by G. Bailey
Luke stands in front of me and pulls me to him before I can speak. He holds me at arm’s length, studying me with narrowed eyes, and my heart stutters at the look on his face. His eyebrows are drawn together with a harsh crease etched between them, and the way he’s looking at me as I’ll disappear at any moment is unsettling me. I’ve never seen him so…vulnerable before.
“What am I going to do with you, jaybird?”
I frown at him, admittedly embarrassed by lashing out at the guard. If I didn’t do that, he probably wouldn’t have hurt me, and then Axel wouldn’t have got involved.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my cheeks heating. “What’s going to happen?”
Just as Luke opens his mouth, Gold stands from his chair and motions more guards over. He’s holding a scroll in his hand wrapped in scarlet ribbon. In the far corner of the hall, I spot a white wolf looking at me. Its lips pull back into a snarl. Don’t tell me Eva’s got a wolf messenger now? Gods, I wouldn’t be surprised. She probably has a white one just to piss me off since it feels like an eternity ago that I last shifted into my wolf form.
Luke snaps his head to the side as if listening for something. It’s then I realise he’s got an earpiece in.”No matter what, jaybird, I’ll protect you.” He says this as if he’s never going to see me again.
I don’t get a chance to ask him what he means because a group of guards rushes around us, pulling me away from him. They drag me and Axel from the hall before we can even ask what the hell is going on.
“Where are you taking us?” I ask after several minutes of walking, my arms twisted behind my back.
The guard holding me doesn’t answer as he drags me down a series of hallways and into what feels like the basement of the prison. The lights switch on when we arrive and I realise it’s not the basement.
It’s solitary confinement.
Fuck!
Opening my eyes to see I’m completely underwater is a good reason to freak out.
I spin around; the salt burning my eyes as I finally see the surface. I swim up, pulling my body to the top of the water and crashing onto the surface.
A tiny island made of sand stands before me and a familiar woman sits on the edge of the shore, the waves crashing over her legs as she watches me. I swim to her until I can walk through the water and sit down at her side.
“Is there a reason this dream started with me underwater?” I ask Kaelah. “Being a shadowborn, water freaks me out. I died in it.”
“The water saved you. You should enjoy it.”
I sigh at the answer and drop down beside her, my fingers buried in the sand. I miss the beach, even if I don’t like the sea. I miss having the freedom to visit it.
“Watch the creation of the Titans,” Kaelah says, “for this is where they were born.”
“Here?” I look around at the endless sea stretching toward the horizon.
The ground shakes beneath me, slowly at first, before building up until it stops. Water shoots up from the surface of the ocean as a green sphere rises from the depths, shimmering in the sunlight. The waves crash harder against us.
I stand up, watching the sphere rise higher and higher until the cloud itself hides it.
“They were born of water and pure magic. They traveled the world, blessing the earth with magic and gods to protect it. They loved the earth until it became too much. The power corrupted them, the gods betrayed them and they lost themselves here,” she whispers, but I hear every single word. “Don’t let evil corrupt your soul, Izora. You are far stronger than anyone before you.”
“I won’t let Eva turn me as evil as she is. I just want to be free,” I tell her.
“And do you want your people, the light fae, to be free?” she asks me.
“Why would that be my choice?” I ask her and she secretly smiles, placing her hand on my arm.
“Secrets always come out, Izora Dawn. Always.”
“Wake up, scum!” a light fae guard shouts into my face, his hand shaking my shoulder.
On instinct, I grab him and turn his hand back, hearing his fingers break just before he screams and falls away.
Two more guards step into the room, pulling out guns and tasers from their side holders.
“If I shoot you with this, it will fucking hurt,” comes one of their snarls. The tallest guard steps forward, picks his friend up, and shoves him out of the room, looking back at me. I can’t see anything about him through his helmet, but he makes me curious. Guards usually hit first and ask questions later.
