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My father had given me the blade when he showed me how to defend myself. At the time, I didn’t understand why he was so insistent on the instructions. But once the sky fell, I wondered if my father was blessed with the sight the high priests always murmured about. Had he seen what was to come and wanted us safe? It didn’t matter. I thanked the old gods for those lessons because I needed them now.
“I belong to no one.”
I remembered my father’s words about where to hit and how to hurt even the biggest opponent. Groin, throat, or go for the eyes and gouge them out. I held the hilt sideways, the blade at an angle, keeping it in front of me. He looked at me, his smile growing wider before he erupted into laughter again.
“Oh, feisty. I love it. Tell me, do you keep all your weapons between your legs?”
His comment was crass and crude, but I didn’t falter. My father taught me not to play into the tricks and words of an enemy.
“Come closer, and I’ll show you.”
His smile didn’t fade as he took a step closer. “Like this?”
I lashed out, swiping the blade across his face. Eyes in a variety of colors lit the room. Several men raced forward faster than I could track. Kaden’s eyes no longer gleamed hazel but had turned a pure blood red. The cut on his cheek stitched itself closed, and I gasped, dropping my blade and stumbling back to stand over my sister. Monsters. I was in a room full of monsters.
“Oh, feisty indeed,” he said, wiping the blood from his cheek as if it meant nothing, but the murmurs behind me told me otherwise.
“What are you?” My voice was barely a whisper.
He crouched and reached one massive hand toward me. I scooted back, blocking Ain’s body. He grabbed the dagger I had dropped, placing the tip against his finger. He twirled it, the blade shimmering in the dim light of the cavern. It had reminded me of glass when I’d received it, but now it shimmered like a gemstone.
“This is lovely. Where did you get this beautiful one?”
“My father,” I said, unsure why I even answered.
He said something in that foreign language, and a woman with hair as red as blood shuffled on her feet. Another man, far too tall and thin, repeated the words, and then a hush fell. Kaden nodded and held the dagger over his shoulder. A man covered in garbs, his face and hair hidden, stepped forward to take it. Kaden folded his hands and studied me.
“What are you?” I asked again, my voice trembling.
“Something that can help your sister.”
My heart thudded. “No, I heard you. You threatened to kill her.”
“True.” He didn’t try to lie. “But I have since changed my mind. Now you have something I want.”
“And what’s that?”
His eyes roamed over me, and as innocent as I was, I had my answer.
“You.”
“For what?” I gulped.
He smiled once more, glancing at the creatures behind him before looking back at me. “Drake was not wrong. I do need more people for what I am building. Your sister is weak, dying. She is useless to me. But you? You are perfect.”
My chest hurt at how he spoke of her. I knew how close to death she was, which meant I had no time to waste.
“Can you save her?” I swallowed, knowing I would give myself up to these creatures, these monsters if I had to. For her, I wouldn’t even question it. How could I?
“Tobias,” he called, waving a hand but not looking away from me. “Alistair. Take her sister downstairs, please.”
A man emerged from the shadows. The bronze of his clothes cast a beautiful glow to his dark, rich skin. He wore his hair in a shorter version of Kaden’s. Red tinged his eyes as he focused on me, his face a mask of unreadable emotions. He prowled toward me, followed by a second creature. This second man’s complexion was as pale as moonlight, but the most striking thing about him was the color of his hair. It was the pure white of sugar, and he wore it in a mass atop his head. I had never seen a shade so pretty.
The one called Tobias stepped around me and reached for Ain. I shifted, moving to protect her. In the next breath, I was on my feet, held in a vice-like grip. Kaden lifted me high and turned me away from the two men as they picked my sister up by her arms. She groaned, trying to keep herself awake. She reached for me, and I her, our hands stretched toward each other. I struggled against Kaden as they took her away from me.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, trying to calm me, but all I saw was her leaving.
I looked up at Kaden, my panic a living thing inside of me. “What are they going to do to her?”
