My head whips to the side as an anvil collides with the sideof it. Pain explodes in my face, and I swear I hear something in my skull crack.
Augustus’ other hand strikes next, whipping my face to the other side. A startled, pained scream shutters over my lips. And in the next moment, Augustus grips me by the front of my shirt, hauling me out of the chair, only it’s still tied to my ankles, so it drags across the floor as he hauls me up and then pins me against a wall.
“If you taste the way you smell, you will more than make up for what was lost,” he says, his words coming out nearly delirious with glee. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
One startled gasp of fear and pain escapes my lips as sharp points pierce my skin.
And then I can’t explain it.
My body goes numb. Still. Calm.
My mind stops.
I’m aware of the sensation of blood leaving my body. Augustus sucks, drawing my blood out of me, his lips latched to my neck.
But I feel nothing.
I am nothing.
Nothing exists.
The world has ended.
And all is quiet and still.
It’s kind of peaceful in this nothing. I think I get it now, why that sad girl knowingly went to the Red parties to be fed on. There is no joy here, no happiness, but there’s also no pain, no remorse, no sadness. I just dissolve into the universe.
But suddenly, the numbness lessens, and my feet hit the floor as Augustus releases me. Only my legscan’t hold me, and I drop to the floor, my back roughly sliding down the wall behind me.
“Oh, you will fetch a price,” Augustus says, licking at the corners of his mouth. And my head spins at the red I see there. Blood. My blood.
My heart rate picks up. The world tilts just a little.
You can’t fall apart now, Lana. It’s just blood. It’s. Just. Blood.
I shake my head, take a deep breath, and square my shoulders.
Ares checked for cameras when we went to that warehouse. He might not have seen them, but they were absolutely there. Augustus knows exactly what we did. And I will pay the price for it.
“You could have had it all,” Augustus says as he once more grips me by the front of my shirt. He hauls me up as if I weigh nothing, righting my chair and roughly dropping me back down on it. “Ares would have settled into his position as a Baron. You could have stood at his side, supported him, bore him the children who would have helped establish this city. You could have had a very comfortable life. My son would have taken care of you. Instead, you twisted him. You turned him against his legacy. So, in the end, this cannot be blamed on anyone but yourself, Lana.”
“You’re a sick, twisted fuck,” I spit, my words slightly slurred as his venom lingers in my blood. “Ares is nothing like you, and he never will be. I only wish I could be there to watch him rip your cold, dead heart out.”
Augustus chuckles. “Ah, the naiveté of early love. You’ve known my son for a few months and assume you know himbest. I’ve groomed him for years. When it comes down to it, Ares will realize his place. Money. Power. Influence. There’s a reason they’ve had a chokehold on the world for all of time. I only wish to see him rise to his full potential. Why would you hold him back?”
There is no reasoning with Augustus. This man’s heart is black all the way through.
“Ophelia Bennett,” I say, changing the course of the conversation. “Who did you sell her to?”
Augustus turns, looking over his shoulder at me with a smile. “You think I know any of their names? You think I memorize every purchase? Come, Lana. I thought you were beginning to understand me.”
“You bastard,” I say as tears sting my eyes. I shake my head. I will not let them fall. I will not let this monster see me cry.
He doesn’t acknowledge my insult, he turns back toward me, and from his pocket, he draws a knife. And my heart goes into overdrive as he stalks back toward me. My eyes widen as I take in his form, bathed in red light, his eyes glowing brilliantly. My whole body tenses as he stops before me.
But he crouches, and cuts the ropes from my ankles.
“I want you to get comfortable,” he says as he looks up into my eyes. “Enjoy your last few days of ease, Miss Kincade. The transaction is already finished. Only travel arrangements remain. Your buyer will be here in two days to take you to your new home.”
