Blood And Breath

31

I did not know these people. My own mother was suddenly a stranger to me. The woman who had raised me never would have stood by idly while I was mistreated. The swish of a switchblade being opened resounded in the room, and my racing heart stuttered in terror. “What are you doing? Please don’t do this. Momma, please make him stop!” My cheek was smashed against the couch cushion with my head facing the room, giving me the perfect view of my mother. Hand over her mouth, eyes glassy, she stood motionless as Daeglan O’Connor began to slice into my forearm. I cried out in pain, but he continued, unfazed. “This is a truth rune, not unlike the one we wear on our necks,” he said almost reverently as if he was a professor offering a lesson to eager students. Burning pain seared up my arm as his blade etched the intricate lines into my flesh. I no longer struggled as my muscles locked in a bone-chilling terror I had not known existed. Fear struck so deep in my heart that I no longer felt it beating. “Cat, who were you with today?” Daeglan asked solemnly. An excruciating silence filled the room, as if not one of us was breathing. Magic stirred inside my chest, and I fought against its all-consuming compulsion. My lips quivered, and I choked on a sob from the frustration, but I was not strong enough. “Fenodree, I was with Fenodree.” Tears ran over the bridge of my nose and pooled on the sofa cushion. “Is Fenodree Fae?” he continued the interrogation in an eerily calm voice. “Yes,” I whispered. Then he paused briefly. “Is Fenodree a man?” I closed my eyes as my lips moved of their own volition. “Yes.” How could my mother do this to me? The betrayal of our bond. The violation of my trust. Regardless of her intentions, I could see no way to forgive her for her complicity in this assault. I silently prayed for the questions to end. If there was a God, he wasn’t listening. “Do you have feelings for this man?” Sobs wracked my body, both for my situation and for the danger my words might bring to Fen. “Yes,” I whispered helplessly. My mother released a pained sob and turned her back to where I lay. “He’s a good man,” I pled with them frantically. Daeglan grunted above me. “That’s what they want you to believe. He’s befriended you, but all he wants is to use you. Have you been intimate with this man?” “Yes,” I hissed with renewed anger. “But that’s none of your goddamm business!” “Don’t you see, Cat? He’s feeding from you. That’s what they do. They lure humans in just to feed from our energy.” Daeglan had lowered himself until his steely gray eyes met mine. His dark hair flopped over his forehead, and spittle sprayed my face from the force of his convictions. I refused to offer them any unnecessary information about Fen or any of my friends, so I kept my mouth shut. Daeglan might have been able to force me to answer questions, but I didn’t have to give him any more than that. Seeing that he could not shake my resolve, he turned to my mother. “Colleen, you know this can’t continue. It’s worse than we ever imagined. Let me take her. Time away will do her a world of good to realign her priorities.” Let me take her. I felt as though the devil himself had reached inside me and squeezed the air from my lungs. The weight of Daeglan’s knee on my back and the bloody rune on my skin no longer registered. I was no longer flesh and bone with nerves and feelings. I was pure, unadulterated terror because when I looked at my mother, resignation shone in her eyes. With a single nod, she sealed my fate. OceanofPDF.com Chapter Fifteen OceanofPDF.com CAT A bright light glowed through my closed eyelids, enraging my aching head. I lifted a sluggish hand to cover my eyes and tried to figure out what was going on. I was curled up on a cold concrete floor, and I felt like I’d fallen from a four-story building. Had I gone out with friends and gotten so drunk I’d blacked out? That didn’t sound like me. I racked my brain but couldn’t recall any parties or nightclubs in my recent past. Despite my raging headache, I peeked my eyes open to see where I was and hopefully figure out what had happened. My surroundings were unfamiliar. Not that there was much to the small room—solid white with no windows and no furniture. I lay on a concrete floor, my teeth chattering with cold and unease. Where the hell am I? I sat upright to get my bearings and realized that I was wearing an unfamiliar thin cotton nightgown. A glance underneath told me I still had on my own panties, which was a small relief. As I examined the gown further, my eyes caught sight of an open wound on the underside of my forearm. A symbol carved in my skin, swollen and only partially scabbed over. Flashes of memory assaulted me one after the other—my face pressed into the couch, a forced interrogation, a treacherous nod. Rolling to the side, I vomited up what little I had in my stomach, retching even after nothing would come up. Daeglan O’Connor had taken me. He’d changed my clothes while I was unconscious. Had he done more while I was helpless? Shivers wracked my entire body. I sat against the wall with my knees pulled into my chest, desperately trying to get warmer. My throat was coarse with thirst, and I wondered how long I had been out. Even more frightening, how long would I be kept here? What did Daeglan have planned for me in this prison? Did my mom know where he had taken me? Was she with him? Would Rebecca or any of my friends be able to find me?