Chapter 6 #2
What I felt for them had been there long before the deadly sins spell.
That truth had been carved into me too deeply for any outside force to manufacture.
It lived in every look, every touch, every charged silence that had passed between us long before tonight.
The spell hadn’t been created from nothing.
All it had done was strip away the distance and turn up the volume on what had always existed between the three of us.
But it still didn’t mean I believed they’d entered into this sharing arrangement completely of their own volition.
It was likely that the spell was pulling strings behind the scenes somehow, manipulating their desires and making it easier for them to accept something they might never have agreed to otherwise.
But how much? How deep did the magic’s influence run?
Were we all just marionettes dancing on invisible threads, or were our choices still our own—only amplified?
The truth was, I didn’t know. And until I did, I couldn’t let myself fall any further and make that mistake again. Regardless of how good that mistake had felt.
There was still too much bad coming our way. Too much to do and figure out. With the spell. With the anointed voices. With whatever the Order had planned next and if there was anything we could do about any of it.
And we needed to talk to Caleb. I had to find out whether he was the one that betrayed us or if someone else had found a way past the wards without him.
Basically, we needed answers. A shit ton of them.
Trace stirred beside me, his hand reaching out in sleep to find my waist. The moment his palm made contact with my skin, the soulmate bond flared to life beneath my ribs. It sang through me, warm and bright and achingly familiar, the connection between us rising contentedly.
He came awake slowly, his gaze settling on me before a small, unguarded smile curved his lips. “You’re still here,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep.
“Where else would I be?” I whispered back, eyeing my chained hands resting on the pillow above my head. “It’s not like I can go anywhere at the moment.”
“Good.” His thumb traced lazy circles on my hip. “I kind of like you like this.”
“What? Chained to the bed?” My lips twitched from the effort of trying to keep a straight face. “Your idea of romance needs work.”
“Wasn’t trying for romance.” His smile widened, and the bond pulsed warmer between us. “Just keeping you close and safe.”
His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
He wanted to keep me safe. Oddly enough, and in spite of everything that was still looming just beyond the walls of this room, I felt exactly that laying beside him right then.
Dominic roused beside me a second later, his eyes opening unhurriedly like he had all the time in the world to grace this life with his presence.
He didn’t move right away, just took in the room the way he always did, registering everything in a single sweep before most people would have finished blinking.
His gaze tracked from me to Trace’s hand resting on my waist, then back up to my face, cataloguing every minute detail even through the last dregs of sleep.
‘Morning, angel.’ His honeyed voice slid through my mind as the corner of his mouth lifted. ‘Sleep well?’
My cheeks heated as I nodded that I had.
His gaze lifted to the handcuffs still locked around my wrists. “I must say, they suit you quite well.”
Not him too.
“Don’t get used to it,” I said, staring down at his mouth. “I like to use my hands.”
A rumble sounded from his chest, somewhere between a growl and a purr. “That can be arranged, angel.”
Trace’s hand stilled on my hip, his fingers tightening just enough to be noticeable. He made his own sound, half scoff and half growl, as the bond between us blazed in sharp, possessive protest.
Dominic’s eyes slid to him, amused. “Feeling territorial this morning, are we?”
Trace didn’t look away from me when he answered, “Always.”
Despite myself, I laughed. The sound bubbled up out of me before I could stop. Even though I wasn’t sure it was completely appropriate, I couldn’t deny how much I loved moments like this with them. When everything felt easy and comfortable and so devastatingly normal it almost hurt.
Dominic’s expression softened at the edges, curiosity breaking through the teasing. “Is that amusing to you, angel?”
“Don’t even try to drag me into this,” I said, unable to keep the smile out of my voice. “I’m not getting in the middle of you two and your issues.”
“I hate to be the one to point it out, love, but you’re already quite firmly in the middle of it.”
“Right.” My face flamed, but I refused to take the bait. “But I’m still pleading the fifth.”
The last thing any of us needed was me going down that road first thing in the morning and admitting just how nice it felt to be there with them, or how much I wanted more of it, or how terrifying it was that I already couldn’t imagine mornings without them just like we were.
Adding fuel to that particular fire was the last thing any of us needed, so I changed the subject instead.
“Well, as much as I’m enjoying this all-inclusive hostage situation,” I said, tugging at the chains above my head. “How long are you planning to keep me like this?”
“That depends,” answered Dominic, tilting his head to examine me. “Are there any whispers or lingering urges to slip out and answer calls you shouldn’t?”