“Why don’t you then?” I ask, standing up off the bed. If he is going to shoot me, I’m better off standing and taking my punishment.
“One, he was wrong to wake you that way,” he starts, sliding his gun back into his holder. “Two, I know who you are. I overheard Princess Eva talking. I won’t make your containment here worse than it needs to be. No one will hear about the guard’s broken hand.”
“What did Eva say?” I ask but he shakes his head, stepping away and walking out of the room. Why would he do that? Why would Eva say something that would make a guard pity me and not want to hurt me?
Fuck, this prison is giving me a headache. I throw my clothes on, brush my hair, and slip my shoes on before taking a much-needed step out of solitary confinement. The three guards, including the one holding his sore hand, surround me and guide me down several bland corridors until we get to a locked door. The guards unlock the door before pushing me back into the common room.
I glance around, not seeing any of my guys and more than a few enemies. Shit, I need to find someone in case one of the idiots here tries to fight me alone. It’s totally not because I’m worried and need to see if they are okay. Gods, who am I fooling? It certainly isn’t me.
I head to the training room, hoping Axel or Memphis will be in there, but it’s empty. Just as I’m about to leave, the restroom opens and Scott walks out. He doesn’t see me as he walks right up to a punching bag and starts smacking the shit out of it. Every hit is filled with frustration and anger, and I feel each hit like an arrow to my heart. I know how he feels.
“Scott,” I gently call for him, wondering how lost he is and if he can snap out of it to see me. He stops almost instantly, fist held in the air and his eyes turn to me. His hand drops as he walks straight to me and I crash into him at the same time. His arms hold me tightly to his tank top, his thick muscular arms holding me like he never wants to let go, and I get it. “I’ve missed you too.”
“I feel fucking powerless to save you in here. You were just taken from me. Gone, Iz, and I couldn’t do anything to fucking save you.”
“Look at me,” I demand, cupping his cheeks to draw his gaze to me. “I’m alive, I’m safe. I’m with you and we will not live the rest of our lives here. By Selena, we will escape.”
“I love you, Izora,” he softly tells me. “I fucking love you and I will get you out. I promise.”
“I will get us all out,” I tell him. “And I love you more.”
“By Selena, I don’t think that is possible,” he tells me and kisses me, pouring all of his frustration and love into every single kiss. He picks me up, carrying me to the training room door and pressing me against it. “Let me make you come, I need to feel you.”
“The cameras,” I whisper as he kisses his way across my neck and I slowly almost forget we are being watched.
“Fuck. Wait, I have an idea.” He picks me up, carrying me with him, and I can’t help but chuckle as I kiss his cheek.
Scott kicks open a door and then places me on the floor. I watch as he turns four of the shower heads on and they immediately push out hot water onto the tiles and soon fills the room with steam.
“Now they can’t see,” Scott says while walking up to me, and I notice each and every step. I suck in a deep breath as he stops right in front of me, a sexy grin on his lips. “I’ve wanted to taste you since we met, Izora Dawn.”
“No one is stopping you now,” I breathlessly say.
The way he looks
at me is almost too much to handle.
His eyes burn with a fire I feel underneath my skin as he pulls my top over my head. He kisses me from my jaw all the way to my stomach, his hands running over my hard nipples as he lowers himself to his knees. Pulling my trousers and panties down, they pool at my feet and I step out of them just before he kisses me right on my clit.
I moan as he dives in, using his tongue to drive me crazy and so close to an orgasm. Throwing my head back, I roll my hips against his face as I come hard and fast, my legs shaking with the sensation.
Scott picks me up, pushing my back against the wall as I work on his shorts, pushing them down and taking his cock out. Lining up at my entrance, he cups the back of my neck as he slides inside me.
“Fuck, Izora. You’re so damn tight.” He groans against my lips as he thrusts in and out of me. We feel perfect together, so damn perfect. Feeling another orgasm building up, I kiss Scott harder, deeper as we move against each other, both of us close to the pleasure we know is so near now.
