Page 7 of Knotted By the Triad

Damn it.

I attempted to ignore the dizziness as I gathered my thoughts.

Okay, Zuri, think.

I had to be in a hospital. Maybe I was drugged out of my mind on pain medication. That would explain why my body felt strange and why I couldn’t seem to make my limbs work properly.

It did not, however, explain the red canopy bed, unless I’d somehow been taken to the fanciest hospital in Louisiana. Even a fancy hospital wouldn’t have dragon decor. Shit. Had I been rescued by some voodoo priestess?

I didn’t have to practice it to believe it was real.

I opened my eyes again. They darted left, then right. I tilted my chin toward my chest, trying to see as much of the room as I could without making myself dizzy again. The room was huge and lit by dozens of candles.

Dark wood furniture filled the space, and red and gold seemed to cover damn near everything. A sweet, smoky scent hung in the air that reminded me of incense, but beneath it were other scents I couldn’t identify.

Everything smelled stronger than it should have. I could smell the wax from the burning candles, and even hints of floral notes from flowers that smelled like they were across the room to my right.

How the hell did I know that?

My hearing seemed to be acting weird too. I could hear the soft crackle of the candle flames and the faint rustle of fabric from the canopy. Why the hell could I hear candles burning? The thud of approaching footsteps echoed in my ears.

Could that be the doctor approaching?

I tried to sit up again. What did I do that for? I collapsed against the bed, eyes drifting shut, chest heaving from the exertion.

You were in a wreck, Zuri. Stop trying to move. Damn.

“Don’t pretend to be asleep now,” a deep male voice filled the room.

My eyes snapped open. This time, I didn’t try to sit up. I tilted my chin toward my chest again and squinted, making out the figures of three men approaching the bed. I blinked rapidly as they drew closer.

They stopped and stood there, all three of them staring down at me with almond-shaped eyes and furrowed brows. The warm glow of the candles highlighted their dark gazes and sun-kissed complexions.

I stared up at them, the questions I’d been about to ask my doctor melting on my tongue. They were clearly not physicians. For a few moments, I forgot about the accident. Hell, I almost forgot my own name.

These three men literally stole the words from my mouth. They damn near stole the air from my lungs. Lips parted, all I could do was stare at them. My attention settled first on the man standing in the middle.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in black robes trimmed with gold. His hair was dark green, which should’ve looked ridiculous on a grown man. It didn’t. If anything, it made him even more striking.

He was handsome as hell, but that hard-ass expression on his face made his good looks less appealing. My gaze drifted to the man beside him. His dark hair was long, the silky strands falling past his shoulders.

His face was leaner than the green-haired guy’s, with high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a defined jaw. His dark eyes were strikingly beautiful. Like staring into a starless night. And he watched me without blinking.

This man was gorgeous. There really wasn’t another word for him. But there was something cold about that beauty, something dangerous, especially with the way he stood there studying me.

A chill raced down my spine, and I quickly averted my gaze. I took in the third man. His black hair was cut close to his head. A buzz cut. Thick brows sat above dark eyes that watched me with an unnerving calmness.

He had high cheekbones, a straight nose, and full lips. A hint of facial hair dusted his upper lip and traced his chiseled jawline. Like the other two, he was beyond handsome. But he wasn’t glaring at me like the green-haired man or studying me with the long-haired guy’s cold scrutiny.

Mr. Buzz Cut simply looked... bored. Like he didn’t want to be here. Like he didn’t want to see me. Like I was... beneath him. Disdain! That was the expression on his face. I cocked my head to the side, my gaze swinging from one man to the next.

Now that I thought about it, these men looked familiar. My gaze jerked to the green-haired man again. There was something about that green hair. My foggy brain struggled to remember where I knew him from.

Damn it! Why couldn’t I remember?

I glanced from the long-haired one beside him to the one with the buzz cut. Then it hit me. I truly had seen these men before. Not in person, of course. I’d seen drawings of them. Artwork.

CiCi had commissioned character art for her latest series, Realm of Fantasies. She had their pictures on her website and all over her social media pages. They’d been included on promotional material and special editions that I’d helped her create.