘Hello?’ I call out. ‘HELLO?’

Nothing. No one.

I stop to catch my breath, clutching the stitch in my side.

‘IS ANYONE THERE?!’

Where the hell am I now?

‘There is no helping her.’ A voice echoes down the hall. ‘She’s killed too many. She killed our baby. She took my wife’s soul. There’s nothing good in her.’

I spin so fast I almost fall.

‘Gabriel?’ I dare say aloud, frightened that by saying his name, I may jinx it all together. But I’m sure it was his voice that I just heard. In the distance, at the far end of this never-ending corridor, I see him standing over me. He has a gun pointed at my head.

‘What the fuck is he doing?’ I hiss, looking at my husband brandishing his deadly weapon at his pregnant wife’s head. ‘HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?’

‘Give her back to me,’ he orders. ‘Or I swear to God, I will shoot you.’

‘She’s n-not here,’ she replies, lying at his feet.

‘GIVE HER BACK!’ he roars.

Her laugh is weak and unfazed.

‘I compel you to undo your Break. I compel you-’

‘You’ll just have to kill me.’

‘Lilly? If you are still in there, forgive me. I’m sorry, but I can’t let her carry on killing like this. And she’s too strong to keep prisoner.’ Tears tumble down his cheeks.

The sound of his gun clicking as he cocks it is so loud, I duck in case he suddenly appears beside me. But he’s still there. With her-me-her. Fuck I don’t know. Her hair is white, and she’s laughing like an evil sadist.

‘You aborted our baby girl!’’ he says.

‘What?’ I snap. ‘No, I didn’t! NO I DIDN’T! SHE DIDN’T!’ I start sprinting towards them both as fast as my legs will carry me and harder than my lungs can take. ‘STOP! STOP, GABRIEL! STOOOOOOOOP!’

Gabriel readies the trigger, just as I leap between them, my feet standing in her chest like a ghostly apparition.

‘SHE’S LYING! WE’RE STILL HERE! I’M STILL PREGNANT!’ I scream at him. And she screams it too. But the gunshot sounds, and everything goes a blinding white.

∞∞∞

As I start to wake, the ever-familiar swirling of my stomach brings bile to my throat. I’ve not yet opened my eyes nor moved a single muscle, but already I feel as if I’ve been hurled around the room a thousand times over and spun in circles a hundred times more. I groan as I try to encourage some moisture into my dry and foul-tasting mouth.

Morning sickness fails to get any more bearable. It’s been three months since I found out I was pregnant and every morning it’s the same: nausea, puking and exhaustion.

As more of my senses return from this unusually deep and heavy sleep, I notice a dank and musty smell invading my nostrils. It encourages another flip of my stomach. Slowly, I stretch out my legs and gently sit myself upright. Each blink is hard work. The unfamiliar room continues to swirl. But I know that I’m sat with my back against a hard wall. That I’m cold. That I ache and that my head thumps. And when I hear feet shuffling on a stone floor, I know that I’m not alone. Gabriel clears his throat as he continues to pace around the room while I try in vain to get my senses back in order. My eyes refuse to open. My head seems like it’s made of lead. And I can’t feel his magic, so I know that I’m far from my usual self.

But then, as I think on it through this jumbled mess of thoughts and senses, I recall that I didn’t sense him back at the auction either.

‘How are you feeling?’ he asks coldly as I start to move. ‘You need some water or something?’

‘It’s a good job you’re a crap shot,’ I tell him with a playful chuckle, despite how my words slur. ‘Or else the only thing I would be needing is a body bag.’

‘I can’t believe you put a glamour on yourself. Hiding your bump so no one can see it and making me believe you aborted my child? You’re playing a dangerous fucking game.’

‘Clearly.’ I raise my hand and feel the side of my face which stings. It’s swollen and bloody, but sewn up and cleaned. The smell of antiseptic is pungent. ‘I nearly got a bullet through the eyes.’

‘No, you didn’t,’ he tells me. ‘I wasn’t really going to shoot you.’ I hear him take a few steps closer. ‘I was just trying to scare your humanity back.’

‘Did it work?’ I tease, knowing full well that my hair is still ashen and my eyes lilac. His silent pouting makes me giggle. ‘How did you track me down? Toby tell you where we were?’