I come, tightening myself around him and he stills inside me, filling me with his come only moments later. Breathlessly, we stare at each other and I grin, the water feels cold as it falls down on us.
“The next time we do this, we will be out of this place and free,” Scott promises me.
I wish I could believe him.
But hope in this prison feels like it’s dead before it’s even begun.
“This isn’t good,” Scott whispers to me as we stand on our own, watching the double doors slide open for the next Blood Trials. There is a new kind of tension between us all, and as I glance around, it looks like everyone has a smile on their lips except for me and Scott. We are on our own. Scott isn’t a good fighter, but a brilliant healer. It still means I will be fighting a good deal of the horrors awaiting us while trying to keep him alive. If I had Axel and Memphis again, or even Luke…this would be a little easier to win. I know going in with only one good fighter is a death sentence.
Some inmates already see this as a perfect time to try to kill me. Fuck.
“I know,” I say, clasping his hand tightly in mine.
I refuse to show how scared I am. If I’m going to die this time, I’m going to go down fighting and without a trace of fear in my eyes.
Eva’s heels click as she steps out of the double door as they slowly open. Gold stands at her side, too close in my opinion, and his eyes search the crowd, locking in on me and Scott alone. His lips narrow into a thin line as Eva smirks at me.
“Good luck today. I am very interested in the results of this Blood Trial,” she says.
I bet. Bitch.
“I’m bored,” Gold announces, stretching his thick arms above his head. “A Blood Trial and a bit of murder would be a fun way to wake me up.”
“I haven’t allowed you to battle,” Eva snaps as he steps forward.
Gold looks back, and they stare at each other for a long moment before she nods. Looking very pissed off, Eva clicks her fingers and turns around, walking back into the room with her entourage of guards.
Walking to my other side, Gold joins us and I hear a light whisper under his breath that I’m sure he didn’t mean for me to hear.
“Fuck, I’m a shit father.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” I whisper when we step through the doors. He looks down at me, his eyes speaking a million words he won’t say here with everyone around to hear them.
Gold loves me. I know he does. There’s no other reason he would risk his son’s life to fight in the Blood Trials with me, to save my life. I wish I could tell him I feel the same way. That I will always fight for us. But the words catch in my throat and all I can do is nod at him as if to convey my understanding.
“But thank you,” Scott says, breaking the silence. “We haven’t formally met. Scott.”
“Gold,” he shakes his hand in front of me, just before we get to the lockers. We each head to a separate locker and in mine I put on my white leather jumpsuit, clipping various daggers and one large sword onto the holders at my waist and back. Two blue stones rest in front of me and I tuck them into my side pockets, not having a clue what they are for but I’m sure they are useful in whatever shit show we are walking into.
I plait my hair with one of the hairbands and head into the next room. A shimmering wall of water lies in front of us, and many of the prisoners stand next to it, not touching it.
“Why does it always have to be water?” I mutter, wishing it was anything but.
The water isn’t still, it moves like a storm is just above the water, pushing strong currents in more than one direction. The magic ward holding the water up starts to crack the second Gold and Scott step out of the lockers. The cracks get worse as they come to my side and take my hands. We all know the water is going to slam into the room the second the last prisoner comes into the room.
I glance up at Scott, just as it breaks, and cold water blasts into the room. I gasp in water, coughing on it as the force of the currents pulls my body in every direction, making me feel sick. Gold’s and Scott’s hands slip from the mine at some point and soon I blackout, praying to Selena I don’t drown.
It feels like only seconds before I’m waking up, coughing salty water out of my mouth onto the rough surface I’m lying on. Crawling to my feet, I balance on the back of an old car. I rub my eyes as I look over the ruined city I’m in front of. What once might have been London, is now a mixture of high rises and old buildings that have been smashed into pieces. The water isn’t deep here, but the sea is slowly pushing waves of water into the city. It won’t be long, maybe a day, before the bottom part of the city is underwater. That means I don’t have long to find Gold and Scott and get to high land.
