We have him. He can’t escape now.
Steps thunder closer, just outside in the corridor. It’s Kayn’s turn to grin. He turns in that direction.
“No!” I bark. “Don’t let him escape! Close the door!”
Mei runs in the background, close to the shelves. Ren turns to her in slow-motion, but Kayn is much faster. He sees her, and he sees his last chance to make us suffer.
Tristan has been waiting for this. His hand falls between Kayn’s shoulder blades and he grabs him by the back of the shirt, jerking him back. Kayn gasps as the collar chokes him, stumbling back. Mei races toward the door. Ren follows her. I grip Kayn’s arm and throw him back, farther away from the door. He glares at me, pure hatred in his eyes. He searches for something in his belt. I don’t give a shit. He can shoot me, and I’ll still want to rip a piece off him. I punch him once. Tristan lets him go.
Kayn lifts something in his hand. A vial or some kind of small glass container. The red liquid inside it swirls violently as he lifts his hand, stumbling another step back. I don’t know what that is, and I don’t give a fuck. Taking another step, I close the distance between us to slit his throat open with my teeth. The vial drops, coming in my direction.
Someone elbows me on the side, hard. I lose my balance, falling to my left. When I lift my gaze to curse at the person, I see the vial exploding on Donatello’s face. He pushed me out of the way, but why? Did he think I couldn’t take it?
“What the fuck?” I roar, shooting to my feet. Donatello collapses, the red liquid staining his cheeks as he slams his eyes shut, then covers them with his hands. He bares his teeth, seething. I ignore this vampire in favor of his progenitor.
Kayn turns on his heel, the smirk on his face making me nauseous. He aims for the window behind him and jumps out of it. The glass shatters, flying out with his body.
“What was that?” Ren cries out in the distance.
I race to the window and look out into the dark gardens. “Motherfucker jumped out!” And I can’t see him. Even with my improved vision, even if he’s just jumped, I can’t fucking see him. “He escaped!” My blood boils in my veins as I whirl around to Donatello, still kneeling on the ground. “What was that supposed to be?” I spit in his direction.
Someone kicks the door. More than one someone. Several fists bang on the wood. Fuck. They caught up to us. And Kayn will have minutes to come inside once more and besiege us in this room.
Ren and Mei run back to us. Ren cradles his side as he stumbles to Donatello. “We barricaded the door,” the wolf shifter says, jutting a thumb over his shoulder. “Desks and chairs, but it won’t hold for long.” He grabs Donatello around the shoulders and makes him stand.
“What do we do now?” Tristan asks, glancing between Oreo and me. “We’re stuck.”
I look around the room and see Cassandra’s body. We made it. We have her body. But at what cost?
CHAPTER25
CASSANDRA
One thing about being in prison is that you can analyze every choice and mistake you’ve ever made in your entire life. There’s time for that. And here in the Abyss, it feels like time doesn’t run at all. It’s stuck dancing in front of me, teasing me. Boring me halfway to death.
Why is it taking so long?
I get to my feet and stretch my limbs. Even when I don’t have a proper body, it still annoys me to stay in the same position for so long. For hours, or days, or however long it’s been since they threw me in this cage. No one brought me food or water since I don’t need them, and I’m tired of forcing myself to sleep. Though my muscles don’t exactly ache from the hard ground, it’s not comfortable to lie down.
Apart from sleeping, there’s nothing to do here. Whatever creature is locked in the cell farthest from me, its breath is the only thing I hear. It either doesn’t speak or doesn’t speak my language. Anyway, it never responded when I called. Not even to tell me to shut up.
Zaki never came back, either. I wonder if he’s given up on his facade already. He was almost convincing when he came to tell me he’d break me out, but I see no results. Maybe he’s already left, back to the Devil’s palace and his parties, and a bunch of succubi climbing on top of him.
A weird kind of heat coils inside me. No, I’m not jealous. I curl my lip, looking away, forcing myself to think of anything that’s not Zaki. This strange connection between us has no explanation, but I still can’t accept he’s a mate of mine or something of the sort. I can’t because I don’t want to deal with more pain right now.
Stretching an arm, I point my fingers at the shadows in the corner. “Come on,” I hiss at them, squinting as I put all the effort in my body into sucking them. I want them to move, to swirl, anything. Anything. Just an inch.Please.
Nothing happens. The shadows are still shadows, clinging to the corners where the light doesn’t hit. I drop my arm, disappointment tasting bitter on my tongue. Why do I keep trying? Why do I still have hope when I’ve been told repeatedly that my powers belong in my body? That’s the entire reason Kayn’s up there, looking for a necromancer to bring me back to life.
It’s so frustrating. From the moment these powers came to me, I hated them. I feared them and what they might do to my men, to the people around me. Because I was inexperienced, I almost killed all of us in that car crash. What would have happened if things were slightly different and I had come up to the road to find both Apollo and Donatello dead?
My body quivers at the thought. I hug myself, closing my eyes. Even to think about it hurts. If I had killed them, maybe I would have understood Kayn better. Maybe that would have been my villain backstory.
Sinking my teeth onto my lower lip, I open my eyes, facing the dark wall. No, that didn’t happen. It didn’t happen, and because I survived, I learned how to use the powers of a Shadow Mage. It wasn’t easy, and I’m far from being good at it, but these powers kept us alive. They protected my mates, and they helped me free all those people at the Little Palace. Because of these powers, several others have a new chance.
That makes it worth it.
These powers aren’t evil. Shadows aren’t bad, they’re just a natural part of the world, just like the light. They’re necessary, and they can be beautiful. It all depends on how I use them.