‘He may have. To be fair, you’ve not exactly been hiding, have you? Tracking you down was never the problem. Getting close enough to get you without you killing me… that was the tricky part.’

I try once more to open my eyes and lift my head fully, but it continues to loll forwards and each blink is just as long as the last. Gabriel takes a few steps towards me. I feel his hands rest on my shoulders as he keeps me from slumping forwards any further. Gently, he guides me back up and lifts my head, leaning it against the wall as he sweeps my hair clear from my face. I try to open my eyes, but the room seems submerged in a blinding light that burns each time I force my lids open. I see his blurred silhouette and feel how his fingers stroke my hair out of my eyes. He gives up the pretence of tidying me up and lays his palm flat on my cheek as he lets out a long sigh of relief.

‘But I’ve got you now. Finally.’

‘Is this any way to treat your pregnant wife?’ I slur. ‘I’m the Arcane. Pissing me off is a terrible idea. You’re either stupid or desperate.’

‘Desperate,’ he replies quickly. ‘I’m not ashamed to admit that. Not one bit. You’ve made me into one desperate bastard.’

‘A very unattractive trait.’

‘Coming from the girl who had me think she aborted our baby.’

‘I was sick of you trying to save me. I don’t need saving. And even if I did, you wouldn’t be my hero. You can’t even keep your castrated and branded brother locked up. He escaped, and you didn’t even tell me.’

‘I tried to tell you. It’s not like you were taking my calls. I’ll get Grayson back. He won’t touch you.’

As I raise my hands to shove him away, a sound echoes around me. One I loathe. Chains… rattling. My hands are held together in thick iron cuffs with a chain tethering me to the wall. The more I rouse from my compelled sleep, the more I become aware of my situation and surroundings.

And of the extra weight I have around my neck.

I lift my bound hands and feel something around my neck.

A collar! I’m in a large metal collar!

I lift my head and force open my eyes. Burning brightness be damned. Slowly, the blurs and blinding haze start to clear. Gabriel’s crouched in front of me, one hand on my shoulder, the other still rested on my cheek.

‘I would be inclined to say you’re more fucking stupid than desperate,’ I spit venomously. ‘Taking me and chaining me up. Just as Tobias did when he forced me to watch videos of my rapes over and over. Does it make you feel good? Degrading me? Taking my freedom?’ I hurl my words at him, hoping they cut deep. He doesn’t react. That annoys me more than the restraints. ‘You truly are brothers. You know that, don’t you? You’ve even put me in a collar, just as he did. Like a fucking dog!’ He simply lets me spit my venom. ‘You are a stupid, suicidal fool for daring…. Oh… shit…’ My entire body lurches as I heave. I feel the violent expulsion forcing its way up my throat, causing my legs to kick out as I judder. He places a bowl below my chin just in time for me to vomit into it.

As I continue being violently ill, I lose my balance and start to slump forwards—the added weight of the collar dragging me down. But I continue with my threats.

‘I’m going to-’

Vomit.

‘You’re a dead man-’

More vomit.

‘A DEAD-’

Some pretty painful retching.

‘Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You’re going to kill me for this. Understood. Now, stop threatening to tear me a new one and focus on not missing the bowl,’ Gabriel says softly, resting his hands on my shoulders and keeping me upright. ‘I’ve got you.’

‘Got me?’ I hiss, spitting into the bowl and groaning at how dreadful I feel. ‘Kidnapped me, more like! Oh… you’re going to pay for this. You’re going to pay big time!’ My spiteful laugh is cut short with more retching. My head falls onto his shoulder as he keeps me up, taking all my weight as I struggle to regain control over my body. His familiar scent, sandalwood and vanilla, triggers something deeply primitive inside me, making me feel a deep-rooted longing for his touch. I sink further into his chest without even thinking about it.

He leans down and kisses the top of my head.

‘That’s it. It’s all normal. All part of being pregnant.’

‘Being kidnapped is not part of being pregnant.’

‘Neither is going on a murderous rampage for months. You left me with no other choice. You refused to see reason. You refused to talk to me without trying to kill me!’

‘And you forget who… and what… you are trying to cage. I’m the Arcane. Chains can’t hold me. Nothing can!’