I quickly shut my eyes, not for drama, but because I wanted to be absolutely sure before I answered him. Holding my breath, I turned inward again, searching past the buzzing warmth of the bond, past the echo of last night, past the restless edge of power humming just beneath my skin.
Nothing.
My eyes flew open as I beamed back at him, “Nope. Not a one.”
“Good.” His hand moved to the nightstand, pulling open the drawer. He retrieved a small silver key, holding it up between two fingers where it caught the morning light. “Then the question becomes whether we release you now…” His dark eyes glinted with mischief. “Or make you work for it first.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “Dominic!”
“Yes, angel?”
“Stop messing around!”
“I wasn’t aware that I was,” he answered innocently. “I was simply going over the possibilities.”
“I think she’s blushing,” noted Trace, his thumb still drawing those maddening circles on my skin.
“She most certainly is,” drawled Dominic as his dark eyes dusted over me with appreciation. “I think she likes the idea more than she’s willing to admit.”
“I’m warning you both—”
“What are you going to do, angel?” Dominic’s smirk was pure sin. “You’re chained to the bed. Rather limited in your options I’d say.”
My pulse spiked traitorously, and I knew they could both feel it. See it. The spell hummed beneath my skin, responding to the suggestion with an enthusiasm I absolutely did not need right now.
“I hate you both,” I said, though my voice came out breathless.
“Hate?” Dominic’s smile widened. “I seem to recall you begging us for more just a few hours ago.”
My face burned hotter. “That was different.”
“Was it?” He leaned closer, something predatory and pleased darkening his expression. “Because from where I’m sitting, you look just as flushed now as you did then.”
I tugged once more at the cuffs, more frustrated than threatening. “I swear to God, I will find a way to hurt you. Badly.”
“Maybe we should let her up,” said Trace, though his tone suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced of it himself. “She’s probably going to need to eat. And maybe a bathroom break.”
“Hmm.” Dominic tilted his head, considering it. “I’m not sure I see the urgency.”
“The urgency,” I cut in, trying to inject some authority into my voice despite my current position, “is that we have things to do. Important things. Remember? Caleb? Figuring out what the hell is going on with the wards?”
The playfulness drained from the room like a tide pulling back.
“She has a point,” said Trace, frowning. “We need to bring him here and find out what he knows,” he added and then sat up fully, the tension already showing around his eyes. “Today.”
Dominic’s features hardened just as quickly, the teasing replaced by a coldness that sent a prickle of unease down my back.
“Indeed, we do.” He gazed down at me as he reached up, slipping the key into the first cuff.
“As much as I’d rather enjoy keeping you here like this all day, we have more pressing matters to contend with first. Casters to interrogate.
Truths to extract.” The metal released with a soft click.
“Though I make no promises about later.”
Heat coiled low in my stomach at his words, the promise in them unmistakable.
He moved to the second cuff, his fingers brushing against my wrist. “And if our dear Caleb has been playing both sides, well…” The second cuff opened, freeing my hands completely. “Let’s just say the information extraction will be significantly less pleasant for him.”
“Meaning?” I asked, rubbing my wrists where the metal had pressed and feeling the freedom of movement return.
Trace’s jaw tightened. “Meaning we deal with it.”
My eyes volleyed nervously between the two of them before snagging on Dominic as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and straightened. “Dealing with it how, exactly?” I pressed.
When he glanced back at me over his shoulder, his expression was unreadable in a way that made another chill run down my back. “By whatever means necessary.”
My eyes widened. “What are you going to do? Torture him?” I asked, half kidding, half horrified.
“If that’s what it takes,” he answered plainly.
I flinched at his response. “Are you even hearing yourself? You can’t just torture—”
“Oh, but I most certainly can, angel.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “If he betrayed you, if he helped the Order gain access to hurt you…” He paused. “I’ll do far worse than torture.”
Panic surged in my chest. “We don’t know if he’s guilty. We don’t know anything yet,” I quickly reminded him.
“Which is why we’ll ask him nicely first,” answered Trace, though there was steel in his voice. “Give him a chance to explain. And if the answers don’t add up…” He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
I wanted to argue. I wanted to defend Caleb and insist there had to be another explanation.
But the words caught in my throat because I wasn’t sure anymore.
I wasn’t sure about anything other than the fact that if he had betrayed us, if he was the one that handed me over to William on a silver platter, then I didn’t know if I was going to be able to stop what was coming from Dominic and Trace.
And frankly, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d want to.