CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Saylor
My body is sore when I wake, but in a delicious way. I lost count of how many orgasms Bane gave me last night, but he fucked me until the sun came up. I didn’t even know I was capable of coming that many times. I’m alone in bed, the sheets now cool. When I open the curtains and the sunshine streams in, I wonder just how late I have slept in. My eyes fall on a vase sitting on the bedside table that wasn’t there last night. It has a beautiful yellow sunflower in it, along with a note.
Sunshine,
I’m outside sparring with the army.
Come and find me when you wake up, and I will feed you.
Bane
Lifting the sunflower to my face, I breathe in its scent before putting it back in the vase. Who knew Bane could be so romantic? My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I am hungry. Although Bane fed me enough last night, I can’t survive on dick and cum alone. Smirking at the thought, I have a quick shower and realize I don’t have any fresh clothes to wear, so I close my eyes and picture some leather pants and a pink blouse, my illusions becoming a reality.
“Perfect,” I murmur, sliding my boots on and leaving his room. Glancing down the hallway, I suddenly wish he’d given me a tour last night. Wandering downstairs, I stop when I hear what sounds like a woman crying. Following the sound, I find myself at the door of a room to the hallway on the right.
A heavily warded door.
“Hello?” I call out, knocking on the door.
The crying stops.
I open the door, my eyes widening when I see a pretty blonde laying on the bed in a fetal position, her back to me. The wards won’t let me walk in, pushing me back like an invisible wall is there, so I can only look in from the doorframe.
“Are you okay?” I call out, and the woman sits up straight, turning around to face me.
“Saylor?” she whispers, rubbing her eyes and all but running toward me until she’s standing on the other side of the ward. “Saylor, oh my fates. Please, help me get out of here!”
“What is going on, Milana?” I ask her, glancing around to make sure no one is around. “Why the fuck are you locked up in here?”
I don’t know Milana well, but I’ve met her at a few social events with her father, Declan. I had heard of Declan’s passing and the rumor he wanted to kidnap Astrid for her rare succubus blood, but I never once thought of what happened to Milana. Every time I had seen her, though, she was well put together, nicely dressed, and well-spoken. That is not the same person standing in front of me. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks tired. Drained.
“They kidnapped me and my father,” she explains, wrapping her arms around herself. “They killed him but are keeping me here as an unwelcome guest.”
“Why?” I ask, frowning. “Are they treating you well?”
She’s in a nice room and looks clean and clothed. She just looks miserable.
“They haven’t mistreated me,” she admits, shifting on her feet. “But I’m here against my will. I’m August’s mate. Otherwise, they would have killed me.”
Oh. And the plot thickens.
Her bare wrists tell me she hasn’t bonded with him. “You don’t want him?”
I haven’t met August yet, but I know he’s one of Bane’s squad members.
Blue eyes avoid mine. “All I want is to go home.”
Fuck.
“Please, Saylor,” she begs, eyes welling with tears. “I’ve been here for weeks. I can’t take it anymore. Only August visits me, and he’s the one person I don’t want to see. I’m fucking miserable.”
They are obviously taking care of her physical needs but not her mental or emotional health.
Bane is going to be pissed, but I can’t leave her here. I’d want someone to help me if the roles were reversed.
“Who did the wards?” I ask, testing my magic against it.
“I’m not sure. They were done before they brought me to the room,” she replies, light finally entering her eyes as she realizes she has some hope of getting out of here. “I’ve tried everything, but they are too strong for me.”
Fuck it.
I’m a girl’s girl, and I’m going to get her out of here. “If I break the wards, do you have enough strength to zip out of here?”
She nods.
There’s a fifty-percent chance this will be a terrible idea, but I’m a gambling woman.
I tilt my head to the side, studying her. “I’ll get you out. But my mate lives here, so if you come back to hurt him, I will kill you.”
Her blue eyes widen. “I won’t be coming back here, don’t you worry. No one will be hurt because of me.”
“What magic do you have?”
She looks down at her feet and sighs. “I’m a booster.”
That means she can share her magic, so to speak, or power up others.
Interesting. “Can you drain it too?”
She nods.
“I’ll be back.”
I zip to Salem’s house and kidnap him.
“Oh good, I was getting a little bored. Who are we killing?” my brother asks me, glancing around. He looks inside Milana’s room and sees her standing there. “Who’s the blonde?”
“I don’t have time to explain, but I need you to break her out of here before Bane finds me,” I whisper-yell, knowing he’s capable of doing this.
Salem grins, then throws back his head and laughs. “Fuck, you’ve been mated how long? One night? And you’re already breaking people out of his castle? Fuck, Saylor. I wouldn’t wish you on my worst enemy.”
Okay, ouch.
I slap the back of his head. “Just do it without the fucking commentary.”
Bane might have drawn the short straw, but at least I’m hot. I have things going for me. I might be a little unpredictable, but that’s just going to keep things interesting for him. He will never be bored.
Salem’s grin widens further, and he whistles cheerfully as he breaks through the magic with his own.
“You made that look easy,” I grumble as Milana steps outside the room, taking a deep breath.
“I owe you both,” she says, looking between us.
And then she’s gone.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Salem murmurs, kissing the top of my head before making his exit.
Nope, I don’t know what I’m doing.
A female asked me for help, so I helped.
It’s that simple and that complicated.
Fates, please don’t let it bite me in the ass.