Page 61 of These Deadly Dreams

“Is he the one who trained you?” Kai asks, leaning forward in his chair.

“Yes. I trust him. He doesn’t have anything to do with Thomas. And he’s strong.” My words fly out of my mouth with eagerness. Connor would be perfect for this.

“But would he be willing to help?” Cade asks.

I nod enthusiastically, my bun sliding around on top of my head. “I think he would. He cared enough to train Allie and me. And last I heard, they were going on dates. And he’s always mentioned how he hates how humans get shit on in our world and how he wishes there was something he could do to help.” When my words finally quiet, I’m panting slightly.

“Breathe, Ellis,” Cade says with a smile. “If you trust him, I think it’s worth meeting with him. I’m not committing to anything until we’ve met and talked things through.”

“Agreed,” Kai says.

I grab my phone from the table. “I’ll call Allie.”

25. Sterling

My heads lolls to the side as the guards drag me to the torture room. Matted silver hair falls into my eyes, blocking my view. Not that I need to see where I’m going. I don’t have the energy to attempt to lift my head, and even if I did, it would hurt too much. The raw burns on my back send pain through me. Pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt. My skin is hot, sweat coats my body, and every single move I make aches. Even blinking my eyes hurts. Pretty sure I have an infection. And if I do, it must be a nasty one if my shifter blood isn’t healing it.

“On the table,” Sam says.

I’ve come to dread hearing his voice. Sam means pain. But, if I’m the one on the receiving end of his torture, I’ll take it. It means Ellis is still safe. I’d gladly take her place.

The guards shove me onto the metal table with no thought of gentleness. I hiss through my teeth as the blisters on my back make contact with the cool surface. I still haven’t given Sam the satisfaction of making a single noise during any of his torture sessions. But a sliver of apprehension washes through me this time. This is the first time he’s had me on my back. At least the other times I knew what to expect. A whipping of some sort. Now, I have no idea.

His magic swirls around him, green bands of shimmering light that he fastens around my wrist and ankles. Holy fuck. They burn. It’s not anywhere near as painful as the real burns on my back. But, is this what Ellis went through with him? That thought hurts more than anything he’s done to me. Imagining my mate in Sam’s hands, the pain and fear I know she’d go through, is fuel enough to keep me strong.

“It’s a new day,” Sam says with a cruel smile. “Shall we try something new?” He snags a slim silver blade from a tray next to the table and examines it. “I figured as long as I have you in my possession, I might as well make use of you, since you refuse to give me the information I want. For now.”

He places the blade against my skin, right in the middle of my bicep, and slices through my muscle. At first, I feel nothing. Then the wicked sting of a blade slicing flesh washes through me. I grit my teeth. Honestly, it’s not near as bad as the burning iron. Blood wells, ruby bright, and slides down my arm.

“Hmm,” Sam muses. “Nothing? Let’s keep going. Shall we?”

He gives me six more cuts, avoiding any major artery and nothing deep enough to bleed too much. One on my shoulder, two along my ribs, one below my belly button, one on the outside of my knee, and one on the inside of my thigh.

By the sixth gash, fresh sweat has broken out on my skin. The salt stinging something fierce as it meets the cuts. But I still haven’t made a single noise. He’ll have to try harder.

“Still holding out?” Sam asks, pulling the blade away. A vein pulses in his neck, he’s starting to get angry. That’s never a good thing. “Why won’t you just tell me what I want to know? Where. Is. She.”

Stupidly, I grin at him. Peeling my tongue off the roof of my mouth, I say. “Try harder.” I have to force each word out, and they rasp against my unused and parched throat.

Sam’s eyes flare with unchecked anger and red suffuses his neck and cheeks. That did it. I really pissed him off. The next few slices of the blade are deep. Probably too deep. But I still say nothing. Even when he places the edge of the blade at the top of my scar, the point digging in enough to draw blood.

“Maybe I should finish what was started here?” He breathes. His chest is rising and falling rapidly in his anger.

My heart stutters as utter terror careens through me. Losing my sight has been one of my biggest fears since I got that scar. I fight to reach my wolf, even though I know it’s pointless. My limbs tremble in the magic restraints.

Sam grins, and pulls the blade away. “Oh, now I see. I think I’ll wait for that one. Once Ellis is in my possession, I can use that fear against her.”

Fuck. I have to get myself together, but my brain is going foggy. I can hear the splatter of my blood as it drips onto the floor. There is real risk I’ll bleed to death. But, I think I’d welcome it. Then Sam can’t use me against her.

“Johnson! Get in here!” Sam yells over his shoulder. A door opens, and a middle aged mage steps into the room. “Collect some blood.”

Johnson approaches, and with a sympathetic look, he gathers three vials of my blood. Must be someone forced to work for Sam. I wonder if I could convince him to help me somehow, but I’m distracted from my plans with Sam’s next words.

“Maybe watching his mate’s sister get tortured will make him talk. Bring Grace in.”

26. Cade

I hate taking Ellis out from behind the wards, but I know I can’t keep her locked up until this is done. I really wish I could, though. Also, all of this mixing up daytime and nighttime shit is starting to get old. We need to stick to one schedule. Ellis is yawning in the backseat, despite the large coffee with an extra shot of espresso she downed ten minutes ago. I think Kai is asleep, it’s hard to tell. His eyes are closed, but that could just be because of the sunlight. I’m doing okay this morning, but I think that’s because I slept so much the day before, recovering from using so much magic.

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