Page 96 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

I slam against the bars, lashing out at him through the slats only to be hit with a fierce shock, launching me to the back of the cell. I groan, pain radiating through my entire body as I force myself to stand again.

The prince doesn't smile, but there is enjoyment all over his face. “So reactive,” he says. “The succubusismine,” he says again. I growl as I make my way back over to the bars. “Whether you tell me anything about her or not, she belongs to me.” He tilts his head. “Though, I suppose I could bring her down here,” he says, eyes narrowing on me. “I could torture her in front of you. I’m sure you’d tell me everything I wanted then?—"

“If you harm her,” I say in a low menacing tone. “I will rip out your spine.”

“And I'll make a guitar out of it,” Jagger adds.

The prince breaks his emotionless gaze, smiling in what can only be interpreted as sinister. He looks over us both, nodding. “Maybe you two will be useful after all,” he says before disappearing around the corner.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Jagger asks.

“Hmm,” I respond. “I don't know,” I say, dropping to sit on the cold, damp floor.

“She's alive,” Jagger says, coming to sit next to me, the two of us leaning our backs against the wall. “Whatever magic they're using in this cell may nullify my power, but I can still feel our bond.”

I nod. “I can feel her too.”

The sensation is still so fresh, the Linked bond between us so new that it's still foreign to me. My soul keeps tugging at it, exploring it, doing its best to fold it into the very fiber of my being. Already I can feel the separation between us, despite knowing she must still be in the palace because it doesn't feel too stretched.

And her heart beats. That's the one thing I can cling to while being stuck in this goddessforsaken cell.

“What the fuck are we going to do?”

“I don't know,” I snap, hating that I don't have answers.

I didn't account for this.

I didn't plan for this.

“She didn't kill him,” I whisper. “He was right there and she didn't kill him.”

“For us,” Jagger whispers back. “I heard the Collector say he wouldn’t heal us if she didn't drop her power. Death was embracing me.” He shivers.

“He could have left you that way,” I say, looking down to Jagger's chest where that wound had been. “But he had his Treasure heal you,why?”

“Maybe he wants the same answers the prince sought,” Jagger says, rubbing at the spot where he’d been stabbed. “Maybe because he saw we were her weakness?”

“Fuck,” I groan. “Of course.”

Pain rips through me, my stomach sinking to the floor. When I asked her to choose me, I never once consideredIwould be a weapon against her.

“He's going to use us…” Jagger says.

“In order to control her,” I finish for him.

Chapter 25

Livana

My body wakes before my mind catches up, clarity forming when I'm already sitting up. Thin bracelets of silver are clamped on my wrists, just enough to nullify my powers without weakening me so much I couldn’t wake up. I try to force them off, but they won’t budge. I groan, giving up.

A soft feather mattress supports me, and I smooth my hands over the silky midnight-colored sheets. I take a deep breath through my nose and out through my mouth, willing my heart to calm, telling myself that I'm alive.

I'm alive.

How the fuck am I alive?

I threatened the Collector. Came close to killing him and his son. I would’ve, had they not hurt Jagger, hurt Zev.

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