I reach out with my shackled wrists and wrap my fingers around his throat, summoning my Physical magic and pouring my strength into my hands.

I’ll choke him till he passes out then snap these chains before walking out of here. I’ll leave him to rot in the dark, just as I did with Hendrix and Ava.

But when I squeeze, I hear no air failing to reach his lungs. No pleads for mercy are uttered, and I’m unable to choke the life from his body. He easily prises my pathetic grip away and holds my wrists firmly in his hands, tutting and shaking his head.

‘Less of that, wife.’

‘That’s not possible!’ I whisper, staring at my hands in confusion. ‘I have the strength to tear your head off!’

‘I know. I’ve seen the bodies you’ve been leaving in your wake,’ he replies. ‘You are killing for fun. Not survival.’

‘My entire life has been about survival. Now, I want to have a little fun. I have known nothing but evil people with evil intentions. I learnt my nature from the very best.’

‘You are a Broken witch. This is a sickness. A condition. This isn’t who you are.’

‘Is that what you tell yourself each night? That the woman you love isn’t an evil monster? That she’s good? Deep, deep… deep down? This isn’t a condition. It’s the truth. The world has taken its last bite out of me. Now… it’s my turn. And I am starving.’

‘You’re done now. Because I have got you well and truly on lockdown. You, my love…’ He taps the collar around my neck. ‘You aren’t going anywhere.’

I look down at my chest. Still dangling on a silver chain is my Bloodstone. I feel my magic coursing through me, I know I have it and that he can’t take it from me. Not without his heart stopping. The spell I placed on my Bloodstone necklace means death to any would-be thief.

I lift my head, peering through my ashen hair to meet the electric blue of his eyes.

‘What have you done to me? Why can’t I strangle you?’

‘Words every man longs to hear his wife say,’ he grins. ‘I’m going to assume you’re feeling a little better. That the nausea has passed? Or do you think you’ll need the bowl again?’ He nods to it as it sits beside us on the floor.

‘I asked you a damn question. Answer it!’ I try to hurl him away with my Telekinesis. Nothing. I try it again. He doesn’t move an inch. He actually sniggers as I thrust my hands at him. ‘WHERE IS MY MAGIC?! AND WHY CAN’T I SENSE YOURS?’ I take hold of his hand and channel his power with my Sensativa. But there is no power there to steal! I feel nothing but his skin.

‘You’re not yourself right now, my love. What you have been doing these past months… the killing? Making me believe you aborted our baby? It’s not you. It’s not right, and deep down, you know that. You can’t be trusted with magic. Your own or anyone elses. When this Break is reversed-’

‘It will never be reversed-’

‘When this Break is reversed, I won’t have you burdened with so much guilt you can’t live with it. If keeping you locked away saves your soul, then so be it.’

I lift my head and peer up at his loving and doting face. Christ, I want to punch straight through it. He tucks my hair behind my ear before taking the tangled ends in his fingers, showing me the ashen strands as if presenting evidence.

‘This isn’t you!’

‘Well, this is very you. And apparently, this is very me. Locking me up? It’s very Kendryk. And being in chains is oh so very Lilly.’

‘I don’t plan on keeping you locked up here for long. I’ll get you back real soon and unchain you. I’ll get my real Lilly Hooper back. I’ll give her the freedom she yearns for. I don’t care what it takes or what I have to do-’

‘Funny. Toby said that to me when he chained me up and tormented me. He wanted his real Lilly back too. Are you going to starve me? Hit me? Sleep deprive me? Make me relive past-trauma? Threaten to have a vampire rape me? Maybe you could use his twisted spell on me, the one he tried to do when he captured me in his pit of hell, and turn me into your puppet. I could spend the rest of my life forced to obey your every desire.’

‘I would never do that to you. I would never-’

‘You shot me!’ I gesture to the side of my face.

‘I just grazed you. I told you, I wasn’t actually going to shoot you. I just wanted-’

‘To scare me back to normal. Yeah. I heard you. So, you have me. What now?’

‘I’m gonna bring my wife back.’

‘And how do you plan on doing that?’

‘I’m simply going to do what I’ve always done when I want something.’

He gives me a wink and chews his lower lip.

