Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Her eyes grew wide, like a doe spotting her hunter in the brush.
“I’m going to need you not to scream.”
She didn’t heed the warning. When her lips parted, a hand collapsed over her face to muffle the sound.
“I said not to scream.”
Helaina willed her chest to still as she swallowed nervously. She assessed her situation and her intruder; this was not the man she had expected to come for her.
She couldn’t make out any distinguishing features in the dark, only the faint outline of his imposing build. How did a man this big get this close without her noticing?
The blade of his dagger held firm, pressed to her throat. His other hand began gliding gently to the center of her chest. At first, she thought he was reaching for her nightgown, and she prepared for the worst. Instead, he reached for her knife.
“Let it go.” He tugged at the hilt.
Not a chance.
She lifted her head in the slightest motion toward his dagger. He didn’t retreat, keeping the sharpness taut to her skin as she continued to apply her own pressure with her neck. She sucked in through her teeth as the sting of pain came.
“You’re threatening me with death?” She didn’t even recognize the cold in her own voice. “Do it then,” she gritted out as the warm trickle of blood seeped down her chest. “Save me the trouble.”
Those broad shoulders tensed. It was most definitely a warrior’s body above her. He couldn’t be a common thief. A mercenary maybe?
“Well?” she taunted. “Get on with it.”
“I’m going to remove my blade, and you’re going to drop yours on the count of three. One . . .”
She veered back and spat in his face.
Or at least she thought she did. It was so dark and the moonlight only offered shadows, no detail. She knew she had struck her mark when his free hand lifted to wipe his cheek. She saw a glint of feral teeth followed by the sound of a sinister laugh.
“You little . . .” The man lifted his hand, ready to strike her across the face in retaliation. She winced, anticipating the pain, but it didn’t come. She opened her eyes to find two more strangers standing near. Had they been here all along? Were there others?
The largest of the three gripped the first intruder’s wrist with a trembling hand, as if he was holding himself back from delivering his own strike. “What happened to unharmed, Callum?”
Damn it, she could barely see their faces in the faint speck of moonlight. Long hair touched their broad shoulders. They all wore the same leather material. The biggest one was clearly proud of his muscular physique because his attire was sleeveless. His biceps were as big as her thighs.
Her first intruder—Callum—yanked his arm back and stood. “You didn’t tell me you were sending me in after a hellcat, Captain.” He wiped his cheek again.
Callum turned to face her, and even in the dark the hateful look he delivered made her go rigid. “Do that again . . .” he warned, “and I’ll cut your tongue from that vile mouth of yours.”
The whimper that left her was childlike and embarrassing.
The “captain” snarled at his companion, actually snarled like an animal. “It appears you’ve done enough cutting already. Are you incapable of self-control?”
Helaina’s hand reached up to the warm wetness dribbling down her neck and onto the mattress. The cut was worse than she thought.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Theo, she did it to herself. She practically begged me to slit her throat.”
While the tension between the two kept them focused on each other, Helaina risked a glimpse at the third intruder, who remained quiet in the background. He was tall, lean, and focused, not taking his eyes from the outside. Something out there required every ounce of his concentration.
The captain crouched down, reaching for her knife.
“You let her keep the blade?” he chastised over his shoulder. Callum mumbled something inaudible under his breath.
He was so close she could feel the unnatural heat radiating off his body. His proximity made her nerves alight with fire. He dipped his head down to her ear.
“Drop it,” he commanded in a whisper. His breath fanned past her neck as the faint smell of fresh rain surrounded her.
“No.” She couldn’t believe she was defying such a man.
Putting his alarming size aside, his fierce and commanding presence should have been enough to make her into a cowering mess.
She should have been following his every order, begging at his feet in surrender.
Yet something told her begging would do her no good; none of them looked merciful.
His muscles tensed with annoyance. “Drop it, or I’ll step aside and let my lieutenant do as he promised.”
It was getting harder to breathe. She swallowed hard as Callum crossed his arms. Like he was waiting for the chance. Death, she was prepared for tonight. Torture—not so much.
The captain slightly turned his head to speak to his companion again. That’s when she felt it. The slight give in his grip, the minor inattention toward her knife.
She took her opportunity, wrenched the kitchen knife from his hold, and rose to plunge the tip into his bulky neck.
He stopped the force of her hand midair.
The swiftness in his rebuttal was unsettling.
As he seized her wrist and squeezed, she couldn’t help but open her own grip, letting the weapon fall to the ground.
Helaina gasped from the pressure on her wrist. His grasp remained firm as he bent down to retrieve the blade, sheathing it somewhere in his belt.
“Very brave, but very, very stupid,” he chided, keeping his voice low.
The lantern suddenly relit, the fire taking life without anyone being near it.
How did that happen?
She could see them all clearly now, but she focused on their leader.
Seeing his face only magnified her fear.
Stubble lined his angular jaw, and unnerving eyes peered into hers, one as light as ice, the other a collection of orange and copper.
Half of his dark-as-night hair was knotted at the back of his head, the other half feathered around his shoulders.
She had never seen anyone so exceedingly lethal, yet so impossibly perfect.