I don’t even know what the aim of this Trial is since the bitch didn’t bother to tell me.
I’m sure it’s a hide and seek. Or survive until the city drowns. Who the fuck knows? I check my weapons before choosing to shift into my wolf. She can smell the guys out. I shift quickly and my wolf instantly tracks down Gold and Scott further in the city. She jumps off the car and into the water, swimming to the shore and running fast into the city, jumping over wrecked cars covered in ivy and bikes that nature has taken back.
Every window of the buildings are smashed, making it harder to stay hidden as we go around the corner. A cry escapes my lips as something slams into my leg and I shift back instantly, looking down to see an arrow in my leg. I pull it out, but before I can move, an arrow slams into my wings, stopping me from flying away and causing incredible pain. I cry as I pull the second one out, searching for the shooter. Another arrow lands in the middle of my legs and I slide backward until I get to a turned over van and hide behind it.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Coen shouts, spiking fear into my chest.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“I’ve come to play a game with you, Izora. Didn’t you miss me?”
“Not one bit, you self-righteous asshole,” I shout back, slipping out my dagger as I try to stand up against the van. Pain snakes down my leg and I can’t put any weight on it. This is really bad. I’m alone and I can’t run.
“Names already?” he tuts. “How unladylike of you, Izora Dawn.”
Knowing he is going to find me sooner or later, I choose not to be hiding like a coward when he does. I hop out from behind the van to face him. The bastard who stabbed me and now has shot me.
By Selena, I want to kill him.
He smirks, lifting his bow with an arrow nestled and ready to shoot. “Give me a reason not to shoot,” he teases. “Come on, beg for your life.”
“Shoot me. I will never beg for anyone or anything ever again,” I say, holding my head high.
He laughs like I’m the funniest thing in the world, but he doesn’t drop the bow.
Suddenly Gold jumps off the van, right in front of me. He lands in a crouch, before straightening up and covering me completely from view.
“Coen, long time no see,” Gold sa
ys, his voice colder than ice. “Arrows, really? What a cowardly and shitty way to fight one on one.”
Coen’s creepy laugh fills the silence and I hear the sound of the bow dropping on the floor.
“Drop your sword then. Fight me like a man,” Coen demands.
Gold looks back at me, winks once as he drops his sword at my feet. “With pleasure.”
His reply makes me smile as I lean against the van, needing to rest my leg as it drips blood on the ground. I watch as Gold charges forward, expertly dodging Coen’s fist that is heading for his face, but ends up hitting him hard in the stomach. Coen nearly doubles over, but in that second, Gold is on him. He reigns punches down on Coen until he falls limp to the floor, and then he looks over at me.
I nearly scream when Coen uses this distraction to kick Gold’s legs until he falls. And then he jumps on top of him, punching him in the face, so swiftly that I hear his nose break from over here. Gold finally fights back, knocking Coen off him with a swift kick to the groin. He punches him again and again, reigning down hit after hit until he is smothered in blood, soaking his dark brown hair as he hangs over his forehead.
I hop over, which takes a lot longer than I thought it would until I get to Gold’s side.
Coen is dead. There is no way he can be alive under all that blood, but Gold hasn’t noticed yet. He is in a frenzy, so lost he doesn’t hear me shouting for him.
“Gold! Come on, we need to get out of here. It’s too open!” He still doesn’t snap out of it. “GOLD!” I scream and it finally makes him halt, fist in the air.
“He needs to suffer. He nearly took you from me!” Gold roars, his eyes burning with so much anger and power it would frighten most. “He nearly took you!”
“And he won’t again. No one ever could,” I reassure him, wiping the blood from his cheeks with my hands. “We both bleed together. Me and you. Get me out of here, Gold.”
“Together,” he whispers, the look in his eyes as he whispers that single word which means so much is not a look I will forget anytime soon.