‘Oh. You’re going to fuck me until I love you again, is that it?’ I giggle darkly. ‘That I could get on board with. But just so you know, your incredible abilities between the sheets won’t bring her back. I’m my own Lilly Hooper now. Or should I say Lilly Kendryk? Seeing as technically, I am your wife,’ I mock, looking at his ring finger. The intricate markings that encircle his digit are identical to mine.

‘Lilly Kendryk sounds perfectly fine to me,’ he says with a shrug. ‘Because yes, you are my wife. And that’s my baby you have growing inside you. We’re one, you and me. You feel it too. Just as you did when we said our vows. You feel our connection. Our magic is linked just as much as our hearts, even if you are Broken. We’ve been through too much to let it end here, and I know that she is still in there somewhere. I can feel it. I’ve seen it.’ He raises my hands to his mouth and plants a lingering kiss on my knuckles before letting them go to pick up the bowl instead. ‘I’ll go wash this out. Just in case you need it again.’

I create my lightning and plan to send it through his skull.

Still on his knees, he lowers his gaze and watches the black and white streaks of lightning weave between my fingers. The corner of his mouth hitches in that half-smile of his.

Shaking his head, he says, ‘I really wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

‘I think I will.’

I let my lightning free and direct it at him with force. But the only one who screams out is me as my lightning refuses to leave my body, and instead surges up my arm. The strength of its voltage causes me to spasm. I stop creating it immediately and clutch my arm to my chest.

With a chuckle, he says, ‘I told you not to-’

‘FUCK YOU, GABRIEL!’ I scream, taking the bowl from his hands and hurling it across the room. He remains calm and passive as he watches my increasing frustration. ‘What have you done to me?’ I take hold of my Bloodstone, reassuring myself that I have it and that I am not helpless. I grip it firmly. My eyes blacken. ‘Let me go, Gabriel!’

He leans forwards and rests his nose against mine, his hands settle on the thick iron cuffs binding my hands together.

‘I order you to let me go!’

The tips of his fingers rest on the lock, and I ready myself for release.

For revenge.

After a long exhale of breath, his eyes peek up through his long, dark lashes and with a smirk, he replies, ‘Nope.’ Then he gets to his feet and walks away.

How is that possible? How is he able to resist my compulsion? I look at my hands and ball them up into fists.

What just happened with my lightning?

What the fuck is going on?!

He casually heads towards the bowl and picks it up, ignoring the splattered vomit lining the floor and wall. He faces me and gestures to the pot.

‘You think you’re gonna be sick anymore?’ he asks.

I glare at him, my chest rising and falling at speed.

‘I’ll give it a clean just in case. Morning sickness can happen at any time of day. Not just the morning,’ he concludes with a shrug, more to himself than to me. He heads across the room, watching his feet as he walks towards a sink at the far side. My eyes never leave him as he turns on the tap.

I return to sitting on my backside and slump with my shoulder against the wall, giving the chain tethering me to it a tug. Nope. I have zero strength. So instead, I take stock of where I am.

It’s an old wine cellar by the looks of it. I’m also guessing I’m underground as there are no windows and a damp, earthy smell lingers in the air. The walls are made of exposed brick and create a large dome tunnel over us. There are a dozen enormous wooden barrels straight ahead of me, all laying on their sides. There are also purpose-built racks displaying vintage wine bottles, all of which are covered in dust. To my far right are stone steps leading upwards and out of sight. The way out, I assume. There are electric lights made to look like old gas lanterns on the wall, and the air is thick with the smell of varnish and oak.

As I watch Gabriel’s back, I reach up and rest my fingers on the Bloodstone still dangling on the chain around my neck. I feel it’s power fueling me, creating the direct link between the Arcane Realm and me. Beneath that is my mother’s necklace. He hasn’t taken it, and it still holds the same force Rebecca Hooper’s wedding ring did, providing me with a source of magic to tap into if I need it. I let a small flame flicker to life on the tip of my finger. The heat burns at my flesh and makes me hiss a sharp intake of breath before I snub it out.

‘Gabriel?’ I call out as calmly as possible. ‘What have you done to me? What’s wrong with my magic?’

Nothing.

‘Why can’t I sense you? My Sensativa isn’t working. I don’t feel your magic.’