The massive man stood, pulling her up by her wrist to join him. He held up her arm, then the other, like he was inspecting her. He grabbed one shoulder, while the other hand found the angle of her jaw. He turned her head side to side.
“Stop it!” She jerked her head back on instinct. He released her, sending her stumbling back.
He strode forward silently, stealing back the space she had created between them.
“Who are you?” She could barely choke out the question as she recovered her footing. She squared her shoulders and craned her head up to meet his stare. She had been sent with an entire brigade of soldiers. Where the hell were they?
He wasn’t listening, his expression stoic, yielding only a hint of surprise as he surveyed her features.
“A soul . . . eclipsed in moonlight,” he whispered. His eyes flickered as he studied her with such unsettling intensity.
She’d heard that phrase before. Something to do with her curse, although it was never fully explained. These men knew exactly what she was.
“She has the mark?” Callum asked.
What mark?
The captain nodded, letting his eyes roll up and down and back up to her petrified face.
“If it’s money you’re after, take anything from the trunks, it’s yours. Just please . . .”
“Please what?” She could see a flash of white teeth when he spoke.
“Please what?” he repeated when she didn’t answer.
“Please . . . don’t kill me or any of the others.” Pathetic. This was so pathetic. But she couldn’t take any more blood on her hands. She had enough for a lifetime.
His expression turned entirely predatory. “Don’t kill you? I thought you wished for death tonight, planned for it even?”
How did he know?
“My lieutenant says you practically begged him to deliver you to the ether.”
He unsheathed a blade, much larger than her kitchen knife, as he stepped forward, invading every breath of her personal space.
She felt a strange sensation in her core. This should be absolutely terrifying—but with the lack of feeling she had experienced in recent months, the sudden jolt of emotion was vibrant, powerful. Like she was seeing colors for the first time.
He brought his blade to her throat, then let it glide down to the soft skin of her upper chest. He paused there. His voice turned sensual. “Shall I give it to you instead? The death you so desperately crave?” He lightly swished the knife in lazy circles.
A tingling sensation radiated down her neck. Her throat bobbed as his motions became slower and slower.
He suddenly turned his back, taking his knife with him. The sound from his throat was something of bitter irritation.
She took in the fullest breath of relief . . . or was it disappointment?
Relief. Definitely relief.
“You’ve hurt yourself enough from the looks of you.” He looked back at her, striking eyes roaming her up and down in assessment. “I have no intention of adding to the damage.” The low voice mocked her as his shaggy-haired comrade scoffed behind him. “Unless you make me.”
“Then what do you want? Why are you here?” She stepped toward them.
The forward motion suddenly made her feel unsteady, sick. Her vision went hazy and a wave of dizziness spilled into her head.
“I think you know exactly why we’re here,” he replied.
When she refocused, she beheld the three men staring back at her, quietly rumbling among themselves at the entrance to the tent. Her white nightgown was drenched in sweat despite the cold. She couldn’t tell if the perspiration was from fear or dizziness.
“You’re coming with us,” the captain announced.
“And if I refuse?”
Callum’s dark eyes glinted. “Then I’ll drag you out like a dog . . . using your hair as a leash.”
Whatever glare the captain delivered made his comrade take a purposeful step back in retreat.
“I’m not . . . I’m not going anywhere with you,” she stammered out. The thought to scream and alert somebody finally came back to her. “gua—”
A hand wrapped over her mouth again, muffling her.
“All you royals are the same.” Callum’s chest warmed her back. He had been feet away, and in a blink, he was behind her while a billow of smoke rose where he had been standing.
Her fear climbed to new heights.
Teleporter.
He was a shifter of dimensions, a divine gift she had read was long gone from this world.
“I’ll lay it out for you simply,” Callum whispered. “Come with us, or everyone in this camp will die.”
She looked to their captain. He didn’t reprimand his lieutenant’s words this time, as if in silent agreement.
Panic consumed her. This was what she had been warned about. The types of beings who only wanted to take her—to use her to end lives.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to spill her own blood tonight, no one else’s.
She clenched her fists and gave the smallest nod in surrender.
“Good.” He removed his hand and shoved her forward, earning another aggravated growl from their captain. Her entire body jolted from the force, landing on her hands and knees. “Grab what you can carry.”
The only items worth grabbing were her handful of books. She grasped the spines, cradling them to her chest while the captain and Callum bickered, the third companion fixed at the entrance.
Her dizziness was getting worse. When was the last time she ate? She had been starving her body for so long.
On unsteady feet, she walked to the entrance of the tent. Her guards still remained as they were, posted outside.
“Teirn . . . Cedric . . .” she softly called to them.
They didn’t reply, just continued staring right through her.
They looked so wrong, standing in a daze, unmoving—unblinking.
She waved her hand in front of their eyes.
“Please . . . help me,” she rasped as the chilling breeze blew toward her.
Their lack of reaction made her heart drop deep into the pit of her gut. What had they done to them?
A rustle of movement in the trees caught her attention. The red eyes had returned.
The captain’s large body shot in front of her. “Get behind me now.”
She began to sway.
There was a horrific snarl.
Then darkness took her.