Evie nearly laughed. How could creatures that were danger incarnate possibly know what was safe? They were lying. The promise Natalya made back at Varro’s estate was just a means of getting her away from him. Evie was rare, after all. She’d been lucky to be with Varro and not some other Regent who’d be half as merciful as he was.
Evie struggled against Natalya, trying to shove her off, and was unable to. She was probably trying to force emotion into Evie again. To make her compliant.
Panic rose in her at the thought. The car was shrinking. Her ribs were contracting, crushing her lungs and turning her breathing labored. If only she could get out of the car.
“She’s making it real hard to drive straight,” Flea said stiffly as Evie kicked the back of his seat.
“I can’t look at this.” Diana turned away, her face twisted in an angry grimace. “Fuck all of them.”
“Natalya, can’t you do something?” Cassius said.
“I amtrying. She’s resisting me.” Natalya’s grip tightened. “Evie!”
Natalya’s voice was sharp, the tone making Evie look at her. Her violet eyes were rapidly turning scarlet.
“We have a long way to go, and I’m not letting you get out of this car. You’resafehere. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You’re lying!” Evie turned away. She didn’t want to look at Natalya and her frightening, bright eyes. “You’re lying…”
Natalya was quiet for a moment. Then her face changed into a regretful but determined mask.
“I’m going to make you fall asleep. That way, you won’t have to be scared. You’ll only feel it for a moment.”
“No,” Evie whispered, terror giving her new energy to struggle hopelessly against Natalya’s grip. “No, I’ll be good. I’ll stop. Just don’t hurt me, please. I won’t fight you anymore.”
Natalya’s face was set. Everyone in the car was quiet.
“Sleep.” Then Natalya leaned in and pressed her lips against Evie’s.
The act summoned paralyzing fear, as she knew what usually followed it. Chill, and teeth, and pain. None of it came. Instead, there was a jolt as a rush of electricity surged through her body, waking nerves until she sensed everything with keen intensity. The ruggedness of the car seat, the smell of sweat and blood, the warmth of Natalya’s hands on her skin.
The intensity faded in favor of a soothing sensation moving through her, flowing with the blood in her veins. Natalya’s mouth was soft and gentle. Her tongue pressed against Evie’s lips and, without thinking, Evie parted them.
As she let Natalya in, warm numbness spread from her lips, rolling through her body like the wave of calm Natalya had produced earlier. Except now, it brought weakness and fatigue with it.
Her arms, still held by Natalya to stop her from fighting back, were heavy. They fell to rest at her sides, guided down by Natalya’s hands on her wrists. Evie slumped against the car seat, sighing as her body went slack. It was like life had been siphoned out of her. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so exhausted.
As Natalya pulled away, Evie struggled to keep her eyes open.
“I’m so sorry, Evie,” Natalya said. It was the last thing she heard before Natalya trailed her fingers over Evie’s eyelids, and she fell into unconsciousness.
Chapter 5
When Evie woke, it was from a ray of sunlight shining into her eyes. It startled her awake, and for a moment, she thought it came from a flashlight. It wasn’t until she felt its warmth she realized what it was. It had been over a year since she’d woken to a sunrise.
She was on a velvet couch in an office. Paintings with sensual motifs in steel frames hung on the walls. An elegant desk was across from the couch, and golden light cascaded onto it from a huge floor-to-ceiling window.
Evie sat up, only then realizing she was wrapped in a blanket. She was wearing the same clothes as when they left Varro’s estate. A thong, the mostly see-through bra, and then the flannel Natalya gave her.
Thinking of Natalya started fear in her again. The last thing Evie remembered was her trying to get out of the car, and then Natalya…
Evie put her fingers to her lips. She had never been kissed like that before, not in a way where it felt like it touched every cell in her body. She had gotten used to cold lips against hers. She wasn’t used to feeling something so lovely.
Lovely, but uninvited. And frightening. The kiss had pulled consciousness from her as easily as when vampires enthralled her.Easier, actually. It even felt similar. A gap in her memory, with only bruises and aches left for her to fill in the blanks.
Evie inspected herself. No marks. No new ones, at least. How long had she been asleep?
With the thought of Natalya and her stealing Evie’s consciousness fresh in her mind, Evie went to the door, finding it locked. It confirmed her fear. The office may not look like a cell, but it was one just as effectively.