He holds out his wrist and gives it a shake. Wrapped around it is a thick piece of leather.

‘Connor Quinn made it,’ he says without even turning to look at me. ‘He calls it a “Cloak”. It’s similar to the delay cuff that you wore after we left Grayson’s clutches. But instead of hiding your location for several hours, it conceals the wearer’s magical presence. Neither you nor the Hunters with their marks can feel our connection to the Arcane Realm.’

‘Sure you didn’t make it so that you could sneak up on me?’

‘The Hunter’s numbers are growing exponentially. We had to find a way to hide. Connor came up with this from notes he read in the journal. It only lasts six hours or so. If we don’t put on a new one, the Hunters sense us and send in an arsenal.’ He waits a moment and then adds, ‘The baby’s fine, by the way. In case you were wondering. Heartbeat is as strong as an ox. I recorded it on my phone. I think it’s the best sound I have ever heard.’

He shuts off the tap and returns to me, kneeling on the floor before handing me back the bowl.

‘I’m curious. Do you care? That she’s okay in there? Or is the bump just an inconvenience to you?’

I refuse to answer.

He reaches his hand into his black leather jacket and gives me a bottle full of bright blue liquid.

‘I’m not drinking anything you give me,’ I state plainly.

‘It’s mouth wash. I read that some pregnant women get an awful metallic taste in their mouth that makes them feel sick. Plus, you’ve been throwing up.’

I look at the bottle suspiciously. Gabriel takes it from me and pours some into his mouth before swirling it around and spitting it back out.

‘See?’ He hands me back the bottle.

I take a swig. The minty freshness makes me feel a hundred times better, and I let out an involuntary moan of delight. I spit it out and take another, gurgling it loudly before leaning over and spitting it out.

‘So, tell me, husband dearest, what’s going on with my magic? What have you done to me? Other than shooting my face, I mean. You know, a gentleman would let me use my magic to heal myself.’

‘And give you the chance to get free and disappear again? I don’t think so. Besides, it’s barely a scratch. Not like mine.’ He runs his finger along the deep scar marking his face. ‘A real shitty wedding gift, if you ask me.’

‘I told you to leave me alone. It’s your fault you didn’t listen.’ I shrug. ‘What’s wrong with my magic?’

‘Nothing.’

I hold out my hand flat and let my fire burn bright. The flames dance and swirl, the black mixing with the white. A Broken witches’ fire. He watches as it turns my skin red and flinches at how I wince against the pain it inflicts. I let it burn until he slams his hands around mine, sealing my palm closed and extinguishing my fire. When he opens my fist, he hisses through his teeth at the red raw skin.

‘Don’t hurt yourself just to prove a point,’ he scorns. ‘This body doesn’t just belong to you right now.’

‘My fire has never once burnt me like that. Tell me what you’ve done or I’ll make you watch as I burn myself over and over.’

As he hesitates, I reignite my fire, letting it flicker between my fingers as I look directly into his eyes.

‘Okay!’ he snaps. ‘Okay. I’ll tell you.’ I put out my fire. His eyes slowly rise and rest on the hefty metal collar around my neck before he nods to it shamefully. ‘It’s called a Justice-Bind.’

‘A what?’

‘It…’ He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. ‘It rebounds a witch’s power. Makes it remain on their body. Any magic you try to use on me will only rebound on you.’

‘Right… and where exactly did you find this rather fetching piece of jewellery? I can’t help but feel that if Grayson had this, I’d have been wearing it a lot sooner. And I have all of Rebecca Hooper’s memories and knowledge of magic swirling around in my head. She knew nothing of this “Justice-Bind”.’

‘Well she wouldn’t.’ He scratches the end of his nose and avoids looking at me. ‘Because Hunters invented it.’

I burst out laughing.

‘You’ve put me in a Hunter’s device?’ I taunt. ‘A fucking Hunter’s device? You know, they tortured our kind to pry these methods from our mouths? They stole children and flayed their flesh in front of their parents to get them to speak of ways to bind our powers.’ I pat the metal collar. ‘Nice, Gabriel. Real nice. You should pop my mask on. Then you would look the part too.’

