There is no part of me that thinks otherwise. Even as a teen, I would have been smart enough to laugh at her and run. “Alright, then why the fucking dramatics? Why not just do it yourself since you were going to force it on me anyway?”
She sighs and scoots closer, her hip pressing against mine, theproximity both intrusive and deliberate. Every nerve in my body screams against the closeness, the unnerving tension of her lingering too long in a space that feels far too personal.
I can’t stop myself from glaring at her.Why is she so close? And why does it feel so… sensual?
I clench my jaw, the rigidness in my spine a stark contrast to her relaxed posture. My tail flicks against my bound arms and I wish I knew how to control the thing. I may be able to get out of these restraints with it.
“I was going to be your savior.” My eyes widen in shock. “I’d have come to dig you up, acted like your hero… and then, Xeraphine, you would have seen just how evil this world was.”
Holy shit…
“Those Shifters would have been long dead by then,” she continues, her tone smooth and calculating. “And I’d have convinced you that the only way to truly avenge what they did to you was to help me usher in a new world. A world only you could create.” Her lips curl into a chilling smile. “I’d have made you believe you were the most powerful being alive, destined to become the new Proserpina—the mother of our kind.”
The twisting knots in my stomach churn violently, nausea rising with each second. Deep down, I know her words hold truth. Tyson’s son had been my hero, the one to pull me from that grave. And I can only imagine after one hundred years what I would have done for Tali.
Oh my Gods…
“Now I have to force breed you, and you are making it so fucking difficult.”
I have no words. In this moment, my mind fractures, the fragile glass I’d painstakingly held together shattering into countless, irreparable pieces. There was no part of my fate that had been safe from her grasp. Destiny, that merciless bitch—I’d carve out her throat myself if I could.
“I’m going to bring them back in here, and they are going to fuck you until we have been successful again.” A tight grip on my hair jerks my head back as she sits higher up on her knees. “But I’m going to join this time.”
The full body vibration my being goes through makes me whimper. “No.”
“Archer is basically your cousin. There is no difference. Our kind has been fucking each other since the dawn of our existence. Belial fucked Proserpina, which was his daughter, to create us.” She runs her tongue along her upper teeth, the double fangs pressing outward. “I’ve been needing to feast, and I just know feeding from you will be so satisfying.”
My jaw clenches. “Sick bitch.” My mouth is dry, and utterly devoid of saliva, so I don’t even attempt to spit at her, even if it’s what I desperately want to do.
“You’ll learn that I have ways of torturing you. Don’t want me to be the one to fuck that cunt of yours, Daughter, do as you are told.” My shoulders jerk as her tongue draws across my lips, my head still taunt in her grasp. “Say you understand.”
“I cannot wait to make you suffer,bitch,” I seethe through clenched teeth.
Her laughter is loud and unrestrained, echoing through the space as she throws her head back with its intensity. The sound sends a chill through me, mocking and cruel.
Her grip on my hair tightens further, and I feel the sharp sting as strands strain against my scalp, threatening to tear free. A cold, pointed sensation traces across my inner thigh, causing me to attempt to squirm from it, which has me pulling hard on the restraints digging into my arms. The bar holds firm, not giving in any way. It reminds me that I am helpless here, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“Oh, my fiery, fierce daughter.” She lets out a loud whistle, before leaning into me. “We’ll see how smart that mouth is when all you’ll be thinking about is how your mother fucked you?—”
I scream so loud my ears pop. It gets caught in my throat nearly immediately and is replaced with a sharp gasp as a piercing pain rushes through me. The point of impact sears at my neck, radiating down my spine like fire crawling under my skin.
She bit me… right where Kairhyse was meant to—right where he was supposed to claim me. The thought alone sends a wave of nausea crashing over me, twisting with anger and ache.
“No…”
I let my head fall back; my gaze fixated on the ceiling as black bleeds into the edges of my vision.
“Cinnamon…”
The sound of footsteps echo around me, but I force myself beyond this room—away from the pain, away from her grip. I separate my mind from my body, retreating into a distant memory.
I’m standing on Kai’s balcony again, the city sprawling beneath me, and it’s his feet I hear instead of those assholes.
I’d pushed him away before, but not now, not in this place. In my mind, I welcome him as he steps behind me, his arms holding me close.
“Is my little demon ready for bed?”
I close my eyes, leaning into his embrace as if I’m someone else.
