Page 144 of Taken By Touch and Torment

I wanted to sink my teeth into one of his tattooed forearms so damn bad right now.

Lowering my tense shoulders, I followed Rune’s instructions. I walked until I came to my first branch of paths—an easy right or left.

Try left.

His use of the word try did not instill confidence.

Bright side to committing an unplanned murder? I didn’t have to make small talk with Aunt Carol. Even if she hadn’t learned what I was, I might’ve ended up killing her down here anyway, if only to rescue myself from her irritating piousness.

I glanced back down at the note every thirty seconds. Rune had made me backtrack a couple times now, and I wondered how much time I’d lost. Would Brennan eventually grow concerned and come for me himself? Or, more likely, send another aunt to come after me—likely the only being other than himself he trusted me with.

You’re getting close.

It was strange for a victory to simultaneously feel like a nightmare, but that’s exactly what returning to the palace would be.

The tunnels never improved. Their earthen, damp scent became more sulfuric. When I saw my first skeleton, I had to cover my mouth with my hand as I nearly jumped out of my skin. This underground labyrinth of horrors was far more fitting for the born than their façade of royalty and decorum aboveground.

I was breathing through my mouth by the time I reached the end of a hall and realized there was nowhere else to go.

I looked down at Rune’s elegant script.

You’re there.

My hand trembled as I pressed the paper against the wall, and I internally yelled at the limb to cut it out.

Thank you. I’ll write to you as soon as I can.

He wrote back immediately.

You’d better. If I don’t hear from you for too long, at any given stage, I will come for you without your approval. Don’t write back to this. Stay safe. Put this note back in the secret pocket immediately. This is your world, Little Flame. Don’t you fucking forget it.

I followed Rune’s instructions, touching the smile on my lips as I steadied my racing heart. Adrenaline surged in waves, and I relaxed each muscle as I stood facing this dead-end wall.

Wait—how in the hell was I supposed to get out of here?

I pressed my palm against the wall, feeling for some invisible doorknob. At the sight of blood on my sleeve, I realized I was overthinking it.

I smeared some of Aunt Carol’s blood on the wall and hoped for the best.

The wall rumbled slightly, another door manifesting. I whispered to the rising vengeance in my blood, asking it to replace my fear with strength in exchange for its next sacrifice.

I opened the door, only to be met with what appeared to be a wall of sleek wood on the other side.

Was it boarded up? Was I in the right place?

Terrified of the door disappearing and trapping me back down here, I shoved on the wood. It scooted forward, revealing dark floor beneath it. It was furniture. Ridiculously heavy furniture.

Uriah hadn’t exactly made me buff, but I had to believe he’d improved my upper body strength enough to move a bookcase, or whatever the hell this was. Though you’d think that Brennan would’ve cleared the tunnel entrance in preparation for my arrival.

As the furniture slowly scooted, scraping against the floor thunderously, a sweat broke out on my brow.

When it started to move all on its own, I stepped inside and glanced at my palms. Could succubi develop telekinesis?

“What do we have here?”

My blood ran cold. The answer to my question was a resounding no. I could see that now, as I faced a smirking Liza and a creepy-as-ever Evangeline standing in the middle of a private drawing room.

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