‘Well, I had no other fucking choice! Did I?!’ he snaps. ‘I can’t take your magic, even if I wanted too, and every time I got close to you, you and that piece of shit brother of mine almost kill me. And I burnt that fucking mask you’ve been strutting around in. It was disgusting. Speaking of Tobias, where is he?’ Gabriel glowers at me and awaits an answer. ‘Where is he, Lilly? Where are Connor and Collins? Why have you taken them?’

I sigh and slap my hands on my thighs.

‘Look. You know full well that you’re not going to keep me – your pregnant wife – locked in a dank wine cellar. And we both know that the longer you keep me down here, the worse it will be for you when I finally do get free. Besides, the Blood Moon is in two days. The second spell must be completed on the Blood Moon and if I don’t perform the spell, we’re all doomed. So. I’m going to make you an offer.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘Let me go now, and I’ll only slightly maim you. Keep me here another minute? I will kill you.’

‘Hmm. Just a light maiming, huh?’

‘Or I’ll kill you. What do you say?’

‘If I let you go, you’ll end up dead.’

‘Is that a threat?’

‘More like a guarantee,’ he says.

I lean forwards, crawling over to him on my hands and knees, stopping when I feel his breath on my skin and the strain of the chain around my neck.

‘You gonna kill me if I don’t behave?’ I ask in a sad little whine. ‘You don’t like it when I’m naughty?’ I lean in and rest my lips on his. I feel his breath quicken as I grin. ‘Oh, Gabriel…’ I whisper. ‘I think you’d enjoy me being naughty with you.’

‘I know you’re looking for Theo.’

My whole body goes rigid with hatred as he says that name. He raises his brow as if waiting for me to dispute his accusation.

‘If you find him, he will kill you,’ he says.

‘He can try.’

‘He’ll succeed.’ Gabriel reaches out once more and tucks my hair behind my ear. His gaze lingers on my lips. ‘Eventually, anyway. First, he will pry the spell to return his lost mistress from the dead from your lips, probably hurting our unborn child in the process, and then he’ll kill you so you can’t stop him. You may be the Arcane. But he has an army of Hunters and has poisoned most of humanity against us. We’re seriously outnumbered. Outgunned. And quickly running out of time.’

‘The Blood Moon approaches,’ I say in a seductive hush, leaning in closer. ‘You know, if I don’t get out of here and complete the next stone when the Blood Moon rises, we’ll be stuck here forever. In a dying world that hates us. I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of keen to leave this place behind.’

‘And I don’t care about anyone or anything else right now except my wife and my baby. You want to perform the spell in two days? Fine. Give her back to me, tell me where my friends are, and I will set you free.’

I move my legs, positioning them so they are either side of his. I feel his arms wrap around my back before he pulls me onto his lap, and gently, I run my fingers up the length of his arms.

‘I hear that you and Jensen have combined forces. That you have merged the Traitors with your precious Nomads?’

I slide myself closer, causing him to moan and close his eyes involuntarily.

‘Tell me, are they here?’ I look at the ceiling. ‘Are they above us? I’ve been meaning to talk to them.’ I start kissing his neck. Goosebumps erupt over his skin.

‘There are no more Traitors, Lilly,’ he says a little breathless, moving so I can gain better access to his neck. ‘There are only the Descendants. And they don’t know where Theo is.’

‘I’d like to ask them myself.’ I nip at his ear and slide my fingers through his hair.

‘Everyone you have asked has died.’

‘Because they wouldn’t tell me.’

He takes hold of my shoulders and holds me back so he can see my face. ‘And there it is. The sharp reminder that you aren’t my wife.’

‘You don’t like me like this?’ I pout out my lower lip. ‘Do you miss the girl who feared being touched because of the years of beatings and rape she suffered?’

‘Don’t-’

‘Do you miss hearing her scream at night? Hearing her cry and sob? Hearing her beg for mercy in her sleep?’

‘Lilly, you-’

‘If that’s what you’re into, I could do some role play. Please… Oh please… don’t hurt me-’

‘Stop it. That’s not funny.’

‘She forgave him, did you know that?’

‘Who?’

‘Your wife forgave Toby, just before she Broke. The man who stole me from you. Who beat me. Who tormented me for years. Who tried to kill your child… She looked him in the eye, and she forgave him.’

