Page 27 of Chaos Unleashed

“Fantastic,” I reply, the snark prominent before I sigh and pinch my nose, distractedly noticing that I am still missing my middle finger. “I’m sorry. I know you can’t say things. Thank you for healing me as much as you could.”

“I’m sorry, Farren,” she repeats.

I don’t have time to reply, not that I’m sure what I would reply, as I feel that now familiar tugging sensation urging me back to reality. I don’t want to go; I want to stay here, even in this strange and unknown place, even if I was left alone. I don’t want to go back to the torture and their stupid questions that I refuse to answer. I want to go back to the Void, I want darkness, but my kind of darkness.

The darkness that makes me feel safe, and powerful. I know now for certain that no one is going to help me and that I don’t have very long to figure a way to get myself out of this before it’s too late and the Princes either succeed in killing me or my lack of access to the Void kills me. I’m used to being in life-or-death situations, but none of them have been quite like this and seemed this impossible; I’m used to being able to fight back, at least physically, if not magically.

It looks like my luck has finally run out.

A sudden realisation has me cursing; holy shit, I know why her voice seemed familiar. It’s the same voice that has been talking to me through the years, the same voice that has helped me countless times, and along with that realisation comes the realisation that I can’t even rely on the voice to help this time, because she’s told me outright that she can’t help any more than she has.

Fuck. I don’t think I’m getting out of this one.

Chapter Ten

Farren

“Resting?” Crem’s voice tuts as I come out of my dream. “It seems like my brothers have been far too lenient on you.”

I don’t even get a second to enjoy the fact that I’m not in as much pain as I was when I went to sleep or stand up, for that matter, as Crem unleashes his magic on me.

I force the pain away as his magic burns me with hellfire in very concentrated places. He is standing far closer to the bars of my cell than any of the others have, so close in fact that if I can reach through and grab him, I’ll be able to smash his head on the bars which will allow his blood to spill on the enchanted bars and take off the enchantment so that I can access my magic and escape this fucking cell. I have no idea how I know that will break the enchantment on the cell door, but the goddess said that I should trust my instincts, so that’s what I’m doing. Blood is an incredibly powerful tool and is used in all of the most powerful spells so logically it would make sense.

Of course, I can’t touch the bars without causing myself incredible pain, but I’m in great pain anyway so what difference would it really make at this point?

It’s my only chance.

The pain suddenly stops, and I push myself to my feet, wanting to put my plan into action before he starts the onslaught again and I won't be able to move.

“My brothers are interested in Hades. Personally, I think he’s too weak to cause us any trouble. I want to know about your mother,” Crem grins, a cunning smile.

The random question pulls me up short, “My mother?”

“Yes, that is what I said, you stupid girl. Who is your mother?”

I frown and freeze; I haven’t thought about my mother for years, not since I was a young child. I have never known her, I’ve never seen pictures, I’ve never heard stories. I literally know zero about her, less than I know about Hades, who I am now sure is, in fact, Grey. My mother is merely someone that I know I must have had because I wouldn’t exist if I didn’t, but that’s it. I asked my father about her once, and he almost killed me.

It wasn’t worth asking again, and honestly, I’ve assumed all of these years that she’s dead, and if she’s not, then she abandoned me with a man who she no doubt knew was capable of horrific things, so I don’t want to know her either way. It’s not like I feel sad or angry or really anything when I think of my mother. I don’t have any feelings about it either way. You can’t miss something that you’ve never had; at least, that’s how I feel about it. So, his focus on her throws me, and I forget what I was initially doing.

Pain blasts me, and that stops just as quickly as it started, “Farren, I asked you a question.”

“I don’t know anything about my mother,” I spit and then add quickly, “ask my father, he’s here isn’t he?”

“Your father knows nothing; that is clear from the amount of torture we’ve put him through and the useless shit he has told us.”

The fact that he’s been mercilessly tortured for as long as he’s been here makes me incredibly happy, it will never make up for what he put me through but it’s a start. Crem’s words sink in and I frown that doesn’t make any sense at all, how could he not know anything about my mother? I really couldn’t give a shit, and Crem is distracted so I take the opportunity to rush the bars. I don’t even manage to get my hand through the bars; I barely even touch them as I’m flung backward, landing hard on the floor as the flow of electricity goes through me, making me twitch. Crem’s laughter booms around the cell as I instantly regret trying to escape.

Loki

It’s been a few days since the tavern and the most delicious stew ever, and I’m missing the stew immensely. Rabbit and deer are nice, or at least the Underworld equivalent of rabbit and deer is nice, but it lacks seasonings, and I make a mental note to always carry some with me when we go on these trips in the future. Thinking about eating brings up a thought that I’d been trying to avoid; I haven’t had blood in longer than I’d usually be able to handle, and yet I seem to be okay. I would assume that it had something to do with the fact that we’re in the Underworld, and things work differently here, but the others are all behaving exactly the same, so it can’t be that.

Of course, none of them are vampires so maybe it's just a thing that affects us? I am aware that I could ask but in all honesty I’m scared of what Hades answer would be and if it means there’s something wrong with me. If I start to feel any negative effects, then I’ll say something, but for now, we have enough to deal with without me throwing in an issue that may not actually be an issue. It has crossed my mind that maybe the length that I’ve been able to go between feedings this time is because the last person that I fed from was Farren, and her blood was fucking insane. I’ve never tasted anything like it, and the way it revitalised me was something I have never heard of before. It boosted my magic and if I didn’t know that it was impossible I would’ve said that it increased it too, and not just temporarily. I’m still feeling the effects now, and it’s been a good few weeks since I fed.

I’m not complaining, but I am concerned—not just about my lack of need to feed but also because Farren’s blood is powerful, and if the wrong person were to realise that, it could get really complicated really fast.

Not that her being kidnapped isn’t really complicated, but having someone keep you and drain you of your blood regularly for feedings would be a whole new level of hell. I do not doubt that the wrong person would choose to drink regularly rather than risk having the effects wear off. It’s just added another layer of fear to this whole nightmare situation.

Nightmares are another wonderful side effect of this situation; I haven’t slept, not properly, since we got to the Underworld. I have a very active imagination, and all it's doing is showing me the worst-case scenarios, most of them having something to do with the blood. I know I’m not the only one having nightmares; we all are. Khaos’s are affecting him a lot, a surprising amount if Grey’s reaction is anything to go by. We’re all sleep-deprived and pissy; I’m actually surprised that we haven’t taken it out on each other.

---