Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Sorin plucked a sharp knife from a tray of torture devices. “I’m here to offer my services. I’m a master at torture, and it seems these two are having a little trouble with you.”
Gershan crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, grinning. “You’ll be screaming in no time, 487331.”
Sparks flew from the witch’s fingers, casting light across her raven locks pulled into a high ponytail. “And if Sorin can’t get you to crumble, I’ll think of a few spells that will have you wetting yourself.”
My pulse spiked, and sweat leaked down my temple as Sorin strolled closer, lifting the sharp knife to my eye.
“Maybe I could pluck one of these pretty things out and make you watch Gershan eat it.” He chuckled as the blood drained from my cheeks. “I wonder if that mutt demon shifter will still want you after that.”
“He would.” I scowled. “And he’d rip both of your eyes out for it.”
His chuckle prickled my flesh. “Shall we find out?”
Blood thundered in my ears, and I struggled in the binds as Sorin moved the blade closer. And closer.
What was it with demons wanting to blind me?
“I’ll cut up your face too.” He grinned. “Make you into a real masterpiece that no one can look at without shuddering, even Fane.”
As the tip of the knife touched my eyelashes, the door swung open, and a force of power erupted in the room.
“Back away from her now, Sorin.” Warden Demarcus marched in, his gaze darkening on the prisoner still clutching the knife and threatening to blind me.
Sorin scoffed. “She needs to be punished for that fight in the cafeteria. I’m just offering my assistance.”
The two guards stiffened and glanced at each other as the warden’s sinister energy thickened. Neither spoke a word while the two high demons faced off, one feral and wild while the other screamed danger.
Demarcus snatched the knife from Sorin so fast his movements were a blur. “When I command you to do something, you follow.”
A sneer pulled at Sorin’s mouth. “Why are you protecting her? You saw what happened in the cafeteria. I’m surprised you’re not here delegating the torture.”
The warden gripped Sorin’s jaw and shoved him into a wall, rattling the metal devices on a nearby shelf. Oily blackness eclipsed Demarcus’s irises, and his skin paled while his teeth sharpened. “I allow you certain privileges in Heldrok but make no mistake about who runs this place.” His fingers dug into Sorin. “I do. Got it?”
The inmate’s nostrils flared as he gave a curt nod. “Got it, warden. ”
“Leiana, release Ms. Teague,” Demarcus demanded. “Immediately.”
Her hand shook as she lifted it and whispered an incantation under her breath to unfasten the leather straps binding me to the chair. The warden scrutinized the collection of fresh cuts marring my flesh, and the tiny muscles in his face feathered as he bared his teeth.
What was his deal? He didn’t want me to be tortured by Sorin but allowed Venna and Mykel to do much worse.
I pulled my jumpsuit up, stuck my arms through the sleeves, and buttoned it. Was he waiting for a thank you?
Demarcus finally turned away and released Sorin. “You three are finished in here. Gershan, return Sorin to his cell, and Leiana, report to your post. I will escort the prisoner to her cell.” He curled his fingers for me to follow him as he headed for the door.
As we walked down the narrow maze of halls, I stared at the warden from the corner of my eye.
“If you have something to say, out with it.” His low, silky voice snapped me out of my whirling thoughts.
I folded my arms over my chest, wincing from the sharp sting of cuts. “Why did you do that? I don’t believe it’s out of the kindness of your heart.”
He chuckled. “Most believe I don’t have a heart.”
“Maybe you don’t.”
Demarcus sighed and smoothed his purple locks back. “You’re getting enough torture from Venna. You don’t need extra from them, especially Sorin.” The hoop in his bottom lip caught the dim light as he grimaced. “He’s becoming an issue.”
“So why don’t you punish him or withdraw his privileges?”
“It’s complicated. ”
Once we reached my cell, we’d gained some attention from the other inmates who were alert enough to notice the warden escorting me. Again.
“Perhaps you should simply tell Venna what she wants to know,” he said, using a long key to lock the door once I was inside. “She may back off.”
I snorted and leaned against the bars. “You think I should tell her the same information you asked for the other day? How convenient when you also want to know what Ruin is doing in his lab. It makes me wonder if you’re allowing her to torture me so you don’t have to get your hands dirty.”
Humor flashed through his eyes, warming them for a moment. “You may be reaching a little far, Ms. Teague.”
“And I think not, Warden Demarcus.” A pretentious hint coated my words to mock him.
Instead of being offended, he laughed, and more of the ice coating him melted. “Perhaps you should visit Fane soon.”
My brow arched. “Are you going to take me to his cell?”
“No.” He lifted his fingers and quickly ran them across mine that clutched the bars. “Now that you’ve had physical contact, you should retest the limits of your bond. You might find the dampening sigil to be less effective.”
My head jerked back. “How do you know so much about this bond between us?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, I make it a habit to know my inmates.”
The warden pivoted and sauntered down the corridor as if he hadn’t thrown me into a tailspin. I couldn’t get a read on him. One minute, he seemed cold and creepy, and the next, he was saving me from torture and Sorin.