‘She forgave Tobias. Not Toby. Just as we will all forgive Lilly Hooper. Not you.’

‘You miss her? Really? Why? She was weak. She was scared. She was pathetic, Gabriel. And you want to know what the most disgusting thing about that stupid, naïve, whiney little bitch was? She longed for me to take her.’

His grip tightens on my arms as he leans back.

‘That’s a fucking lie. She fought hard-’

‘She rolled over like whore on payday,’ I laugh. ‘She’s been begging for a way out for years. Ever since she wrapped that rope around her neck, on the worst day of her life. Well, the worst day of her life so far. She didn’t know then that there were some pretty awful days yet to come. She’s wanted to die for a long, long time. She was just too scared to do it herself. Why else do you think she kept leaping into danger? Running after Toby on her own in her little PJ’s on Christmas Eve? Agreeing to go to Theo, knowing it was a trap-’

‘She chased after Toby to stop him. To try and spare anyone else any more pain. And she came to Theo to save me-’

‘You think she leapt at the chance to save the life of a man who fucked another woman and broke her heart?’ I scoff. ‘No. She leapt at the chance of being killed. To spare herself the difficulty of actually having to do it herself.’ I reach out and take hold of his manhood. ‘I certainly have no intentions of dying, and I have none of the emotional baggage she did. Plus… I’ll let you do all those filthy things I know you love doing to a woman.’ I lean into his ear and whisper, ‘I mean, you are Toby’s big brother after all, and he liked all sorts of nasty-’

‘You’re not Lilly. You’re not even half the woman she is. I know she’s in there and she’s fighting like hell to get control back from you. You’re soulless. Vindictive. Heartless.’

‘Oh, Gabriel,’ I moan, biting my lip. ‘I love it when you talk dirty to me.’

In a quick move, I grab him tight and kiss him hard. My hips roll back and forth, and I feel his body’s reaction to me. When his tongue caresses mine, I know I have him.

Men. They’re so fucking easy-

A burning, sharp pain explodes across my cheek. The strike was so hard, it split my lip and knocked me off Gabriel’s lap. I land on the floor, clasping my face and gasping with shock. Both Gabriel and I look at each other.

Slowly, he gets to his feet and wipes his mouth, removing all remnants of our kiss.

‘You just fucking hit me,’ I growl. ‘How dare you hit me! And a slap? What are you, a fucking child?’

But Gabriel shakes his head and a look of excitement sparkles in his eyes.

‘No. You just slapped yourself.’ He points at me, his hand trembling. ‘She is in there! And she really does not want you kissing me, does she?’

As I rest my palm on my throbbing cheek, I have to take a moment to think.

Was it Gabriel that hit me? Or did I really just strike myself? Was it her? I feel her, clawing away in there. I take a quick look around the room, and Gabriel sees me looking. He’s buzzing now. Full of hope.

‘Do you see her?’ he asks. ‘Like she saw you before you took control? Is that what’s happening? I KNEW IT!’ He claps his hands together and punches the air before dragging his hands through his hair. ‘I knew it. It was her that stepped in and saved Clara.’

‘Who?’

‘The little girl at the auction. Her name is Clara. Her aunt told me what you did. She said you saved her. That you saved them all! That you called Clara sweetheart and told her to go to sleep. She can’t remember any of it, you know? You took Clara’s painful memories away. That was Lilly. Lilly’s heart. Her soul. Not yours. She was in control then.’

I slowly back up, preparing myself for whatever he plans next and too anxious to turn away.

I can’t see her, but she’s close. Lilly Hooper is just beneath the surface. Yes, it was her that saved Clara. It was her that blessed Clara with a long sleep that wiped the child’s memories of all that had occurred that night. I wouldn’t have given two shits if she had died and I certainly wouldn’t have cared to spare her some well earnt PTSD. It was unlikely she had any information that I needed anyway, so why bother saving her and risking harm to myself in the process?

But Lilly Hooper, she would. She would risk everything she loves to save one innocent soul.

God. How pathetic.

‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ he says boldly. Nodding his head and standing over me, his chest puffed out and a dark smile tugging at his lips. ‘She’s close. And I can get her out.’ He settles a hand on my cheek. ‘I’ll fucking drag her out.’