The Darkest Craving (Lords of the Underworld #10)(80)
Author: Gena Showalter

“Kane,” she shouted.

The lady next to her jolted back, as if she’d gone insane.

“Kane,” she shouted again. There was no response.

He’d…abandoned her? Decided she was too much trouble?

“Someone must have flashed him away,” a voice said from behind her. “How perfect. We’ve been looking for you, female.”

Trying not to cry out, she whipped around and faced the male from her nightmares. The handsome Red, capable of morphing into the monster she’d drawn into herself.

First rule of fighting, she thought, recalling Kane’s rules. Act casual. “I don’t know why. I want nothing to do with you.”

“We wish to spend time with you.”

Anger burned through her. “I advise you to reconsider. I’m a biter.”

His brothers stepped up beside him, flanking him, and all three stared at her with rapt fascination.

“For you, I won’t mind teeth marks,” Black replied.

Humans continued to walk around her, the females stopping to give the warriors a second and third glance, as if interested in exchanging numbers, before realizing the males weren’t the type to be played with and hurrying away.

Refusing to back down, she said, “I know what you really want, and my answer is no. My ability only works with my consent.”

Red offered her a slow smile. “Getting your consent won’t be a problem.”

If he’d hoped to intimidate her, well, he’d just done a great job. She was certain there had never been a colder smile.

Second rule of fighting. Don’t be afraid to show off your weapons. Sometimes fear will drive people away. “I’m willing to fight for my freedom,” she said, proud of her lack of quivering. She withdrew the blade Kane had given her. Where was he?

“You’ll lose,” Red replied matter-of-factly. “But don’t worry. We’ll be careful with you.”

Black and Green nodded.

Dread nearly knocked her off her feet.

They approached.

* * *

KANE APPEARED IN the exact spot he’d left. Only, Tink wasn’t there. He rushed to Sabin’s apartment, gaze constantly scanning, searching for any sign of her. Every second was agony. When he reached his destination, he burst through the doors.

Lucien jumped up from the couch, frowned. “Where’s the girl?”

“I don’t know.” About to hyperventilate, Kane plowed a hand through his hair. “I have to find her.”

The Rainbow Rejects wouldn’t kill her, he knew that much, but oh, she might want to die when they finished with her. She could be in pain, right that very moment, and the thought tortured him.

“Get Torin on the phone,” he croaked. “I need to know what happened, and I don’t care how many databases and security systems he has to hack into to find out.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The Realm of Blood and Shadows

IT DIDN’T TAKE Torin long to dig up the video Lucien had requested for Kane. “I’m sorry. Just one second longer,” he said, then messaged the footage to the pair. That done, he swiveled his chair around.

First, his gaze hit the painting still resting beside his door. He hadn’t peeked.

Second, the female sitting at the edge of his bed.

The mystery of her name had not yet been solved, even though she’d come every day, as promised. In an effort to relax her, he hadn’t pressed her for information, but had allowed her to watch him as he researched the Paring Rod, looking for answers about Cameo and Viola, all the while getting to know his mannerisms, his habits. He’d fed her. He’d allowed her to wander around the confines of the room.

What would crack her hard shell?

“You’re very good to your friends,” she said.

“They’re very good to me right back.”

“You love them.”

“Very much.”

She nibbled on the end of a strawberry he’d given her, licked the juice from her fingers. “I have a friend.” A beat of silence. “I miss her.”

Finally. Personal information. Easy. Don’t push too hard, too fast. “She’s…gone?”

“No. I see her every day, and I speak to her, but there are always prying eyes and ears, so our conversations are limited.”

“Who pries?” he asked, treading lightly.

“The others.”

That told him nothing—but it was a start. “The others listen to you and your friend….” He propped his elbows on his knees, trying to appear relaxed rather than foaming-at-the-mouth eager. “What’s her name?”

“It’d probably be better if you didn’t know,” she said. “But…I’ll tell you mine.”

“Please,” he rushed out.

“I’m…Mari.”

Excitement at learning this new detail nearly shot him out of his chair to fist bump the ceiling. “Where do you come from, Mari?”

“The…past,” she whispered, looking down at her bare feet.

“I don’t understand. The past?”

“Cronus plucked me from long ago and imprisoned me in one of his homes. I don’t know how many years passed before my friend was placed in the cell across from mine. I can’t visit her, and she can’t visit me. We can only talk to each other through the bars.”

A prison? He withdrew the mental files he’d kept on her, and compared those with what he saw now. Her pale hair was tangled each new day, her skin streaked with dirt, despite the showers she’d taken here. But the fear had slowly faded from her eyes, and the food she’d eaten had caused her cheeks to fill out.

“Cronus is dead,” he said. “You don’t have to return. You can stay here without fear.”

“You still don’t understand. We’re stuck there, tethered somehow. We have no water, no food and have only managed to survive…I’m not sure how. He must have done something to us.”

Yeah. There were ways to keep prisoners nourished without actually feeding them. Ways that kept the prisoners docile and weak.

“We’ve tried to dig our way free, but so far, we’ve had no luck. I can flash in and out to meet with you, because Cronus made the allowance before he died, but no one else can leave, even through a flash.”

Rage started little fires in his bloodstream. He still had no idea what “from the past” meant—actual time travel? Or was she an immortal Cronus had found in, say, the Middle Ages, and the monarch had kept her imprisoned all these centuries?