Chapter 36 – Alex
Chapter Thirty-Six
ALEX
Everything hurts. I blink, and there she is, concern radiating from her. The drive to hunt, kill, destroy beats anew in my chest, and my head screams at me . . . but she’s okay. For a moment before I blacked out, I thought she had wings.
“Alex, I’m sorry. We had to.”
I try to move my arms but discover they’re bound behind me.
Relief and rage flood me. I’m split in two.
One part of me needs Sera to run, to be safe.
The other part needs to fulfill the compulsion that pounds in my blood with each beat of my heart.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy.
I’m in utter agony. Each moment I don’t comply rips away another shred of sanity.
“You need to leave,” I grit out. “The compulsion . . . it’s killing me. I won’t stop. Not until your beating heart is in my bloody hands.” My body lurches forward, and she jumps back. Good. She should be afraid.
“Sera, you really should leave,” a familiar voice says.
I strain to look over my shoulder, but it’s hard to move from my trussed up position on the small cot. Even my legs are tied together. Smart.
Another pang of agony wracks my head.
Footsteps click across the floor, and the green-haired fae from dinner nearly a fortnight ago steps into view.
“You,” I grunt.
“Yes, me,” she says. “Come on, Sera. Out of here. Now.”
“But—”
“No.”
Sera’s footsteps shuffle and hesitate, but when she’s finally out of the room and the door clicks behind her, the tiniest measure of relief soothes the ache in my head. The drive to hunt is still there, but the immediate need for violence has abated just a little.
“So”—Lady Jade walks back into view—“I’m sorry about the headache. I had to knock you out with my magic to keep you from killing her. Still feeling murderous?”
I nod, sucking in a breath. The faintest scent of jasmine and vanilla lingers and enrages the compulsion. My nostrils flare. “You need to get her far away from here. Immediately.”
“The queen really does have you under some spell,” Lady Jade murmurs.
“Stating the obvious isn’t helping anyone,” I quip.
“Did it help when she left the room?”
“A little. But it won’t last. The compulsion is strong, and it won’t let me stop until it’s done. The queen made that clear.”
“I didn’t think a mate bond would allow you to murder your own mate,” Lady Jade muses.
“Maybe it’s different because I’m human, or maybe that’s why I haven’t actually killed her yet.”
“Hmm . . .”
“Do you know how to break this damned compulsion?” I growl. “If not, the best thing you can do is get Sera far away from here, even though I’ll never stop coming after her.” I think for a moment. “Better yet, kill me.”
“Sera would never allow it.”
“I’d do it myself if I could, but the queen compelled me not to harm myself.”
“She sure thinks of everything, doesn’t she?”
“She’s not what you think she is,” I reply, surprised I’m even able to say it at all.
Jade’s eyes glint with interest. “Why should I trust anything you say? You’re clearly under her control. She could be speaking through you for all I know.”
“You probably shouldn’t trust me,” I agree. “But heed my words: you must leave.”
My bonds start to loosen. I didn’t even realize I’d been working them. The compulsion’s control over my body appears to be strengthening.
“Go! Now!” I practically scream at her. My arms burst free from the ropes, and I roar as I push myself up, yanking at the rope around my legs.
I gasp as air is pulled from my lungs again, my hands going to my throat. Dark spots spark in front of my eyes, and my world goes black once more.