He definitely had ulterior motives, and everything he did or said had a purpose. But I’d have to figure Demarcus out later. The urge to see Fane, even in my phantom form, burned within me. If we could use this ability again, maybe we’d continue to grow stronger and find a way out of Heldrok.
Fane’s image appeared in my mind as I rested in my cell, tumbles of dark hair around his burning, multicolored gaze and sharp tattoos cutting into his bronze flesh. I concentrated on the picture of him and let the bond between us drag me to him.
Tingles erupted, and a sense of weightlessness enfolded me. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my cell, but I wasn’t in Fane’s either. Stone walls surrounded me with a cement staircase on the left.
I leaned against the cold steel banister across from a heavy door, frowning. Was Fane in that room? Was that why the bond had drawn me here?
Bile coated the back of my mouth as unease twisted in my center. Was he being punished in that room for killing a demon in the cafeteria?
Tiny bolts of electricity crackled in my tattoo as Fane’s phantom form materialized near the exit, and the air catapulted from my lungs. His brows furrowed as he took in our surroundings.
“I was trying to go to your cell.” His deep voice hummed against my skin, vibrating all the way to my bones.
“It looks like we had the same idea and ended up somewhere else in Heldrok.” I pushed off the railing and slowly approached him, afraid he’d disappear if I made any sudden movements. “The warden told me to try to visit you.”
He dragged his hands down my arms. “Warden Demarcus? How would he know anything about our bond?”
I shrugged as my fingers toyed with the buttons on his jumpsuit. “He claims he knows pretty much everything.”
Hot anger flared through the bond. “I don’t trust him. Something seems off about that demon.”
“Yeah, but he did intervene when I got into trouble with Sorin. Twice.”
Fane didn’t need to know all the dirty details.
The tiny muscles in his jaw jumped as his pupils thinned. “Sorin will find out what happens when he touches what’s mine.”
“Yours?” I scoffed even though that word coming from him did something crazy to me. “I’m not a piece of property, Maverick. You can’t just?—”
Fane’s mouth captured mine, effectively shutting me up with a bruising, punishing kiss. Our mirrored moans echoed within the concrete and stone space.
This wasn’t as good as being with Fane for real, but it was all we’d get for now. Who was I kidding? Being with Fane like this was heaven compared to the last few weeks or months. I wouldn’t be surprised if my body back in my cell rolled around in pleasure.
“I’ve been considering breaking out of my cell for real and finding yours,” Fane growled against my mouth. “In fact, I dream about doing it every damn night.”
I tore the buttons on his jumpsuit, the metal disks flying in either direction, revealing his scarred and tattooed chest. “I have no doubt that you could do it.” My lips pressed against his bare flesh, and my teeth dragged over it while I sucked and sampled his salty flavor. “But I wouldn’t want you to get tossed in those cages.”
His fingers tangled in the hair at the base of my neck, and he wrenched my head back. “They couldn’t keep me in those cages if they tried.” Fane's mouth darted forward, his tongue licking a trail across my neck tattoo.
A ragged cry burst out of me as bolts of pleasure traveled right to my center. “Fane.” I yanked his jumpsuit down to his waist, my nails raking over his ripped abs. “I’ve gone a little insane without seeing you for so long.”
“I know the feeling.” He roughly yanked the top of my jumpsuit down and then shredded the gray tank top and bra right off, exposing my breasts. “You’re so fucking perfect. Everything about you is perfect for me.” His calloused hand dragged down my ribs where those circular scars spotted my side.
Fane Maverick was the only person to know the origin behind my scars, having seen them happen in my nightmares. He didn’t shy away from the ugly marks.
He had his own scars too, inside and out.
I arched into his touch as his thumb circled my nipple, quickening my breath. His eyes burned as his head lowered, and he took me in his mouth, nibbling and sucking on my hardened peak. Heat spread over my skin, and I gripped his head to hold him in place.
How could I ever live without this pleasure? Fane had been right when he said he’d ruin me for anyone else. No one would be able to satisfy this hunger except him.
My hips rocked against his, rubbing his hardened length as it pulsated between the apex of my thighs. If he didn’t bury himself inside me soon, I’d fall to my knees and beg him.
He did like me on my knees.
As Fane continued to lavish my breasts with his hands and mouth, working me into a frenzy, I reached into his jumpsuit and found his cock. He moaned against me as I stroked him.
“You’re playing with fire, fiera mika,” he whispered.
Instead of stopping at the warning in his voice, my rhythm increased. “Are you ever going to tell me what that means?”
He nibbled on my ear hard enough to make me gasp. “I will if you’re a good girl.”
Those words coming from him had my pulse racing. “I’m not sure I can be good.” I pulled out of his grasp and dropped to my knees in front of him. “In fact, I’m feeling like a very bad girl right now.”
Fane’s lips curled back in a snarl as I licked the tip of his length before taking him fully in my mouth. His fingers tangled in my hair again, gripping the strands while I moved up and down. “I guess I have to punish you then.”